Member Profiles

ADMISSION Brussels Bar, 1986 EDUCATION Law degree, KULeuven LANGUAGES Dutch, French, English REFERENCES • Assistant lecturer at the University of Leuven (KUL): The sources of the law, The law of property and securities • PRACTICE AREAS : • Debt Recovery, Commercial Law, Litigation and Arbitration

Cédric Alter (born 1972) graduated from the Brussels University School of Law in June 1995 (Lic. Juris, graduated magna cum laude, ULB, 1995). Prior to joining Janson Baugniet as Partner as of 1 September 2007, Mr Alter was Special European Counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Brussels office (2005-2007), and an associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (2002-2005) and Stibbe (1996-2002). Mr Alter has gained significant experience of business law and contract law working for both Belgian and foreign clients. He also regularly acts in judicial and arbitration proceedings (as counsel or arbitrator), and is a member of the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPANI and CCI). Mr Alter was an assistant professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in the field of civil obligations and contract law from 1998 to 2012. In 2012 he became a professor of business law at the Solvay Brussels School of Economic and Management of ULB. He is the author or co-author of numerous publications in the field of contract law, as well as in banking law, insolvency and securities and guarantees. In 2010 he wrote a book on general banking law and recently co-author several books on the Belgian Business Continuity Act (Belgian equivalent of the US Chapter 11 procedure) with Alain Zenner and Jean-Philippe Lebeau. Chambers & Partners 2013 commented: "Clients say that Cédric Alter of Janson Baugniet 'picks up on the technicalities, understands the nuances of the process, and works well with local counsel'. He represented Oxycure in litigation with competitors up to the Supreme Court." Chambers Global Guide 2014 stated: "Cédric Alter is a growing presence in the field of dispute resolution and has recently handled litigation and arbitration matters in Belgium and abroad; he acts as both counsel and arbitrator." Legal 500 (2013) recommends Cédric Alter in banking and finance, dispute resolution, insolvency and restructuring. Mr Alter's working languages are French and English.

Joost Peeters has a very broad spectrum of expertise. He is specialised in debt collection, insurance law, company law (legal assistance in various takeovers and share transfers), business law, (commercial) tenancy law, contract law, and traffic law. He is liquidator in bankruptcy proceedings and he assist companies that are in difficulties (mainly in cases governed by the Belgian Continuity of Enterprises Act). The experience and full service of Joost Peeters through his office STUDIO | LEGALE ADVOCATEN has been noted and acknowledged by the EUROCOLLECTNET network. After going through a very thorough and intensive selection procedure, Joost Peeters became the exclusive member as from 2017. Furthermore, Joost Peeters is the exclusive member for Belgium of the IR GLOBAL network considering debt & asset recovery, insurance law and data privacy & security.

Alain Strowel is a member of the Brussels Bar Association since 1988 and a Senior Partner, member of the Intellectual Property & IT law department, at Pierstone Brussels. He is also a Professor at University Saint-Louis – Brussels since 1993 and at UCLouvain since 2013. Alain is a native French speaker and is fluent in English, German and Dutch. Professional experience: As avocat at the Brussels bar since 1988, Alain provides legal advice, drafts contracts and litigates in intellectual property, technology and media law matters. From 2001 to 2014, he was of Counsel with a U.S. leading firm, Covington & Burling LLP. During his years at Covington, he closely followed the European legal developments in IP/IT law and advised several major clients in the tech and software industry on law reforms throughout Europe. Prior to Covington, Alain worked as counsel in the IP department of NautaDutilh (1996-2001). As sole practitioner (2014-2020), he focused on legal advice and worked jointly with other law firms for litigation matters. In 2020, he joined Pierstone Brussels as Senior Partner. His practice focuses on digital copyright and tech law. Academic experience: Alain is professor at UCLouvain and at University Saint-Louis – Brussels, where he teaches several courses in intellectual property, tech and media law. He also gives courses in two advanced masters in IP and IT law at the KULeuven and at the Munich IP Law Center. Since the 1990s, he has conducted several studies for the European institutions in the field of intellectual property and the digital economy. He is an arbiter for the domain names dispute resolution system run by the WIPO and the CEPANI. He has been appointed as a trustee of the European Law Academy (ERA, Trier, 2012-2019) and was elected to the Academia Europaea in 2012. Since 2019, he chairs the Intellectual Property working group of All European Academies (ALLEA) to which he contributed since 2012. Today his research focuses on the regulation and governance of data, artificial intelligence and online platforms. Education: Alain graduated in law, economics and philosophy at the UCLouvain and the University of Amsterdam. He holds a PhD in Law from UCLouvain. Publications: He has authored more than 250 articles and a few books including : Droit des médias et de la communication (with F. Jongen & E. Cruysmans, Larcier, 2017, 896 p.) ;Quand Google défie le droit (De Boeck-Larcier, 2011, 238 p.) ;Droit d’auteur et copyright, Convergences et divergences (Bruylant and L.G.D.J., 1993). He has directed several collections of essays including: Des voitures autonomes à l’intelligence artificielle. Entre droit, politique et éthique (with C. Lazaro), 2020, 258 p ;Les droits intellectuels, entre autres droits. Intersections, interactions et interrogations (with Cabay), Larcier, 2019, 304 p. ;Net Neutrality in Europe – La neutralité de l’Internet en Europe, Bruylant, 2013, 178 p.;Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and Secondary Liability in Copyright Law, Edward Elgar, 2009;Of Authors and Origins (with B. Sherman), Cambridge UP, 1991.

Chris Van Olmen is co-founder of the law firm Van Olmen & Wynant and head of the employment law practice. He is also co-founder and managing partner of L&E Global, an integrated alliance of premier employment law boutique firms. Chris covers all aspects of employment and industrial relations, including employment-related issues connected to reorganisation and restructuring processes, collective dismissals and closures and individual and collective employment disputes, including litigation for the Belgian Labour Courts. His clients include national and international companies and top executives. Chris is a reguar speaker or moderator at national and international seminars and conferences. His recent publications include: "International Labour and Employment Compliance Handbook" (Wolters Kluwer 2023);  the Belgian Chapter in "Employment Law Review” (Law Business Research 2023);  “The On Demand Economy”, Report of the IBA Global Employment Institute, 2019;  "Le lien de subordination à l’épreuve de l’ubérisation de l’économie ?", Wolters Kluwer / Chr. D.S. – Soc. Kron., 2016, 07. Chris is listed as a leading individual in The Legal 500 (2023), in Chambers Europe (2023) and named as "Employment Lawyer of the Year, Belgium" in Best Lawyers (2023). The Legal 500 includes Chris in its “Hall of Fame” (2023). Who's Who Legal mentions Chris as one of the 3 "Global Elite Thought Leader" of Belgium in their WWL Thought Leaders Labour & Employment (2023). Since 1999 he has been lecturing on social law in the traineeship programme organised by the Brussels Bar. He also served as a member of the Brussels Bar Council and is Board Member of the “Association for Social Law”. Chris Van Olmen is past Chair of the Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee and past Chair of the Global Employment Institute of the IBA (International Bar Association). He currently is a member of the Advisory Board of the IBA GEI.  Chris is also a member of EELA (European Employment Lawyers Association) and of the American Bar Association (Labour and Employment Law Section).