Corporate law and contracts

Partner

Jan De Waele

Jan De Waele obtained a master’s degree in law in 1984 at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven. For quite some time, he was a partner with the law firm Storme-Leroy-Van Parys before joining the Ghent office of Everest in 2010 as a partner.

Jan is head of the social law department and deals mainly with cases in matters of social law (individual employment law, collective employment law, social security law and social criminal law) and corporate and contract law.

He assists his clients with drafting contracts and giving advice. As regards disputes, he works as a matter of priority towards a negotiated solution. However, he also has an extensive track record in dispute settlement.

For the judicial year of 2016-17 Jan gave the opening address at the bar of Ghent with the title: ‘Strike action – the unbearable lightness of the gentlemen’s agreement’.

Partner

Frank Burssens

Frank Burssens graduated in 1990 with a master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent and in 1991 obtained an LL.M. in internatinal business law at London University (Queen Mary and Westfield College).

In 2007, Frank, together with some co-partners, founded the firm Burssens & Partners Ondernemingsadvocaten, which now operates under the name Everest. As a lawyer working in the Ghent office of Everest, Frank specialises in property law (legal assistance with the purchase and sale of land and buildings, share transactions of project companies and urban planning and environmental issues), construction law (both public contracts and private construction law) and energy law. He assists his clients in the areas of both contracts and judicial proceedings and arbitration.

Moreover, he also has an extensive track record in the area of general commercial and company law, especially as regards company takeovers. He has also been appointed as an arbiter with the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Partner

Johan Van Driessche

Johan Van Driessche graduated with honours with a master’s degree in law at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven and has been a lawyer since 1997.

Johan has been a partner at Everest Advocaten in Ghent since 2015 and is head of a department which specialises in commercial and company law and contracts and liability law. He also has a special interest and expertise in IT law.

Johan assists companies and their directors by giving advice, editing contracts, and helping with disputes and conflicts, which may or may not be part of judicial proceedings. He has an extensive track record and a sound knowledge in company and commercial law. He looks for solutions and attaches great importance to providing judicial service which optimises the commercial interests of the company.

Johan was a recognised mediator in civil affairs and commercial affairs and has an accreditation for collective negotiations. Moreover, he is also appointed regularly as a liquidator for bankrupt companies by the Court of Commerce in Ghent.

He provides training courses for agencies such as Kluwer.

Johan Van Driessche has been entrusted with various mandates within the structures of the bar. Amongst other things, he was treasurer of the Council of the Oudenaarde Bar from 2006 to 2011 and director of the Association of Flemish Bars (OVB) from 2011 to 2017. He is currently still a director at Diplad, the IT integrator of the OVB and the bars.

Partner

Joris Deene

Joris Deene graduated in 2002 with major distinction with a master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent. In 2004, he did postgraduate studies in internatinal copyright law at the University of Amsterdam (IVIR). Joris was a researcher at the Centre for Jurist & Informatics of the University of Ghent (2004-2010) and currently lectures there in intellectual property and new technology.

Joris sits on the Council of Intellectual Property which advises the Belgian minister for Economy on intellectual property rights. He is also a third-party decider for .be domain name disputes at CEPANI.

Joris Deene is a partner at Everest and specialises in ICT law, intellectual property law and privacy law. He is the author of dozens of contributions and articles and is a popular speaker at seminars and conferences on these topics.

Partner

Kevin Bertouille

Kevin Bertouille graduated with distinction in 2001 at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve and in 2003 he obtained a master’s degree in business law (LL.M.) at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

After working for ten years in various banking institutions in Brussels, Paris and Luxembourg, he started to work at Everest in Brussels in 2012 where he became a partner in 2016.

Kevin works in banking law (disputes and legislation) and commercial law.

Partner

Alain Delfosse

Alain Delfosse has over 40 years of experience as a lawyer at the Brussels bar and has been a partner at Everest Brussels since 2020.

Alain specialises in administrative law (especially in the legislation regarding public contracts) including procedures for the Council of State and for the Constitutional Court.

He also has an extensive track record in the area of procedural law for the Court of Cassation, agreement law in general and contract law in particular (especially for enterprises), commercial law (corporate law) and financial criminal law.

Alain Delfosse has worked together with others on several publications on commercial law and agreement law.

Partner

Lucien Kalenga

Lucien Kalenga obtained a master’s degree in law and a specialist qualification (D.E.S.) in economic law at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven.

