Fried Frank develops in Europe with new Brussels office

Fried Frank develops in Europe with new Brussels office

A Wall Street firm is the latest US law firm to open a legal practice in the EU regulatory hub after Brexit

With the addition of an office launch in Brussels, New York based firm, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson now has its fifth office to its network.

In Brussels' EU district, the office at Kunstlaan, Avenue des Arts will be a hub for the members based in London and Frankfurt from the firm's EU/London competition and trade practice group headed by Tobias Caspary.

According to the firm, Caspary will divide his time between the London and Brussels offices, while antitrust, competition and international trade associate Neda Moussavi will take up permanent residence in London to operate the new office.

Fried Frank is the latest of a succession of US law firms to establish an office in Brussels besides their offices in London. It remains Europe's legal capital but has become diametrically isolated from the EU since Brexit.

Among the major law firms moving to Brussels in 2021 were Kirkland & Ellis, Simpson Thacher and Curtis, with Reed Smith who established shop there in 2020.

In the EU merger control proceedings, Fried Frank said that the office would serve as the primary point of contact with London. He further mentioned that the move 'capitalised' on its existing presence in the main financial and regulatory centres of New York, Washington DC, London and Frankfurt.

Fried Frank's chairman, David J. Greenwald, said that this development progresses the firm's strategy of expanding its European presence while ensuring our European offering that maintains the firm's core strengths in the US.

Barry A. Nigro, Jr. re-joined Fried Frank's competition team in November 2021 to lead its global antitrust and competition department. Previously he has served as deputy assistant attorney general and principal deputy assistant attorney general for the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.

According to him, Brussels is a fundamental centre for antitrust and competition activity worldwide. "Moving forward, our presence will enable us to offer leading corporate players in the market, top-tier strategic counsel and international coverage of multifaceted global dealings.

The recent highlights consist of advising Aleris Corporation on the 20-month multijurisdictional antitrust review of its US$2.8bn acquisition by Novelis, which ended productively in April 2020.