The Brussels office of international law firm Simmons & Simmons welcomes Stefan Nerinckx as a partner to head the employment law department. He joins the firm alongside his team, consisting of supervising associate Antoine Grégoire and associate Jeroen Verbeken. This strategic appointment brings the total number of partners in Belgium to nine and reflects the office’s ambition to strengthen its position in a highly competitive market.
On a global scale, Simmons & Simmons’ employment practice continues to grow, following the addition of three partners in the Hong Kong, London, and Dublin offices over the past 12 months. The team now includes 28 partners across our network. The practice was also recently recognised as one of the world’s leading employment law practices by International Employment Lawyer.
Stefan advises companies, senior executives, and board members on complex and strategic matters relating to employment law, social security, and immigration as they pertain to human resources.
He advises his clients on a wide range of topics, including international mobility, employment contracts, dismissals, international employment, non-competition clauses, privacy protection at work, employee status and flexibility at work. He is also experienced in negotiating remuneration packages and fringe benefits, conducting social audits, and managing social inspections.
Stefan further advises on HR aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and supports companies through collective redundancies, restructurings, business transfers, collective disputes, strikes, and lock-outs.
Stefan Nerinckx said: "We are delighted to be joining Simmons, a firm renowned for its standalone employment law practice and recognised for its top-tier expertise. Its market positioning and the strength of its network are perfectly suited to the expectations of our predominantly international clientele."
Laurence Renard, Partner in charge of the Global Employment practice, adds: " Welcoming a lawyer as highly regarded as Stefan represents a strategic milestone in the development of our department. Stefan’s expertise is a tremendous asset, not only in bolstering our Brussels team but also in boosting the international expansion of our employment law practice.”
Stefan Nerinckx is a visiting professor at the Collège Universitaire de Bruxelles (Odisee/KUL). He is also co-editor of a Kluwer legal journal and is regularly invited to speak on employment law issues at conferences. His expertise is recognised by leading international legal guides: he is ranked as a leading individual by Chambers and has been included in the Legal 500 EMEA Hall of Fame for employment law in Belgium. In 2021 and 2022, he received the Corporate Counsel Client Choice Award (Lexology), and in 2023, he was named the most influential Belgian lawyer in labour law by Business Today. He is fluent in English, French and Dutch.
