Are you, as a company or an individual, looking for a lawyer experienced in administrative law? Has your planning permission been refused and you now wish to take further action? Are you involved in disciplinary proceedings, administrative penalties or governmental liability?
Nelissen Grade’s lawyers have extensive experience and expertise in administrative law, from environmental permits and inherited real estate to education and civil servant law.
Administrative law covers all the legislation that the government has to respect, both when making decisions and in the event of conflict with its citizens. It is a complex tangle of rules of law for which Nelissen Grade has mastery of the smallest details: acquiring or disputing environmental permits (including land division permits), assistance with foreclosure decisions, environmental offences, urban planning violations or zoning changes and planning compensation… our lawyers can switch quickly between individual and governmental matters so that your administrative law case receives prompt and appropriate redress.
As a full-service law firm, Nelissen Grade specialises in administrative law in the broadest sense. As well as matters of spatial planning, urban planning and the environment, our lawyers offer excellent legal assistance in disciplinary proceedings, administrative penalties, government contracts, education law and challenging new legislation. Clear advice and resolute defence before the administrative tribunals, such as the Council of State or the Council for Permit Disputes, form a core feature of this service.
Nelissen Grade also offers legal assistance in related fields of administrative law, such as building law and criminal law.
With a multi-disciplinary core team of over 50 lawyers, Nelissen Grade has sound expertise in diverse fields of law. Because no case is restricted to a single and purely legal subject matter, you can count on us taking a bird’s-eye view of your circumstances. Our expert teams devote their attention to your case – each within their field of expertise and educational background - and analyse it in breadth and depth.
Liability law and damages Travel law Sports law Criminal law and fraud Road traffic law Corporate criminal law
With more than thirty years of experience, Pascal Nelissen Grade is the undisputed flagbearer of Nelissen Grade Lawyers. Pascal Nelissen Grade has been vice president of the Leuven Bar Association since 2022 and will become President in the summer of 2024.
Pascal Nelissen Grade has been working for many years with dedication and commitment in the departments of criminal law, travel law, liability law and motor sport law.
Quick, efficient, accessible and proactive. Pascal Nelissen Grade combines legal ingenuity with a practical approach.
In criminal law, he has successfully represented defendants as well as victims before criminal courts, courts of appeal and assize courts. Not only does he represent private individuals, but also business owners and companies in complex cases within corporate criminal law. As a lawyer specialized in travel law, he assists various actors in the travel industry by representing them in various cases and (extra)judicial proceedings. Pascal Nelissen Grade is also the president of the Travel Litigation Commission and speaks often at seminars on travel law. With a well-considered approach and an eye for detail, Pascal Nelissen Grade handles cases within the area of liability law, both for the civil courts and for the criminal courts, such as the police court.
Finally, Pascal Nelissen Grade is specialized in the field of motor sport law. Passionate about this sport, he assists drivers and teams and participates in the drafting of sports regulations. In addition, he has intervened on several occasions before various (inter)national courts and the FIA.
Construction law Administrative law Legacies Mediation
Jan Stijns graduated in 1987 as master of law at KU Leuven. In 2009 he also graduated as bachelor in philosophy at KU Leuven.
Jan entered the association in 1987. He is specialized in family property law and has specific attention for patrimonial law (real estate) and succession planning / taxability. He is also specialized in the fields of construction law and administrative law.
Employment law and social law Civil law
Kris Maes graduated as master of law at KU Leuven.
He is a member of the Bar Association of Leuven and Dendermonde.
Kris provides assistance and advice to individuals and companies on the subject of (individual and collective) labour law and social security. He is especially interested in providing thorough and permanent assistance on the subject of HR management. He is regularly invited as a guest speaker in seminars.
In the event of litigation, he prefers to come to a detailed and balanced solution after clear negotiations. But when legal proceedings are required, he is prepared to go to any length.
Alexis Lefebvre started his studies at FUNDP in Namur and graduated as master of law at UCL in Louvain-la-Neuve. After his education, Alexis entered the association.
He is specialized in litigation and providing assistance and advice in the fields of tax law, on the one hand, and economic, commercial and contract law, on the other hand.
He is a member of the Bar Association of Brussels and Leuven.
Civil law Arbitration Travel law Liability law and damages Mediation
Frederiek Baudoncq is a member of the Bar Association of Leuven since 1998. From 1999 to 2005, he was part time assistant at the faculty of law of KU Leuven, department property and liability law.
He is (co) author of several books and contributions to books and articles and is a member of the editorial staff of three law journals. He completed the training to become a lawyer at the Supreme Court of Belgium, the Court of Cassation.
Intellectual property law, media law, GDPR and ICT Corporate law Mediation
Alexis Hallemans studied law in Namur (FUNDP), Belgium, at the Univeristy of Leuven and in Saarbrücken (Germany). He is a lawyer since 2003. He also obtained a LL.M degree European law in Germany and an additional Masters in intellectual property and IT law at the University of Brussels. He specializes in these subjects in which he has pleaded before the Court of Justice of the EU and the Constitutional Court in Belgium. He is recommended for these subjects in Belgium (Legal 500, Tier 2).
For several years now he is a Board member of the German, Belgian and Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce AHK DEBELUX. Alexis fluently speaks Dutch, French, German and English. This allowed him to develop a strong experience and track record in legally assisting international companies in Belgium, particularly German companies.
Alexis worked in large international law firms in Belgium and Germany (CMS Hasche Sigle) before joining Nelissen Grade as a partner in the department IP, IT and commercial law.
Personal and family law Arbitration Mediation
Joke Decabooter obtained her master law degree at the Catholic University of Leuven in 2011. During her master years, Joke mainly focused on civil law, specialising in family law, family property law and liability law.
After her studies, Joke immediately joined the Bar Association of Leuven, as well as our firm. Based on her interest in private law, she mainly focuses on support, procedures and advice regarding all aspects of family law, as well as settlements and divisions. Nationality issues also fall within her expertise.
In 2015, Joke obtained her notarial profession master at the Free University of Brussels. Since 2019 she is recognized as mediator in family matters.
From the 2019-2020 academic year, Joke will be affiliated with the Catholic University of Leuven as a law assistant at the Institute for Family Law.
Tax law Corporate law Wealth and succession planning
Karen Niesten obtained her Master's degree in Law at the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in 2012 and then completed an additional Master's degree in Taxation at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
In 2013, she joined the Nelissen Grade office and the Leuven Bar.
Karen also completed a management programme at Solvay Business School of Economics and Management in Brussels and attended courses in Dutch taxation and inheritance law at the University of Maastricht.
Karen focuses on leading and developing the expert groups for tax law and estate planning.
On the one hand Karen focuses on financial and tax advice, including estate planning. On the other hand, she performs dispute resolution and litigation in various tax fields for the administrative authorities and tax courts in Belgium. In cooperation with Frederiek Baudoncq, she also conducts proceedings before the Court of Cassation.
From her tax background, she also supports the corporate law department.
Liability law and damages Travel law Criminal law and fraud Road traffic law