A wave of departures has swept Fieldfisher Brussels since August 2023, with 22 lawyers leaving—including long-serving trade, ESG, and regulatory experts—a remarkable turn for the firm, one among a handful of “old guard” international partnerships in the city. Like A&O Shearman and Linklaters, Fieldfisher Brussels has its roots in a local firm, giving it a solid headcount from its 2007 launch. But that’s shifted in recent years due to the successive group departures, according to firm press releases. “We have indeed had some departures in the past year, and this is something all firms experience from time to time,” said partner Tim Van Canneyt. Van Canneyt is a Fieldfisher “lifer” who joined as an associate two decades ago and became a partner, co-head of the tech and data group and, by 2023, joined the executive committee before taking over as Brussels managing partner this month. “People leave for a variety of reasons,” Canneyt added. “They want a new start, a different opportunity or are simply no longer the right fit for the firm.” Headcounts and Headlines In spite of the departures, Fieldfisher was ranked Brussels’ eight largest office by headcount, according to a Law.com Compass report, ahead of A&O Shearman and Latham & Watkins. The numbers reveal a striking story, however: rising revenue, double-digit growth—and then a steady stream of senior Brussels departures. In July 2023, a month before the first group of lawyers jumped ship, Fieldfisher said Brussels revenue had increased by 20%, below Germany’s 22% but well ahead of the single-digit percentage increases in Ireland and France. Trade partners Jochen Beck and Laurent Ruessmann—both of whom had spent 10 years at Fieldfisher—were the first to leave in the summer of 2023, taking two associates with them to set up their own trade boutique, RB Legal. In January 2025, a seven-lawyer ESG team headed by EU regulatory partner Gerard McElwee, who’d spent 11 years at the firm, jumped to Squire Patton Boggs alongside EU litigation expert Peter Sellar. Then, in September 2025, there was another remarkable departure when Claudio Mereu, a co-managing partner and regulatory expert who’d spent 18 years at Fieldfisher, left for Bird & Bird, taking a counsel and three associates. Mereu, described as a “rainmaker”, had been lauded for building Fieldfisher’s EU regulatory practice into one of the strongest and most highly respected in Brussels. Mereu also won the firm an important victory for pesticide clients UPL and Indofil before Europe’s top court. In November, in another blow, Fieldfisher lost another five-lawyer team when David Haverbeke, EU regulatory head and a 13-year veteran of Fieldfisher, left for Baker McKenzie along with energy and utilities partner Wouter Vandorpe. Despite the headcount losses, Van Canneyt said Fieldfisher remains strong. “We are well-positioned for the future, with a strong platform and an ambitious growth strategy, which will reinforce our market position during the next stage of our development,” he said. Van Canneyt noted that Fieldfisher has already hired two partners in 2026, evidence of its “continued investment” in Brussels. Hendrik Viaene, former managing partner of McDermott Will & Schulte’s Brussels office, joined Fieldfisher in a coup for the firm and EU regulatory partner Bobby Arash joined from Swedish independent firm Ramberg Advokater. Balancing Rainmakers vs. Cultural Fit Over the five-year period under Van Canneyt’s predecessor Jean-François Germain, there was steady revenue growth. With about $492 million gross revenue in 2024, the firm placed 136th on the 2025 Global 200 ranking, the latest available AmLaw figures. Van Canneyt said the office’s growth had been fuelled by lateral hires, and the addition of a banking and finance, as well as a real estate group. In addition, there’s also been “organic growth”. “All the existing partners have been able to grow their practice, which then triggered more revenue, but also the need to hire more lawyers,” Van Canneyt said, adding that his approach is to now prioritize cultural fit over chasing star rainmakers. He plans to bolster the office’s corporate bench and its life sciences regulatory capabilities, which he sees as a “key sector”. Brussels is a small market compared to other key European locations, however, so finding the right partner can be tough. “There are really not a lot of people doing that specific kind of [EU life sciences regulatory] work. So, you only get to put a quite limited number of people on your target list,” he said. But Van Canneyt is adamant that he isn’t going to hire just anyone, “I’d rather say no to a very big rainmaker where I’m not convinced that person would have [that right] cultural fit than to say: ‘Okay, let’s take the business case and the book of business and turn a blind eye on some of the personal issues that we may have perceived.'"