Commercial law

Businesses make commercial agreements every day: new deals and initiatives are part of commercial life.

Our team delivers a legal framework which balances your business needs and opportunities with regulations and risks. We are specialists in drafting and negotiating from a legal perspective, but first understand what is important for your business.

In drafting agreements, leading you through difficult negotiations or handling contract terminations, we always ensure your interests are fully protected.

We advise in a wide variety of sectors and assist with complex cross-border arrangements and day-to-day contracts, ranging from sales and supply agreements to partnership and co-operation agreements. We assist in mitigating commercial risk by advising on contract standards, general conditions and the overall contracting process.

Our clients benefit from our regular in-house seminars on commercial topics, together with our e-zines and webinars.

Lydian’s team supports clients in all aspects of setting up and managing their distribution networks, including:

• choice of structure (distribution, agency, franchising);
• establishing / restructuring the network;
• drafting contracts;
• daily management;
• negotiating terminations;
• litigation, when unavoidable.

When needed, we work with our tax colleagues to optimise the tax implications of the chosen structure. We use our expertise and market knowledge to deliver straight to-the-point solutions that add true value.

The EU has introduced an extensive regulatory framework on products safety, including the labelling of foodstuffs, pharmaceutical or electronica products. These rules aim at ensuring a high level of safety, health and welfare and plant health within the EU, but entail significant burdens for the manufactures, producers and distributors concerned. The increasing complexity and wide scope of the regulatory regimes consequently often requires the know-how of experienced legal professionals.

We help our clients to address the legal challenges in areas ranging from rules hygiene to biosecurity. Our team provides timely, proactive, creative yet practical advice and solutions to clients. With extensive experience and commitment in the different regulatory fields, Lydian is a reliable partner, adding value to our clients’ businesses.

Lydian’s highly respected insurance team assists reinsurers, insurers and insurance intermediaries on regulatory issues and their discussions with the Belgian insurance regulator. Our team advises on matters such as:

• licensing;
• regulation;
• freedom of establishment and services;
• sanctions on insurers, reinsurers and brokers / shareholders.

We regularly act on instructions from foreign law firms in advising their clients on regulatory issues or on assisting them in their contacts with the Belgian insurance regulator, frequently on a no names basis.

Liability is one of the main areas of practice of our Commercial & Litigation Department.

In handling product liability cases, we always focus on rigorous risk prevention rather than having to deal with disputes. We have represented clients in product liability claims in areas such as consumer goods, industrial goods, (consumer) electronics, life sciences, food and automotive. We assist clients in product recall operations. Very often we act in these cases upon instruction from, or in close cooperation with, product liability insurers.

Our Professional Liability Practice encompasses cases where we act for professionals such as bankers, lawyers, brokers, architects, accountants, tax advisers, consultants, engineers and advisors. In determining a litigation strategy, we balance the insurance implications with the potential reputational risk for our client if the case is tried in public.

 Lydian has been involved in the most high profile Belgian professional indemnity cases of recent years and we draw on that experience in advising new and existing clients.

The proprietary information that makes our clients’ goods or services unique, the employees that drive their success, and the customer relationships that every business works so hard to win and maintain, are key assets. It is therefore paramount to protect and secure relationships with employees, service providers and customers against any unfair competition or market practices. Our team’s experience enables us to advise on effective contractual arrangements and internal policies to secure your business investment. We are equally ready to intervene efficiently when your business is threatened, or is at risk, through injunction proceedings. Lydian also has broad experience in areas such as advertising, labelling and consumer protection, including lotteries and gambling. We are particularly expert in consumer protection and unfair market practice in the insurance industry, which resulted in a book on this subject in both French and Dutch edited by Kluwer.