De Wolf hires Lontings partner for tax launch

Osborne Clarke’s Belgian ally De Wolf & Partners has launched a tax department, snatching a partner from KPMG correspondent firm Lontings & Partners.

Olivier Bertin was a partner at Stibbe before founding Lontings in 2001. He left the firm last Friday, and starts at De Wolf today (1 March), bringing with him his entire book of business, including tax litigation and advice work. The firm has hired an associate to lend support to Bertin’s practice.

The departure leaves Lontings with just one tax partner, Dutch-speaking Alain Claes. Lontings partners are yet to decide whether the firm will join the new KPMG legal network.

Bertin said that Osborne Clarke’s tax expertise in other jurisdictions was a key attraction of the move. “It’s important for the alliance to have tax expertise in the capital of Europe to enable it to deal with the tax aspects of European transactions,” he added.