Strengthening internal communication at contrast

We believe that strong internal communication makes a real difference for our people.

That’s why Evi Noël, paralegal-counsel and internal communications manager at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭, recently completed an in-depth five-day training programme in internal communications, further broadening her expertise in this field.

It’s a conscious investment in clearer communication, stronger alignment and more transparency across the firm, because a well-informed team is a stronger team.

#internalcommunication #continuouslearning #contrasttalent #contrastlaw

M&A Survey in full swing

It has been a busy and inspiring week around our M&A Survey.

Last Friday, we were pleased to welcome a strong turnout to our first online M&A Survey lunch bite, including contributors who could not join us at the live event. During the session, Bart Bellen, together with Kristof De Wael, Maarten Cnudde and Marthe Wouters, guided participants through they key results of the 6th edition of our Survey.

Today, Marthe Wouters and Kristof De Wael continued the momentum during a seminar at NCOI, where they shared insights on the current M&A landscape.

A sincere thank you to all those who contributed to the Survey and participated in these events.

Feel free to reach out to our team if you have any questions or would like to stay informed of further updates on the M&A Survey: survey@contrast.law

#MandASurvey #corporatelaw #MandA #MNA #continuouslearning #meetcontrast

This year we're a little extra... festive!

We celebrate the 20th anniversary of 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 with lots of activities for our clients, peers, team and... alumni.

Over the past 20 years, we have worked together with many wonderful people, each of whom has played a significant part in the 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 story.

An alumni event felt like the perfect occasion to reconnect with former colleagues to celebrate that journey together. Last Thursday, we invited them to raise a glass together in our beautiful garden.

We thank all alumni who joined us for this special occasion. We hope you enjoyed the sunny weather, the delicious food and the many conversations.

Follow #20yearscontrast on LinkedIn to stay updated on all our anniversary activities. There is more to come! 😉

#lawfirm #alumni #20yearscontrast #goodvibes

Cartel damages: proving harm is harder than it seems

In a recent article published in SEW, our partner Sebastien Engelen and senior associate Lise Ryckaert analyse the Brussels Court of Appeal’s judgment of 18 November 2024 on the European Commission’s damages claim following the 2007 Elevators cartel decision.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲? Even where a cartel infringement is established, claimants still face a high evidentiary burden to prove actual harm and causation. In this case, despite a confirmed infringement, the Commission’s claim ultimately failed due to lack of concrete evidence of harm and causation.

Interestingly, by contrast more recent case law (Ghent Court of Appeal, Trucks cartel, 15 September 2025) points to a more pragmatic approach, with Belgian courts increasingly willing to estimate damages where precise proof is difficult.

This analysis highlights the growing importance of the EU Damages Directive (including, among other things, the presumption of harm and enhanced access to evidence), as well as the decisive role of judicial assessment in cartel damages claims.

👉 You can read the full analysis here.

Feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss further or have any questions.

#competitionlaw #EUlaw #carteldamages #legalinsights #contrastpublications

In the Picture - Tech on fast forward. Rules for tech licence agreements (mostly) on repeat

𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 ... 💭

It is Monday morning after your well-deserved holiday. You take a coffee and start reviewing your inbox.

You have a mail from your Chief Business Development Officer informing you that she identified a potential licensee for the secret recipe of your company’s chocolate spread. She booked a meeting at 10 am to cover the main dos & don’ts when negotiating the terms of the licence.

Just before you went on holiday, management decided that the company will in addition to producing its own chocolate spread, also license its secret recipe out to a few selected others.

Your CBDO already included some initial questions in her e-mail:
• “Will we be able to protect our recipe?”
• “Can we prevent our licensees from selling everywhere?”
• “Can we limit how much they produce?”
• “What about prices?”
• “And customers?”

You pause. You know that not only IP, but also competition law matters here. You remember that there is an EU competition law framework for technology licence agreements; something called the TTBER? Would that be applicable?

Your AI researcher confirms and adds that a brand new TTBER entered into force on 1 May 2026.

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞? Read our latest #inthepicture ‘Tech on fast forward. Rules for tech licence agreements (mostly) on repeat’ here, or contact our competition partner Herlinde Burez.

#competitionlaw #TTBER #EUlaw #IPlaw #contrastpublications

M&A anno 2026

On 4 June, our colleagues Kristof De Wael, corporate counsel, and Marthe Wouters, corporate paralegal, will be speaking at ‘𝐌&𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔’ organised by M&D Seminars.

This full-day seminar brings together legal professionals for a practical update on the latest developments in M&A.

During their session, Kristof and Marthe will share insights on current M&A trends, based on the key findings from our 6th M&A Survey.

