On 1 January 2010, Elisabeth Matthys, Corinne Merla and Wouter Geldhof have joined Stibbe's partnership. Furthermore, Stibbe has launched two new practice groups: Pensions and Energy.
On the one hand, Stibbe extends its Employment Law practice group and adds a Pensions practice to it. Employment law specialist Elisabeth Matthys is being promoted internally and pensions specialist Corinne Merla moves from an Anglo-Saxon law firm to Stibbe. Together with partners Jean-Philippe Cordier and Herman Craeninckx, this practice group now comprises 16 lawyers, 4 of whom are partners.
On the other hand, the appointment of partner Wouter Geldhof gives Stibbe the opportunity to launch a new energy practice. Wouter will become the first partner in a full-service law firm in Belgium who will be dedicated to the energy sector on a full-time basis. He will work closely with Stibbe experts active in other areas of law relevant to the energy sector including Frederik Vandendriessche, Marc van der Woude, Vera Van Houtte and Jan Bouckaert.
A graduate of the universities of Ghent and Oxford, Elisabeth Matthys started her career at Stibbe in 2001. Elisabeth mainly concentrates on the employment law aspects of outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions, as well as on employment in the public sector, anti-discrimination legislation and international employment.
Corinne Merla is one of the few pensions specialists in Belgium and will further expand her practice at Stibbe. She brings with her 4 lawyers, one of whom is Florence Delogne, who is appointed Counsel. The entire team will dedicate itself to pensions, which is unique in the full-service firms on the Belgian market.
Wouter Geldhof joined Stibbe in 2000 and has been active in the energy sector for several years. He assists Belgian and multinational companies as well as public authorities with contractual and regulatory issues in energy law including exemptions from the regulatory regime for major new energy infrastructure, construction and grid connection of power generating plants, electricity and gas market transparency issues, electricity and gas (supply) contracts, renewable energy projects, CO2 benchmarking and emission trading. In addition, Wouter has written over 30 articles on energy law and contract law.
Olivier Clevenbergh, Managing Partner of Stibbe Brussels, is very pleased with this development: "With these appointments, Stibbe reconfirms its position as a top full-service law firm on the Belgian market. Furthermore, we show our determination to keep investing in our people, even in these difficult economic times. With the promotion of Wouter, we will further grow in our role as trusted advisor in the increasingly important energy sector. The addition to our partnership of Elisabeth and Corinne will give Stibbe the possibility to anticipate even better on our clients' specific needs."
For additional information, please contact Olivier Clevenbergh, Managing Partner or Jürgen Smet, Marketing & Communications Manager.