Lucien practises company law, international law and dispute settlement in the Brussels office of Everest.

He was a member of the Council of French-speaking Lawyers at the Brussels bar from 2011 to 2014.

Lucien Kalenga also held office as president of the Brussels Young Bar Association during the period from 2008 to 2009.

Partner

Rafaël Alvarez Campa

Rafaël Alvarez Campa holds a master’s degree with distinction from the Roman Catholic University of Leuven and obtained an additional master’s degree with distinction at Brussels Tax School (ICHEC).
In February 2019, he entered the office of Everest in Brussels as a partner, where he mainly practises tax law.

He has specialised particularly in matters related to Spanish fiscal matters and asset planning in Belgium and Spain. In this connection he is contacted regularly to assist residents of Belgium who wish to relocate to Spain or purchase a property in Spain.

He is a member of the judicial Commission of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg.

He is also entrusted with the training in the ‘Ateliers des Fucam’ (University of Mons) where he is jointly responsible for the university certificates with regard to tax and asset planning.

Rafaël has also written several fiscal texts and fiscal columns in La Libre.

Partner

Jonas Helaut

Jonas Helaut graduated in 2004 with a master’s degree in law and in 2011 he obtained a master’s degree in tax law at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven. He has worked as a lawyer since 2005 and is a partner at the Brussels Everest office.

Jonas specialises in (international) tax law, asset planning, company law, company takeovers, and insolvency law and he offers both advice and dispute settlement.

He is also a member of the BATL (Belgian Association of Tax Lawyers).

Jonas Helaut is an author of numerous technical articles and publications and a popular seminar speaker.

Partner

Christophe Bourtembourg

Christophe Bourtembourg obtained a master’s degree in law with great distinction at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven in 2012 (thesis: “Promises of contract: reflection on the opportunity of an uniform legal regime. Overview of European and comparative law”).

Christophe also graduated with great distinction at the Institute of European Studies of the Free University of Brussels in 2013 with an additional master’s degree in European law and has been a member of the Brussels bar since 2014.

He joined Everest Brussels in 2018 and practises mainly insolvency law, company law, commercial law and contract law. He operates mainly in French, but he also assists his clients in English and Dutch.

Christophe Bourtembourg is appointed regularly as a curator at the French-speaking Court of Commerce in Brussels.

Partner

Sophie Bertouille

Sophie Bertouille obtained her master’s degree in law with great distinction at the Roman Catholic University of Louvain-La-Neuve in 2017.

In 2020, she also obtained an advanced master’s degree in company law at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven.

She has been registered at the Brussels bar since 2017 and in that same year she joined the Everest office in Brussels.

Sophie operates mainly in commercial and company law.

Her working languages are French, Dutch and English.

Partner

Valentine Pacco

Valentine Pacco obtained a master’s degree in law at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve in 2014. After that, she continued her studies with an European master’s degree in law and economics.

She has been a lawyer at the Brussels bar since 2015 and works at the Brussels office of Everest.

Valentine Pacco practises mainly intellectual property, ICT and privacy law, corporate law and contracts, and company law.

Managing associate

Veronique Neve

Veronique Neve graduated in 2006 with a master’s degree in law with distinction at the University of Ghent. During her studies, she specialised in commercial and economic law. Since 2006, she has been registered as a lawyer at the Ghent bar.

She joined the Everest office in Ghent early in 2018, where she works within the areas of company law and insolvency law. Veronique gives both advice and assistance and/or representation of clients within the context of amicable negotiations and judicial proceedings.

She also has an extensive track record in general agreement and contract law and the broad field of corporate law. She also shows a particular interest in insolvency law.

Furthermore, she is a mediator in civil and commercial affairs and has taken the curator training course.

Managing associate

Ilse Renders

Ilse Renders obtained her master’s degree in law at the Free University of Brussels in 2008 and also studied for an additional master’s degree with great distinction in international and European law at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. In addition, she obtained an advanced master’s degree in tax law at the University of Antwerp in 2013. In 2017, she was awarded the certificate for special training in cassation procedure in criminal matters.

She has been registered with the Brussels bar since 2008 and with the Antwerp bar since 2011.

She joined the Antwerp office of Everest in 2018 where she works mainly in (national, international, and European) corporate law, commercial and company law liability law, attachment law, contract law, arbitration proceedings (especially in the diamond sector), litigation and dispute resolution, property law.

