Osborne Clarke strengthens its EU & Competition practice with the arrival of a new partner in Belgium

An expert in EU law with a focus on state aid, competition, merger control and trade, Steven Verschuur brings extensive experience in proceedings and investigations before the European Commission and the national competition authorities of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Steven has litigated large volume state aid cases in the Court of Justice of the EU and domestic courts, and is also a specialist across several of Osborne Clarke's key international sectors including retail and consumer, life science and healthcare and energy and utilities. He has been admitted to the Bars of Brussels and Amsterdam and he will work across both Belgian and Dutch offices of Osborne Clarke.

Thierry Viérin, Managing Partner in Belgium said: "Steven's arrival is a major milestone for our team as we continue to strengthen our international sector and service line specialisms. Having a dedicated EU and competition team in the Brussels office is a great asset for our clients, particularly multinationals, who need the sharpest minds advising on competition, merger control, state aid and trade."

Steven will be working closely with the two Co-heads of the international competition service line, Simon Neill and Thomas Funke, who are respectively based out of the UK and Germany.

Thomas Funke said: “In recent years we have built out our international competition practice with hires in Paris, Rome and Singapore as well as internal promotions in Germany and the UK. We are excited to enhance our service offering in Brussels and Amsterdam by welcoming Steven to our group.”

Osborne Clarke's international competition, antitrust and trade team has a pan-European footprint comprising 10 Partners and 30 fee-earners in total. They bring long-standing experience in defending clients’ international interests while delivering clear and pragmatic advice, tailored to their specific circumstance and sector.

Steven's appointment coincides with two internal promotions in Brussels; Johanna Van Herreweghen (Employment) and Olivier Lambillon (Tax) were both promoted to Counsel in January 2019. Johanna is a founding member of Osborne Clarke's Brussels team and Olivier joined the tax practice in 2016.