Dieter Beyens

Dieter Beyens is a junior associate of VVGB Lawyers.

His practice focuses on company law, including M&A, corporate finance and tax law.

Having achieved his degree cum laude as Master of Law at the University of Antwerp (UA) in 2007, he then enrolled in an additional Master programme in Intellectual Property at the University of Brussels (KUB).

He is a member of the Brussels Bar since 2008.

His native tongue is Dutch, and he is fluent in English and French.

Contact details:
Tel.: 32 2 542 0794
Fax: 32 2 534 5888

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Sigrid Byttebier

Ms. Byttebier is a junior associate at Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers.

Her practice focuses on company law, including M&A, corporate finance and tax law.

After obtaining her law degree cum laude at the University of Antwerp (2007), she completed post graduate studies at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) in International Politics. At the same time Ms. Byttebier performed an internship in a European consultancy firm at its EU headquarters. To gather more specific knowledge for her post graduate thesis on handling financial crises in South America she did also an  internship with the Delegation of the European Commission in Santiago (Chile). Prior to joining Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers in November 2009, Ms Byttebier worked briefly with a European lobby firm for small businesses in Brussels.

Ms Byttebier is fluent in Dutch, English, French and Spanish.

Contact details: sigrid.byttebier@vvgb-law.com

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Michael-James Clifton

Michael-James Clifton is a junior associate at Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers.

Mr. Clifton obtained his law degree in 2007 from the University of Leicester (LL.B. EU).  During his studies he spent one year at Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy and worked as a Judicial Intern Clerk at the Supreme Court of New York State. Subsequently he undertook the Master of Advanced Studies in European Business Law at Leiden University (LL.M. Adv.) graduating cum laude, the highest grade awarded in The Netherlands and, top of his class, Valedictorian.  He participated in the European Moot Court Competition with a team from Leiden and won the Best Written Pleadings Award.

He was graded Very Competent on the Bar Vocational Course at BPP Law School, London.  He has been awarded the JP Warner, Sir Thomas More and Hardwicke scholarships by Lincoln’s Inn, and has been published in the Public Procurement Law Review.  

His native language is English and additionally, he is fluent in Italian.

Contact Details
Tel.: 32 2 542 0780
Fax: 32 2 534 5888
E-mail: Michael-James.Clifton@vvgb-law.com

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Joris Cornelis

Joris Cornelis is an associate of VVGB Advocaten.

Mr. Cornelis’ practice focuses on EU and WTO Trade Law and EU Regulatory Law.

Mr. Cornelis obtained a law degree from the University of Leuven (KUL, 2000), a LLM degree
from the University of Kyushu (Japan, 2001) and a doctorate from the University of Hong Kong (SJD, 2005). Mr. Cornelis has been an intern at DG Trade
in the European Commission; has been a teaching assistant for the International Trade Law course at
the University of Hong Kong; and was the Academic Assistant for the 2005 WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for government officials in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr. Cornelis is a member of the Brussels Bar. Mr. Cornelis is fluent in English, Dutch and French.

Contact Details
Tel.: 32 2 542 0780
Fax: 32 2 534 5888
E-mail: joris.cornelis@vvgb-law.com

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Sofie Van Eetveldt

Sofie Van Eetveldt is an associate at Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers. Ms. Van Eetveldt's practice focuses on Corporate Law, Corporate and Commercial Litigation and Social Law.

Ms. Van Eetveldt graduated cum laude at the Law School of the University of Ghent (RUG, 2002). She also studied Business Economics at the University of Ghent and she is now enrolled in a special Corporate Law program at EHSAL (Brussels).

Ms. Van Eetveldt is a member of the Brussels Bar since 2004. Ms. Van Eetveldt performed her Bar stage focusing on Litigation, Corporate and Tax Law.

Her native tongue is Dutch. She is fluent in English and French and proficient in German.

Contact Details
E-mail: sofie.vaneetveldt@vvgb-law.com

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Chiara Galiffa

Chiara Galiffa is an Italy-licensed lawyer.  She is member of both the Italian Bar (Teramo) and the Brussels Bar. Her practice stretches from EC competition law to international trade law and EU regulatory matters. In the field of competition law, Ms. Galiffa has experience working on cartel cases, merger control proceedings and state aid cases. In addition, Ms. Galiffa has advised clients on regulatory issues such as the EU chemical legislation (biocides, REACH).

Prior to joining VVGB, Ms. Galiffa was an associate at the Brussels office of Squire Sanders & Dempsey. She also worked as independent legal adviser at WilmerHale in Brussels, advising on WTO law and EU regulatory matters. Her experience includes also working as an intern in the Trade Policy Department of the Permanent Mission of Italy to the WTO and at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ms. Galiffa graduated in law from Luiss “Guido Carli” University in Rome. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in EC Competition Law at King’s College London (merits), a Master degree in International Law and Economics (M.I.L.E.) from the World Trade Institute in Bern (summa cum laude) and an LLM in International Humanitarian Law from the University of Geneva. Ms. Galiffa is fluent in English and Italian and proficient in French and Spanish.

Contact Details
Tel.: 32 2 542 0780
Fax: 32 2 535 7575
E-mail: chiara.galiffa@vvgb-law.com

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Tananya Huyanan

Ms. Huyanan obtained a law degree from Thammasat University (Bangkok, 1995) and is currently a candidate for a master degree in International Economic Law and Policy LL.M (IELPO) at the Universitat de Barcelona. Ms Huyanan was one of the pioneers of the Legal Unit (Agreements & Compliance Unit), Bureau for Economic Integration and Finance of the ASEAN Secretariat based in Jakarta. 

