The Benelux legal market is entering another period of international investment, particularly across energy, infrastructure, private capital, regulatory, and corporate practices.
But while demand for these capabilities continues to grow, firms are increasingly recognising that building successful teams in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands requires a very different approach to many other European jurisdictions.
The challenge is no longer simply opening an office or adding headcount, but building a platform that lawyers actually want to join, clients want to instruct, and teams can scale within profitably.
John Andrews, head of H&P’s Benelux private practice team, discusses below how much of that shift is being driven by how the underlying market itself is evolving.
Regulatory growth is changing what firms need to hire
One of the defining characteristics of the Benelux market is the growing overlap between regulatory advisory work and transactional capability.
Across energy and infrastructure in particular, firms are increasingly finding that clients no longer want isolated practice groups operating independently.
Instead, businesses are looking for integrated teams capable of advising across:
- transactions
- regulatory compliance
- infrastructure development
- disputes
- investigations
- and broader strategic risk
“A lot of businesses are now having to understand what carbon neutrality and climate regulation actually means from a legal perspective,” John explains. “They’re requiring more advice on how to remain compliant and how to structure themselves properly.”
That demand is creating significant hiring activity across regulatory, energy, infrastructure, M&A, disputes, and project-related practices throughout the region. Importantly, this is not happening evenly across Benelux.
Belgium is increasingly functioning as a regulatory hub tied closely to European policymaking and cross-border compliance work. The Netherlands continues to generate strong levels of M&A and infrastructure activity due to its startup ecosystem across technology, renewables, and life sciences. Luxembourg remains highly important for private capital, investment funds, and international structuring work.
As a result, firms are building much more interconnected teams than they were several years ago.
“If you only have a transactional offering, clients will still need regulatory advice somewhere else,” John says. “The firms building the strongest positions are the ones offering both.”
International firms are investing more strategically into Benelux
International presence is becoming increasingly more visible through hiring and expansion activity across the market.
In the Netherlands, firms such as Eversheds have continued strengthening both regulatory and transactional energy capability, reflecting how closely connected those practices are becoming.
“They’ve invested on the regulatory side, on the transactional side, and also in disputes and arbitration capability linked to energy clients,” John says. “That shows how integrated these practices are becoming.”
Belgium is seeing similar investment with Dentons. They’ve significantly expanded their Belgian energy and real estate capabilities, including strategic team acquisitions that materially increase their domestic offering.
“For an international firm to bring in a sizable Real Estate team in Belgium, that’s a substantial investment,” John explains. “Most international offices there would only have around 25 lawyers in total.”
Importantly, many of these investments are no longer being treated as purely satellite European offices designed to support referral work. Instead, firms are increasingly trying to establish genuine domestic capability and local market relevance.
Historically, many international firms could operate successfully in smaller European jurisdictions by servicing inbound international work alone. Increasingly, however, firms are recognising that long-term success in Benelux often requires a stronger domestic footprint as well.
Why some firms are gaining traction faster than others
One of the more interesting trends emerging across the market is that firms are not competing purely on brand strength or compensation. Instead, operating structure itself is becoming a differentiator.
According to John, firms operating under more flexible partnership or Swiss verein-style models are often generating stronger traction with senior talent across Benelux, for a largely structural reason.
“These lawyers don’t want to feel like they’re just another cog in the system,” he explains.
Many senior lawyers across Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands continue to value autonomy over their client relationships, pricing flexibility, and the ability to maintain a degree of entrepreneurial control over their practice.
That becomes particularly important in markets where domestic boutiques remain highly competitive.
“A lot of these boutiques generate enormous deal flow from domestic clients alone,” John says. “You can still have one of the best M&A teams in the market without working for a major international firm.”
As a result, firms that can combine international infrastructure with local flexibility often resonate more strongly than firms attempting to impose heavily centralised structures.
A great example here is Dentons; their ability to operate with more local flexibility around pricing and office management appears to be supporting continued expansion in Belgium.
“Dentons are really good at adapting their fee rates,” John says. “They allow lawyers to build profitable domestic business while still benefiting from the international platform.”
That flexibility is becoming increasingly important in jurisdictions where purely international pricing models can struggle to compete for domestic work.
The firms succeeding are reducing integration risk
Another trend becoming increasingly visible is how firms are approaching lateral integration itself. Senior lawyers moving firms are not simply evaluating compensation packages or headline profitability.
They are assessing:
- whether clients can realistically transition
- whether pricing will remain competitive
- whether they can continue growing domestically
- and whether the platform genuinely supports their business model
According to John, firms gaining the most traction are often the ones reducing integration risk for incoming partners and teams.
“If firms can offer a guaranteed integration period where lawyers can focus on transitioning clients without immediate pressure, that becomes very attractive,” he explains.
That may include:
- guaranteed remuneration periods
- phased integration strategies
- pricing flexibility during transition
- or operational autonomy around domestic business development
This is not simply about retention, but about allowing teams to build sustainable, profitable practices within the platform long term.
Which firms could expand next?
The increasing strategic importance of Benelux is also raising questions around which international firms may look to establish or strengthen their presence next.
According to John, firms with strong private capital, infrastructure, and transactional practices but limited Benelux coverage may become increasingly active over the coming years.
Jones Day is one example he points to, particularly given the firm’s broader private capital and investment funds capability.
“They already refer a lot of investment funds work into Luxembourg,” John says. “A Luxembourg office would make strategic sense for them.”
McDermott is another firm highlighted as a potentially logical future entrant into the market, particularly given its private equity and investment funds positioning internationally.
The Netherlands may also continue attracting firms with strong energy, infrastructure, and M&A platforms looking to establish a stronger European innovation footprint.
According to John, firms with strong global energy and infrastructure capability but no Dutch presence will increasingly face questions around whether they are missing a strategically important market.
The definition of a successful Benelux platform is changing
The Benelux market is not simply seeing more hiring activity – it’s seeing a broader shift in how firms compete. The firms generating the strongest momentum are increasingly those capable of balancing:
- international reach
- domestic relevance
- pricing flexibility
- integrated regulatory and transactional capability
- and entrepreneurial operating structures
That is becoming particularly important across energy, infrastructure, private capital, and corporate practices where clients increasingly expect firms to provide connected, cross-border advice rather than isolated specialist support.
At the same time, senior lawyers are becoming more selective about the environments they join and how those platforms enable them to grow. As a result, successful expansion in Benelux is increasingly about more than scale alone. It is about building structures, teams, and operating models that genuinely fit the realities of the regional market.
