About the firm
A European practice, built one cross-border file at a time
Solicitors Organisation LLP was founded in Brussels in 1998. Today 28 years of work sits behind the advice we give, across five offices, five bars and six working languages.
Our history
How the firm began
In the mid-1990s Marthe Devroede and Jean-Pierre Hollander were both working on European matters from Brussels — she on corporate transactions, he on commercial disputes — inside international firms that handled cross-border work by posting it between offices. A Belgian acquisition with a Dutch subsidiary became three separate files, three sets of assumptions and a client paying three times for the same briefing.
They opened a two-lawyer practice on Avenue Louise in 1998 on a simple premise: one file, one responsible partner, and local qualification wherever the work actually landed. The first instruction was the sale of a family packaging business with operations in Belgium and the Netherlands. The client is still with the firm.
Luxembourg followed in 2004, as clients needed holding and financing structures handled by people admitted there rather than advised on from a distance. Amsterdam opened in 2011, initially for employment and mobility work. Alessandro Ferri opened Milan in 2009 and built the disputes and Italian property practice that now serves clients across southern Europe.
Jean-Pierre retired from practice in 2019 and remains a consultant to the firm. Marthe has been managing partner since 2014. We are twenty-six lawyers and eleven support staff — deliberately a size at which the partners still know every client matter.
- Founded
- 1998, Brussels
- Legal form
- Belgian LLP (burgerlijke vennootschap / société civile)
- Lawyers
- 26, of whom 7 partners
- Offices
- Brussels, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Milan, Málaga
- Working languages
- English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
- VAT number
- BE 0456 891 227
Values and approach
Four things we hold ourselves to
These are not aspirations posted on a wall. They are the standards partners use when reviewing each other's files, and the ones we expect clients to hold us to.
Say the difficult thing early
A weak case, an unrealistic expectation or a cost that outweighs the claim is something you should hear in week one, not in year two. We would rather lose an instruction than take one we do not believe in.
Write documents people can read
Contracts and advice are read by boards, by counterparties and eventually sometimes by judges. Length is not precision. We draft so that the person who has to rely on the document years later can follow it.
Answer the same day
Clients in difficulty need a response, not a ticket number. Emails are answered by a lawyer the same working day, and urgent matters are triaged within the hour.
Charge what we said we would
Estimates, caps and fixed fees are set out in writing before work starts, and any change in scope is discussed before it is billed. We have no interest in surprising you with an invoice.
European reach
Five jurisdictions handled from the inside
Cross-border capability is often a page on a website and a list of correspondent firms. Ours means lawyers admitted in each of four countries, working on the same matter file, under one engagement letter.
Brussels
Head office
Five minutes from Louise metro station. Reception is on the fourth floor; please allow a few minutes for building security.
Luxembourg
Finance and corporate structuring
Our Luxembourg team handles fund, holding and financing structures, and works alongside Brussels on cross-border reorganisations.
Amsterdam
Employment, mobility and technology
Our Dutch advocaten advise employers and technology businesses moving people and data across the EU.
Milan
Litigation, arbitration and real estate
Southern European disputes, property transactions and arbitration seated in Milan, Rome and Geneva.
Málaga
Property, private clients and relocation
Our Málaga team advises international buyers, residents and families settling on the Costa del Sol, and works with Brussels and Luxembourg on succession, tax and ownership structures.
Beyond our own five jurisdictions
For matters governed by the law of another member state — a German construction claim, a Spanish property title, a Polish employment question — we instruct counsel we have worked with for years and remain responsible for coordinating the advice. You keep one point of contact and one bill, and we do not charge you for the time it takes us to brief them.
Languages
We work in five languages
English, French, German, Dutch, Italian and Spanish are working languages across the firm — meaning meetings, correspondence, contracts and hearings, not only an introductory call. Several colleagues also work in Luxembourgish and Spanish. Where a document must be filed in sworn translation, we arrange it and check the result rather than passing on whatever comes back.
This website is published in English; French, German and Dutch versions are in preparation.
Regulatory information
How we are regulated and insured
Every lawyer of the firm is admitted to a national bar and bound by its professional rules, including professional secrecy, conflict-of-interest rules and continuing education requirements.
Bar memberships
Brussels
Brussels Bar (Ordre français des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles)
Luxembourg
Luxembourg Bar (Barreau de Luxembourg)
Amsterdam
Netherlands Bar Association (Nederlandse orde van advocaten)
Milan
Milan Bar (Ordine degli Avvocati di Milano)
Málaga
Málaga Bar (Ilustre Colegio de la Abogacía de Málaga)
Lawyers practising in a member state other than the one in which they qualified do so under the Establishment Directive (98/5/EC) and are registered with the host bar.
Insurance, secrecy and complaints
Professional indemnity insurance. The firm maintains cover of €10 million per claim through the collective policy of the Brussels Bar, supplemented by a top-up policy covering all five offices. Certificates are available on request.
Professional secrecy. Everything you tell us is covered by lawyers' professional secrecy under the rules of the bars to which we are admitted. It binds us permanently and applies to the existence of your instruction as well as its content.
Client funds. Money held on your behalf is kept in a third-party account separate from the firm's own funds, in accordance with bar rules on client money.
Anti-money laundering. For certain matters we are required to verify your identity and, for corporate clients, beneficial ownership, before we can begin work.
If something goes wrong. Raise it with the partner on your matter first. If that does not resolve it, our complaints procedure gives you a written route with fixed response times, followed by the relevant bar's own complaints service and, for consumer clients, the applicable out-of-court mediation body.
Data protection. We process personal data as a controller in accordance with the GDPR. Our privacy policy explains what we hold, why, and for how long.
Come and meet us
If you would rather judge for yourself, email us and arrange a first consultation at whichever office suits you. Forty-five minutes is usually enough for us to tell you where you stand and for you to decide whether we are the right firm.