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠? You can find more information here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

#MandASurvey #corporatelaw #MandA #MNA #continuouslearning #meetcontrast

Guest lecture on merger control

Last Friday, our counsel Laura Sente and senior associate Michèle de Clerck gave a guest lecture at the Law Faculty of the University of Brussels, where our partner Filip Tuytschaever teaches EU competition law. They discussed the core principles of merger control, drawing on practical scenarios and examples.

Thanks to the students for their active participation!

Friendly reminder that the 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 winter internship applications for 2027 are open! Are you free in January 2027 and eager to gain hands-on experience? Apply now via our website 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMf9UdXp

#EUlaw #guestlecture #vub #lawstudents #EU #contraststudentcorner #contrasttalent

The Belgian FPS Economy issues a FAQ on unfair trading practices (UTP) in the agricultural and food supply chain

The UTP rules are designed to protect suppliers of agricultural and food products against unfair commercial practices by buyers. This FAQ provides guidance, notably on the scope of application of the rules and the list of prohibited practices in supplier–buyer relationships.

Its publication confirms the ongoing enforcement focus of the FPS Economy on fair trading practices in the agri-food sector. Companies active in the agri-food supply chain would be well advised to review their contractual arrangements and commercial practices in light of these rules and the FAQ.

👉 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: the guidelines are available in French and Dutch on the FPS Economy website.

• The French version: https://lnkd.in/ehDwXh6a
• The Dutch version: https://lnkd.in/eMHdtUkq

👉 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Feel free to reach out to our commercial team or your usual contact person at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭.

#commerciallaw #UTP #unfairtradingpractices #agrifoodlaw #contrastupdate

No-poach agreements are not automatically 'by object' restriction of competition

In its preliminary ruling of 30 April 2026 in the 𝐂𝐃 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) reiterated that a by object qualification is never automatic or presumed. It must be interpreted strictly and assessed on the basis of (i) the content of the agreement, decision or practice, (ii) the economic and legal context and (iii) the objectives pursued.

The case concerned a temporary no-poach commitment between Portuguese professional football clubs in 2020. While the ECJ acknowledged that such an arrangement constitutes a manifest restriction of a key competitive parameter, namely the recruitment of players, and may also have an indirect impact on remuneration, it also made one thing very clear: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

Here, the COVID-19 context and the objective of ensuring a fair conclusion of the suspended competition are emphasised by the ECJ. The suspension of the ongoing competition created a risk that clubs would lose end of contract players before the season could be completed to the detriment of fair competition. The ECJ therefore gave strong guidance to the referring Portuguese court arguing against a by object qualification in the present circumstances.

In case of a by effect qualification, the ECJ reiterated that the pursuit of legitimate objectives may, in certain circumstances, outweigh restrictive effects.

The judgment also contains an important reminder on the broad understanding of what may constitute a decision of an association of undertakings. Although the no-poach concerned an agreement between clubs, the presence of the association’s president in the public announcement was sufficient for that characterisation.

𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬:

1. No-poach agreements remain high-risk.
2. By object infringements are never automatic or presumed.
3. Associations should be careful: even a small role may have large consequences.

💬 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Feel free to reach out to our competition team or your usual contact person at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭.

#EUlaw #CJEU #ECJ #competitionlaw #sportslaw #Tondela #contrastupdate

6th M&A Survey | +20 years of research | key findings unveiled

𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐌&𝐀 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 | +𝟐𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 | 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝

Last Friday, Bart Bellen, Kristof De Wael, Maarten Cnudde and Marthe Wouters gave an exclusive sneak preview of key findings of the sixth M&A Survey to our contributors.

Thanks to the support of more than 100 investment companies, financial services firms, law firms and Private Capital Belgium, this is the most extensive M&A Survey to date, covering more than 500 deals signed in the period 2020-2025 and a total deal value of more than 28 billion euros.

This sixth edition marks an important milestone: the M&A Survey now covers more than 20 years of data and research (2004-2025), allowing us to identify key evolutions and long-term trends in the Belgian M&A market.

The M&A Survey results were put into perspective in an interactive debate with a panel of experts consisting of Jan Alexander, Tom Van de Meirssche and Arthur Molijn.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the M&A Survey. A special word of thanks goes out to our panel for sharing their expertise and views on the market. 

The full results of the M&A Survey will be made publicly available in due course. Stay tuned for more news and feel free to reach out to our corporate and M&A team in the meantime!

Check out our aftermovie on our LinkedIn.

#MandASurvey #corporatelaw #MandA #MNA #contrastpublications #20yearscontrast