Vincent Macq

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising RELX on the acquisition by its LexisNexis Legal & Professional division of Henchman, a legal tech start-up based in Ghent, Belgium which enriches data from document management systems (DMSs) for faster document drafting.  Acquiring Henchman will enable LexisNexis to offer personalised generative AI solutions to customers worldwide. The transaction is expected to close early in the second half of 2024 subject to customary regulatory consents. The Freshfields team was led by partners Vincent Macq and Ziyad Nassif, principal associate Sander Dullaert, and associate Ine Deblaere, with IP and AI-related advice provided by partner Giles Pratt and senior associate Zofia Aszendorf.

Jun 4

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields has acted as lead adviser to Liberty Global Ltd (“LG”) on the entry into definitive agreements with Vodafone Group Plc to acquire Vodafone’s 50% shareholding in the Dutch telecommunication joint venture, VodafoneZiggo. Under the terms of the agreements, Vodafone will receive € 1 bn in cash and a 10% shareholding in Ziggo Group, a new Benelux company that will hold LG’s interests in VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands and Telenet in Belgium and Luxembourg. The transaction will enable LG to fully unlock the value of its Benelux operating businesses for shareholders, supported by plans to list Ziggo Group in 2027 on Euronext in Amsterdam by spin off the 90% held by Liberty Global to its shareholders. The multijurisdictional cross-practice team was led by Partners Hanneke Rothbarth (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam) and Deborah Janssens (Corporate/M&A, Brussels), Counsel Marius Weyers (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam), Principal Associate Joachim De Vos (Corporate/M&A, Brussels), and Associates Anne Zwolsman (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam) and Sarah Wauthion (Corporate/M&A, Brussels). Tax advice was provided by Partner Bob Van Kasteren and Senior Associate Daan Van Schaik (both Amsterdam). The wider Freshfields team included Partners Alvaro Pliego Selie (Amsterdam), Sacha Schubert (Brussels), Tone Oeyen (Brussels), Principal Associate Björn Sijtsma (Brussels) and Associates Henri Putman (Brussels) and Veerle Peters (Amsterdam) for antitrust and regulatory advice. Partners Brechje Nollen (Amsterdam) and Satya Staes Polet (Brussels), and Associate Lotte Somers (Amsterdam) advised on the employment aspects. For commercial advice, Partner David Brooks (London), Counsel Tom Dye (London) and Associate Hannah Family (London). And for other corporate advice Partner Rhys Evans (London), Associates Riet Devriendt (Brussels) and Emma O’Keeffe (London).

Feb 20

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised the US technology group 3M on the spin-off of its healthcare division. The business is now listed on the NYSE under the name Solventum. The transaction involved the legal separation and reorganisation of the healthcare business with a turnover of US$8.2bn in over 90 jurisdictions. A large international Freshfields team as well as numerous law firms from our Stronger Together network, helped by the Freshfields Hub and the Freshfields Lab who provided tailored legal tech solutions were at play to achieve this tremendous result on time. The core team included: Partners: Barbara Keil, Elizabeth Oberholzer (both Global Lead, Corporate Law, Munich), Thomas Granetzny (Employment Law), Theresa Ehlen (IP/M&A, both Düsseldorf), Michael Ramb (Regulatory, Berlin), Christian Sistermann (Tax, Munich), Peter Niggemann (Antitrust, Düsseldorf), Gerrit Beckhaus (Real Estate, Hamburg/Berlin), Takeshi Nakao (Tokyo), Dirk-Jan Smit (Amsterdam), Miriam Pérez-Schafer (Madrid), Luigi Verga (Milan), Dr Farid Sigari-Majd (Vienna), Fares Al-Hejljalan (Riyadh), Vincent Macq (Brussels), Stephen Hewes (London; all Corporate Law) Counsels: Christine Laciak (Antitrust/Foreign Investments, Washington), Philipp Lehmann, Stefan Bajohr (Düsseldorf, both IP/M&A), Dr Martin Rehberg (Tax, Munich) Principal Associates: Katharina Reinhardt (Dispute Resolution, Berlin), Elisabeth Wulf (Corporate Law), Nina Gissinger (Real Estate Law, both Hamburg), Julian Siller (Tax, Munich), Sarah Rohmann (Employment Law, Düsseldorf) Associates: Julius Röck, Jan Postweiler, Philipp Schneider, Stefan Aust, Julius Raddatz (all Munich), William Björklund (Berlin; all Corporate Law), Benjamin Blum (Dispute Resolution, Frankfurt), Ilko Trenn (Tax), Julia Kilp (Employment Law, both Munich) Freshfields Lab: Gerrit Beckhaus (Co-Head Lab, Hamburg/Berlin), Lucas Treichl (Co-Head Lab, Vienna/Berlin), Blagoy Penchev (Lead Legal Solutions Engineer, Berlin), Marvin Hartmann (Legal Solutions Engineer, Düsseldorf) Transaction Lawyers/Paralegals: Lisa-Marie Woschniak (Munich), Chelsia Tai (Frankfurt), Vielka Hernandez Ceballos, Maria Konstantinou, Vitalii Ushakov (both Frankfurt), Ekaterina Chepurnaya (Munich)