Senior associate

Alexander De Buck

Alexander De Buck obtained his master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent in 2008. He subsequently obtained an advanced master’s degree in tax law at the University of Ghent in 2010 and joined the Ghent bar.

He joined the Ghent office of Everest in 2011. Alexander works within the areas of companies in difficulties, a domain where his background in tax law and general interest in assisting companies are a bonus. He also has an extensive track record in insolvency law, corporate law (including attachment and enforcement), and banking and finance law.

Managing associate

Laurent De Clercq

Laurent De Clercq obtained his master’s degree in EU studies in 2012 before graduating with a master’s degree in law in 2016. He joined Everest Ghent in that same year where he specialises in commercial and insolvency law.

Within the department of companies in difficulties, Laurent concentrates on proceedings and dispute settlement in various aspects of company law and has special expertise in private banking and lending law, commercial disputes, attachment and enforcement, and insolvency law.

Senior associate

Christian Buysse

Christian Buysse obtained his master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent in 2015. He then gained a master’s degree in company law at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven.

In 2016, he started his career as a lawyer at the Dutch-speaking bar in Brussels. In 2017, he transferred to the Ghent bar and he works at the Ghent office of Everest.

Christian specialises in M&A, company law and corporate-related agreements and gives companies advice on developing corporate and financial structures. He deals with shareholder agreements and director liability. He has also built up some practical experience in assisting companies in difficulties.

Senior associate

Lisa De Paepe

Lisa De Paepe graduated in 2017 with a master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent and since that same year she has been a lawyer at the Ghent bar.

In 2021, she has joined the Everest office in Ghent where she works in the social law department.  She also has a special interest in corporate and contract law.

Managing associate

Lore Huyghe

Lore Huyghe graduated in 2017 with distinction with a master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent. Prior to that, she obtained a master’s degree in criminological science, also at the University of Ghent.

Since 2017, Lore has been registered at the Ghent bar and works as a lawyer.

In 2021, she joined the Everest office in Ghent where she works within the broad field of corporate law and contracts, especially in company law.

Senior associate

Jochen Vermeir

Jochen Vermeir graduated with a master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent in 2018. Before that, he had gained a master’s degree in criminal sciences also at the University of Ghent.

He has been registered as a lawyer with the Ghent bar since 2018 and joined the Everest office in Ghent in that same year.

Jochen works in company law and also has an extensive track record in the broad corporate law and contract law.

Associate

Fien Schreurs

Fien Schreurs graduated in 2019 with a master’s degree in law at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven. She then completed a general LL.M. at the University of Ottawa in Canada.

Fien has been registered since 2020 as a lawyer at the Ghent bar and joined the Everest office in that same year.

She works in the anti-fraud and corporate criminal law department.

Fien also specialises in sports law.

Senior associate

Harold Ferreira

Harold Ferreira obtained his master’s degree in law with distinction in 2020 from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. During his law studies, he also did an Erasmus exchange at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid. After his master’s degree, he started an internship with a Brussels law firm.

Harold started his career as a lawyer in February 2021 at the Brussels bar and works at Everest in Antwerp.

Harold practices corporate, commercial, company and contract law.

Junior associate

Kobe Boecquaert

Kobe Boecquaert graduated cum laude as a Master of Laws at Ghent University in 2021. Subsequently, he pursued a Master of Intellectual Property and ICT Law at KU Leuven, which he also completed cum laude in 2022.

Since then, he has been a lawyer at the Ghent Bar and joined the Everest law firm in Ghent.

Kobe works within broad corporate law and has a particular interest in intellectual property rights, ICT and data law, M&A and business-related agreements.

Junior associate

Lieselot Bracquene

Lieselot Bracquene graduated cum laude as Master of Laws at Ghent University in 2023. Since then, she has been registered as a lawyer at the bar in Ghent and joined Everest Ghent.

Lieselot works there in the department of business and contract law, with a special interest in corporate law.

Junior associate

Alexander Lacante

Junior associate

Kiana Beernaert

Kiana Beernaert obtained her master’s degree in law from the Free University of Brussels in 2021, where she graduated cum laude. In 2018 she participated in the prestigious Moot Court and in 2024 she fulfilled the Supralat program, earning the certificate for assistance during interrogations.

In 2022, Kiana was admitted to the Antwerp Bar, where she primarily practices within the Antwerp office of Everest corporate, liability, criminal and traffic law.