Luxembourg may be small in geographical terms (it measures only 2,586km² and is home to around 600,000 people), but its importance as a legal market is on the rise.

The country ranks alongside Switzerland as a favored location to carry out transactions and to structure estate planning, but it is also expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of Brexit.

Thierry (pictured below) says: “Having a presence in the Luxembourg market is something we’ve been exploring for a while, partly because of Brexit, but also because the country (along with the Netherlands) is one of the few strategic gaps on the Firm’s European map.

“Most of our competitors, apart from Latham & Watkins, have a presence in Luxembourg, so it made sense to consider how we cover that market.”

Our move into the Luxembourg market is being led from Belgium, where we recently established our Luxembourg Country Practice Group.

The Belgium team includes three new Luxembourg law experts (pictured below), Local Partners Vincent Naveaux and Christophe Balthazard, and Associate Alix van der Wielen, who have joined us from Allen & Overy and have relocated from Luxembourg to Brussels.

Thierry says: “The decision to start with a desk in Belgium was taken to allow us to evaluate the volume of local business available and business coming from the broader Firm into Luxembourg. “Starting in Belgium also comes with the benefit of a wider support network and promotes integration with the wider business. Currently, we’re in the process of training several of our Belgium-based lawyers in Luxembourg law and vice-versa, so they work as a single, flexible team.”

Despite being based outside the jurisdiction, the team is less than two hours by road from Luxembourg City, meaning face-to-face meetings can be easily arranged, even at short notice. But, admits Thierry, the Firm does still face a challenge when presenting the idea to clients.

He says: “Clients and rival law firms do have an initial reservation about whether we’re fully committed to Luxembourg, but we’re working hard to change that perception.

“Firstly, we have a very strong team with plenty of experience in the country and, secondly, one of the Firm’s strengths is our global network and ability to do cross-border work seamlessly.

“While we currently lack expertise on Funds, we are well placed to offer a broad range of other services, including Corporate, Private Equity, Litigation, Banking and Tax.

“It’s going to take time to build relationships, but I firmly believe that we’ll quickly prove ourselves in the market and erase any doubts anyone might have.”

We have a three-stage plan for Luxembourg, with the first stage being to capture Luxembourg-related business from across the Firm.

Based on the outcome of the first five months of the Luxembourg Country Practice, this has been calculated as in excess of $3 million a year, showing the level of existing demand.

“Stage two will see us evaluate the volume and value of business we can originate locally,” says Thierry.

“At that point, we’ll also decide if there are any missing capabilities we need to add to our team – can we be credible in the market without Funds capabilities for instance?”

This would happen ahead of any stage three, which could involve establishing an in-country presence.

Thierry concludes: “Being active in Luxembourg absolutely fits with our strategy to be a leading global law firm.

“It’s an increasingly important market and one that we need to consider in order to be credible in all major European markets; I’m excited to see it develop.”