Apr 8

1 min

Freshfields is maximising use of its contractual six-month notice period for non-U.S. partners who opt to leave the firm, in a shift away from its usual practice of allowing partners to leave after three months. Although the firm’s partnership contract allows it to require departing partners to observe a full six-month notice period, normal practice was to accept half that, according to two sources with knowledge of the firm. The firm has recently decided to use the full extent of its contractual power with certain senior partners as it faces a growing number of top level exits across Europe, the people said. One of the people said that it is the first time the full six months has been implemented. Lengthy notice periods are generally associated with U.K. and European headquartered law firms and can serve several purposes, including disincentivising departures and minimising their impact. Most of the time, partners are put on garden leave, which requires them to see out their notice away from work. Some firms have justified longer notice periods as a means to offset the sometimes destabilising effects of exits by smoothing succession planning and enabling the orderly transfer of mandates. Long notice periods can disrupt the departing partner’s client relationships, reducing the likelihood of the firm losing clients and market share. Last month, Law.com revealed that A&O Shearman was also implementing lengthier and less defined notice periods, with the potential to insist on a nine-month period, against a backdrop of a planned 10% reduction of its equity partner ranks among many other partner departures, which by January had closed in on 200. Freshfields too has faced departures, with several, many long-time, partners leaving for rivals. Among them is a four-partner Germany team that last month left for Latham & Watkins, led by the firm's former Continental European head Markus Paul, and his fellow private equity partner Carsten Haak, as well as Munich-based corporate partners Wessel Heukamp and Verena Nosch. Others have included Brussels antitrust partner Rafique Bachour, who before his exit to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was one of the firm’s global managing partners, and senior corporate partner in Spain Armando Albarran, who left last month to launch Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s Madrid office. Meanwhile, Cyril Valentin, the firm’s former Paris tax head, and veteran corporate partner Hervé Pisani, both left last month for White & Case. Over a similar period the firm hired Kirkland & Ellis partner Florian Sippel to its Munich office. In the U.S., where Freshfields is focusing much of its hiring attention, it has hired Nema Milaninia, a regulatory and investigations partner from King & Spalding, and Manish Kumar, a veteran of the Department of Justice. However, this month, the firm saw its head of the U.S. energy and infrastructure group and co-head of the firm’s Latin America practice, Melissa Raciti-Knapp, join Vinson & Elkins in New York. The notice period development adds to the perception of a growing divergence between Freshfield’s U.S. practice, into which it has invested a great deal, and its historical European hubs. In the U.S., employers are generally prohibited from using long notice periods, with most U.S. law firms utilizing 30 day periods or less. Freshfields declined to comment.

Feb 23

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has appointed Nathalie Colin as the new managing partner for Belgium. The appointment, effective since 1st September, will run for a three-year term. Colin succeeds Vincent Macq, who previously held this position for six years. Nathalie Colin joined Freshfields’ Brussels office with a team in 2020. She is a partner in the disputes, litigation and arbitration group advising Belgian and international corporate and private equity clients, as well as financial institutions on cross-border and domestic disputes, white collar crime and regulatory investigations. She will combine her new role as managing partner with her advisory work. Commenting on her appointment, Nathalie Colin says: “It is an honour to take on this responsibility from Vincent. I am thankful for the support from the partners and the trust put in me. We continue to pursue our contribution to the success of the firm and its commitment to diversity, ESG and digital transformation.” Markus Paul, Regional Managing Partner for Continental Europe at Freshfields: “I am very happy to see Nathalie take over from Vincent as managing partner in Brussels. We have a fantastic business in Belgium, and we all look forward to working with Nathalie in her new role. We are also very grateful to Vincent for his dedication and commitment to leading the Belgian business over the last years.” “It has been a privilege for me to lead the office over the past six years,” Vincent Macq comments. “Looking back, we can all be proud of what we have achieved together and of being part of such a strong and collaborative office.”

Sep 13

1 min