International legal practice Osborne Clarke is strengthening its Data/IT and Financial Services practices in Brussels by welcoming Counsel Jean-Christophe Vercauteren.
Jean-Christophe is a FinTech and financial services expert with almost 10 years of experience. He has significant expertise in financial services and FinTech regulation, including payment, e-money, anti-money laundering and crypto-assets. Besides financial regulations, he has a strong background in IT and data law, including data protection, IT contracts, outsourcing and policies. He regularly assists national and international FinTechs, insurance companies and other financial service providers.
Jean-Christophe joins from Simont Braun and was an Associate at Osborne Clarke from 2017 to 2020. He is the author of several academic articles on the legal dimensions of regulating technologies used by insurance providers. He holds degrees from the Université Saint-Louis, the Université Catholique de Louvain and the Brussels School of Competition. Jean-Christophe has also worked as inhouse counsel at a major Belgian bank and on secondment at an innovative financial services provider in Belgium.
Benjamin Docquir, head of the Data/IP/IT practice in Belgium, said: "Jean-Christophe will help us support clients in the financial industry by improving our interdisciplinary data and regulatory expertise. We are also working on many digitalization projects in various sectors, where his regulatory knowledge will be a key asset. And with Jean-Christophe our clients will experience the same pragmatic and approachable culture together with a genuine interest for technology and digital assets. "
Osborne Clarke's international FinTech team is one of the most experienced legal teams working in this industry and is recognised by legal directories and commentators as market-leading. They advise, among others, clients who interact with the payments ecosystem at various touch points, from payment service providers to retailers, as well as start-ups and multinationals, regulated and non-regulated. Jean-Christophe's arrival will support the teams' presence across Europe. Osborne Clarke's head of International Payments, Paul Anning, commented: "We are delighted Jean-Christophe's arrival, adding much-needed specialist expertise in Brussels and completing our truly pan-European offering in the payments, crypto and FinTech space."
Founded in 2013, Osborne Clarke's Belgium office has 40 lawyers including 8 partners. The team of nationally and internationally recognised experts advise clients across the firm's key sectors technology, media and communications; life sciences and healthcare; energy and utilities; real estate and infrastructure; retail and consumer; financial services; transport and automotive and workforce solutions.
