AKD expands tax practice with recruitment of Werner Heyvaert
Werner Heyvaert has joined AKD’s Belgian and international tax practice as a partner.
Heyvaert is one of the leading tax lawyers on international tax law in Belgium, and has more than thirty years of experience advising multinationals on tax issues. He also litigates in tax disputes, and was heard as an expert by the TAXE committee of the European Parliament on LuxLeaks.
Huub Laauwen, chairman of AKD’s tax practice: “We are delighted that Werner has joined our firm to reinforce our Belgian and certainly also our international tax practice. Together with our Dutch and Luxembourg tax practice, our firm now positions itself as a true Benelux service provider in terms of tax services. Corporate income tax related to institutions or transactions, tax aspects of a merger or takeover, tax issues in restructuring transactions: Werner has an impressive track record in all these areas. Clients confirm this reputation given his excellent rankings in Chambers and The Legal 500”.
Prior to joining AKD, Werner Heyvaert was partner at JonesDay, Stibbe and NautaDutilh in Brussels. “His network and experience make a real contribution to our existing team in Brussels”, says Pieter Kuypers, chairman of AKD’s Brussels office. “We expanded our existing EU and competition law practice in Brussels at the beginning of this year by the Brussels team of US law firm McGuireWoods, and we can now advise our clients under Dutch, Luxembourg and Belgian law on areas including corporate and M&A, real estate, IP, ICT, data privacy & security, and commercial litigation. Werner’s arrival means we can now add Belgian and international tax law, fully in line with our full-service Benelux focus.”
Heyvaert commented: “I really look forward to expanding AKD’s international tax practice further, together with my new colleagues, both in the Netherlands, Belgium and in Luxembourg. AKD clearly is a law firm that’s in motion – just think about its expansion in Brussels. I want to contribute my extensive experience and to further strengthen the firm’s solid basis for the future”.