Family Evening at contrast

Last week, we hosted our annual Family Evening at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭, welcoming the family, friends, and partners of our newest colleagues.

From a cosy reception and introductory presentation to a delicious buffet and a behind‑the‑scenes tour of our building, our guests got a real taste of daily life at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭.

A big thank‑you to everyone who joined us. Always a joy to meet the loved ones behind our team.

#familyevening #teamspirit #lawfirmlife #contrastvibes #20yearsofcontrast

Guest lecture on litigation and arbitration at UCLL

Today, our colleagues Benjamin Magnus, Lise Ryckaert, Cathy Van den Branden and Marthe Wouters gave a ‘litigation & arbitration’ guest lecture to second-year law practice students at UCLL.

Benjamin and Lise guided them through the world of litigation and arbitration, while Cathy and Marthe highlighted the crucial role paralegals play in this process.

A big thank you to Ellen Schiepers and Manou Eyskens for inviting us once again. We have been giving guest lectures at UCLL for several years now, and it is always a pleasure, especially for our paralegals, to return to their campus and share their legal expertise with the next generation.

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥? Feel free to explore our career and internship opportunities here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_RYkM_d

#guestlecture #litigation #arbitration #law #paralegals #UCLL #contrastoncampus

Ranked in Chambers & Partners Global 2026

𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 💝

Our expertise has once again been recognised in the Chambers & Partners Global 2026 rankings.

A heartfelt thank you to our clients and peers for their trust, and to our team for their commitment.

👉 Check out the visual below for a glimpse of what others say about our lawyers, or visit our website for more.

#chambersandpartners #legalranking #lawyers #contrasttalent

Knipperlichten 2026 - handelsrecht in de spotlight

𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞 – 𝐮𝐰 𝐣𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐣𝐤𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞💡

Op donderdag 5 maart organiseert 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 connects het 15e Knipperlichten seminarie waarbij de meest recente evoluties in het mededingingsrecht, vennootschapsrecht, handelsrecht en het bijzonder contractenrecht worden toegelicht.

𝐈𝐧 𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐭
Onze 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧 zetten voor u de belangrijkste ontwikkelingen in het handelsrecht uiteen.
👇 Ontdek in de visuals de sprekers en hun topics.

𝐌𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐭!
Schrijf u vandaag nog in via volgend formulier.

· Zo blijft u mee met de juridische en economische tendensen die uw praktijk in 2026 en de komende jaren zullen bepalen.
· Deelname levert 𝟓 𝐎𝐕𝐁/𝐈𝐁𝐉-𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧 op (aangevraagd).
· Uw inschrijvingsgeld gaat integraal naar KickCancer.

#legalseminars #commerciallaw #contrastconnects #20yearscontrast

contrast supports Bûûmplanters

At 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭, we’re committed to our community, our environment, and the future we help build.

That’s why we’re donating all authors’ royalties from our book Bos door de Bomen – Mededingingsrecht to 𝐁ûû𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, a local organisation planting trees across Flanders and Brussels together with volunteers and neighbourhood partners.

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰?
• In 2024–2025, Bûûmplanters planted over 𝟓𝟖,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 across 𝟐𝟖𝟎+ 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
• Their mission: boost biodiversity, green our cities, and bring people together.

We’re proud to support their growing impact.

𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟? Visit their website.

#ESG #communityimpact #sustainability #duurzaamondernemen #contrastcares

Welcome back Alixe!

Our former summer intern, Alixe, has rejoined 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 for an academic internship. In the next month, she will support our competition team in various research projects and casework.

We are very happy to have her back on the team and wish her the best of luck!

𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩? We currently have a unique opportunity in our commercial team for a summer intern in July or September. Apply now 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_QR3aKw

#lawfirm #legalinternship #academicinternship #legalcareers #lawstudents #contrasttalent

Annabelle takes the oath!

We are happy to share that our junior competition and EU lawyer, Annabelle Kokkelmans, officially took the oath at the Brussels Bar on Monday. This marks an important moment in every legal career.

She was joined by her 𝘮𝘢î𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, our competition partner Sebastien Engelen, who proudly supported her on this special day. 🎉

We warmly congratulate her on this achievement and look forward to supporting her as she continues her journey with us.

#lawfirm #lawyers #welcome #contrasttalent

Knipperlichten 2026 - vennootschapsrecht in de spotlight

𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞 – 𝐮𝐰 𝐣𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐣𝐤𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 💡

Op donderdag 5 maart organiseert 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 connects het 15e Knipperlichten seminarie waarbij de meest recente evoluties in het ondernemingsrecht worden toegelicht.

𝐈𝐧 𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐭
𝐎𝐧𝐳𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧 lichten u de belangrijkste ontwikkelingen in het vennootschapsrecht toe.
👇 Ontdek in de visuals de sprekers en hun topics.

𝐌𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐭!
Schrijf u vandaag nog in via deze link.

· Zo blijft u mee met de juridische en economische tendensen die uw praktijk in 2026 en de komende jaren zullen bepalen.
· Deelname levert 𝟓 𝐎𝐕𝐁/𝐈𝐁𝐉‑𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧 op (aangevraagd).
· Uw inschrijvingsgeld gaat integraal naar KickCancer.

#legalseminars #EUlaw #competitionlaw #antitrust #distributionlaw #contrastconnects #20yearscontrast

Eurofield: Commission imposes €172 000 fine for incomplete response to RFI by decision

The European Commission fined Eurofield and its parent company Unanime Sport for submitting an incomplete reply to a request for information (RFI) by decision in the context of an antitrust investigation in the synthetic turf sector.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?
Fines for incomplete responses can be imposed in all antitrust proceedings as well as in proceedings under the merger regulation, the digital markets act and the foreign subsidies regulation. Competition authorities of all EU Member States have the same power pursuant to the ECN+ Directive.

Notwithstanding this, it is the first time that the Commission has fined a company for providing incomplete information in an antitrust investigation. So far, the Commission has fined companies only for having supplied incorrect or misleading information, and this in the context of merger control proceedings, most recently in Merck/Sigma-Aldrich.

𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫?
The decision confirms that procedural fines are not limited to intentional infringements. The incomplete response appears to have been unintentional, yet negligent, because hiding the documents made no sense: the Commission already knew about them from the dawn raid at Eurofield and from Eurofield’s reply to the RFI by decision.

Eurofield’s defence that the omissions were the result of human error, was rejected. The Commission had given various opportunities to Eurofield to remedy the issue: Eurofield had been warned that its earlier reply was incomplete, had been told that the RFI covered text messages and e-mails, and had not sought clarification despite repeated offers from the Commission to discuss any uncertainties.

The Commission’s message is clear: better safe than sorry! Companies must exercise the utmost diligence when responding to RFIs to ensure that it is correct, complete and submitted on time. In case of questions or doubts, companies should reach out to the Commission.

🔗 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨? You can read the Commission’s decision here: https://lnkd.in/ecBtCiG5.

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

#CompetitionLaw #EuropeanCommission #Regulation12003 #ProceduralCompliance #contrastupdate

Welcome Ben!

We are happy to welcome Ben Windey to our 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 team. Ben joins us as a winter intern throughout February, strengthening our corporate and M&A team.

We wish him the best of luck and we hope this month proves to be an inspiring learning experience! 👏

#legalinternship #lawstudent #careergrowth #studentcorner #contrastlaw #thecontrastisclear