She was responsible for legal research, analysis, drafting, advice and interpretation of ASEAN trade and economic related agreements generally with respect to ASEAN’s Economic Agreements, Dispute Settlement Mechanism, Intellectual Property and was in charge of the negotiations of the Working Group on Legal and Institutional Issues (WGLII) for the ASEAN-Japan CEP Agreement, ASEAN-India, ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand, ASEAN-China and ASEAN-Korea FTAs.

Prior to joining the Secretariat, she was an Attorney in the Intellectual Property Division of Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd., Bangkok. Ms Huyanan is a member of the Thai Bar Association and Law Society of Thailand. Her native language is Thai and she is fluent in English.

Contact Details
Tel.: 32 2 542 0780
Fax: 32 2 534 5888
E-mail: tananya.huyanan@vvgb-law.com

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Russell Murphy

Russell Murphy is a special senior advisor to VVGB Advocaten.

Mr. Murphy's practice focuses on International Trade Law, Corporate Law, Joint Ventures and Foreign Direct Investments and Ventures Capital Financings.

Mr. Murphy obtained a Juris Doctor degree and MBA from the University of Washington (1990), and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Washington (1982).  He is the author of several publications and teaches International Business Law for the Executive MBA program offered by Beijing Polytechnic University in Beijing.

Mr. Murphy is a member of the California Bar. His native language is English and he is fluent in spoken and written Chinese (Mandarin).

Contact Details
Tel.: 14258304367 or 8613552947988
E-mail: russell.b.murphy@gmail.com

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Ravi Soopramanien

Ravi Soopramanien is a junior associate at Vermulst Verhaeghe, Graafsma & Bronckers.

Mr. Soopramanien is a law graduate of King's College London (LL.B). He holds master’s degrees from the London School of Economics (LL.M) and the World Trade Institute in Berne, Switzerland (M.I.L.E), which he completed with distinction and summa cum laude, respectively.

After his studies, Mr. Soopramanien worked as a trade intern at the Washington, DC office of a major multinational law firm. Prior to joining Vermulst Verhaeghe, Graafsma & Bronckers, he worked as an independent legal consultant at the Brussels office of a major US law firm.

Mr. Soopramanien was called to the UK Bar at the Honorable Society of the Middle Temple in 2007. He is fluent in English and French.

Contact Details

Tel.: 32 2 542 0780
Fax: 32 2 534 5888
E-mail: ravi.soopramanien@vvgb-law.com

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Juhi Sud

Ms. Sud is an associate at Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers. Her practice focuses on EU and WTO trade law.

Juhi Sud obtained her LL.M. from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (summa cum laude) and LL.B. from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University. She holds a B.A. in History from St. Stephens College, Delhi. Ms. Sud is fluent in English, Hindi and French. Prior to joining Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers, Ms. Sud worked with the Belgian Ministry of External Affairs. She has also worked with an Indian law firm in New Delhi previously, and was mainly involved in intellectual property rights’ cases.

At her current position, she is actively involved in EU trade law proceedings as also advising clients on a number of international and EU trade law matters.

Ms. Sud is a member of the Brussels Bar and the Bar Council of Delhi.

Contact Details
Tel.: 32 2 542 0792
Fax: 32 2 534 5888
E-mail:juhi.sud@vvgb-law.com

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Filip Tack

Filip Tack is an associate at Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers. His practice focuses on EU and WTO trade law and EU regulatory law.

Mr. Tack obtained a Master of Arts in European Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies at the College of Europe (Poland, 2005) and graduated cum laude at the University of Leuven (KUL, 2003).

After his studies Mr. Tack was a legal intern in two programs. The first was in the European Patent Office
in Munich. Subsequently, he was assigned to the Office of the Prosecutor in the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Before joining Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers, Mr. Tack has been an Attaché in the Belgian Foreign Office - DG for European Affairs.  During this time he was actively involved in EU policy-making for priority dossiers. This involved co-ordination with the Belgian Permanent Representation, the bilateral Embassies in the EU member states and various sector departments.

In his current position he participates in WTO and EU trade and competition law proceedings. He also advises clients on a number of international trade and EU regulatory law matters.

Mr. Tack is a member of the Brussels Bar. He is fluent in English, Dutch and French. 


Contact Details
Tel.: 32 2 542 0790
Fax: 32 2 534 5888
E-mail: filip.tack@vvgb-law.com

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Charlotte Van Haute

Ms Van Haute obtained her law degree in 2008 at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven  (cum laude). During her studies, Ms Van Haute studied one year in Montpellier (France)  (magna cum laude). She participated in the ELSA Moot court competition on WTO law with a team from Leuven; her team won the European round in Hungary and became third best in the world in Geneva.

She then enrolled in an LLM program at the University of Barcelona focusing on international economic law and policy (IELPO).

She was an intern for the anti-trust department of Clifford Chance (Paris) and for Simmons&Simmons (Brussels).

Her native tongue is Dutch and she is fluent in French and English.

Contact Details
Tel.: 32 2 542 0780
Fax: 32 2 534 5888
E-mail: charlotte.vanhaute@vvgb-law.com

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