Whether working out of our Brussels office, our London headquarters, or any of the offices we maintain throughout the United States, our attorneys apply their understanding of both client matters and local jurisdictions to represent our clients—always in concert with local counsel—in countries throughout the European Union. Our goal, at all times, is to serve you as a trusted advisor, helping you grow your business through contracts or acquisitions, through global alliances, or through successful international arbitration.
Much of our work across the EU has been focused on payments—including the rollout of new payment products, the enforcement of card scheme rules, and analyzing payment laws tied to refunds and chargebacks. However, the pioneering work of the EU in both privacy and artificial intelligence has required us to work closely with clients to help them understand how best to comply with regulations such as the GDPR and the newer EU AI Act. Our clients have also tapped our understanding of local labor laws, health care policy, cross-border restructurings, and environmental regulations.
We’ve worked on patent infringement cases in Germany, white collar matters in France, equity offers in Sweden, international tax issues in Switzerland, and antitrust litigation in Finland, and provided general corporate advice in the Netherlands. We’ve handled cases involving fraud, mezzanine financing, REIT formation, and environmental compliance in Luxembourg, and we’ve dealt with health care privacy disputes, advertising issues, and contract litigation in Denmark.
Across the continent, regardless of the country where you have matters, we are able to combine our knowledge of your industry with an understanding of local laws, cultural nuances, and critical American sensitivities. This translates into our being an effective conduit between you and local counsel, ensuring that you meet your goals while complying with local laws and regulations.
While our offices in both Brussels and London are relatively new, our work throughout Europe is not. Our founding partners, for example, represented the Federal Republic of Germany in the negotiation of the first postwar U.S.-German double taxation treaty.
In the years to come, as the world becomes increasingly global, legal work throughout Europe will become both more complex and more critical, requiring a solid command of the regulatory climate, a keen grasp of advancing technology, a well-honed appreciation for national sovereignty, and an expansive network of relationships with local counsel. Alston & Bird brings all these skills to your table, giving your company the edge it needs.
European Union
At once regional and local, the EU has charted new ground in key areas such as privacy and AI while remaining a patchwork of sovereign jurisdictions elsewhere. Representing our clients across the EU, whether U.S. or EU based, requires the ability to merge knowledge of client issues with an understanding of the nuances of this unique alliance—an ability we’ve carefully honed over the past decades.
European Union