EVENTS
June 11 2026 @ 13:45
The European Circuit is delighted to announce an event in Brussels, co-hosted with the President of the Nederlandstalige Orde van Advocaten bij de Balie te Brussel, the Flemish-language section of the Brussels Bar.
The event will be followed by a drinks reception.
Brussels remains a central hub for European and international legal practice. Given that there has never been a more exciting time to launch or develop a career in cross-border practice, this event is delighted to partner with a rich diversity of lawyers and academics to discuss the fascinating opportunities for practitioners who think outside the box!
Welcome Address from Evanna Fruithof
Evanna practiced as a barrister in London from 1985 until her 1990 move to Brussels, where she worked in DG Competition, European Commission, specifically the then brand new Merger Task Force, for two years. From 1992 to 1994, Evanna worked as a Competition lawyer for Freshfields Solicitors, in both London and Brussels. She also spent a couple of years as Deputy Director and Events Manager of an influential Brussels EU political think-tank. Evanna was invited to establish the Bar Council’s Brussels Office in 1999 as its Consultant Director, in which role she has represented the Bar ever since. She runs the Bar’s European Committee and was a founding member and a key driver behind the Bar’s several Working Groups advising on Brexit and its aftermath. Evanna represents the Bar on the UK Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Evanna is a Bencher of the Middle Temple and a member of its International Committee. She is a trustee of the Temple Church Trust. She is also Deputy Chair of the Brussels branch of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), Ireland’s leading international affairs think tank.
Gordon Nardell KC, Twenty Essex, London / Alphalex-Avocats, Brussels
Gordon Nardell KC practises at Twenty Essex in London and Singapore, and Alphalex-Avocats in Brussels. He is a member of the English and Irish Bars and a foreign member of the Dutch Brussels Bar. He specialises in international arbitration and cross-border litigation, often appearing in cases involving State entities and complex issues at the intersection of commercial, EU and human rights law. Gordon acts as co-counsel with advocates in other European jurisdictions and also accepts appointments as arbitrator and mediator. Gordon formerly served as Leader of the European Circuit and Chair of the (English) Bar Council’s European Committee. He is a regular contributor to journals and training events on EU law and related topics.
Dorothée Vermeiren, Clifford Chance LLP, Brussels
Dorothée Vermeiren is a partner and head of the Brussels office Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice at Clifford Chance. With a strong track record in banking litigation and restructurings and insolvencies, Dorothée also has a strong expertise in commercial arbitration and competition litigation. She specialises, inter alia, in compliance with regulatory, anti-corruption and sanctions legislation, and advises on internal and external investigations. She also acts as an arbitrator herself. She is a guest lecturer at the KULeuven on pleading skills and is frequently invited to conferences as a guest speaker. She is a member of CEPANI & C-SAR & a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR.
Paul McGarry SC, Law Library, Ireland
Paul McGarry SC was Chair of the Bar of Ireland from July 2016 to July 2018. He was President of Arbitration Ireland from 2022 to 2024. He was called to the Bar in 1996 and appointed a Senior Counsel in 2010. He has been a member of the Bar of England & Wales since 2012 and joined the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2019. He is also an associate at 6 Pump Court Chambers in London. His practice is primarily in public, commercial and European law. He is a former head of the Irish delegation to the Council of European Bars, a member of the Implementation Group of Ireland for Law, and Deputy Leader of the European Circuit. He is a Bencher of King’s Inns and a Master of the Bench at Middle Temple.
Benoît Keane, Benoit Keane Legal, Belgium
Benoît Keane is an Irish lawyer based in Brussels specialising in EU law. He regularly represents sports organisations before the EU Court of Justice, European Commission as well as Court of Arbitration for Sport. He has been at the forefront of major developments in EU law and sport, notably the representation of UEFA in the Superleague case and FIFA in the pending Football Agents case. Benoît read law at University College Cork and obtained a master’s degree in EU law at the College of Europe, Bruges. He is dual-qualified as a Solicitor and Avocat. He worked at international law firms in Brussels before setting up his own independent practice in 2012. He is ranked by Chambers for EU law. He is the Secretary of the Brussels Association of Irish Lawyers.
Antoine De Spiegeleir, European University Institute in Florence
Antoine is a PhD researcher in the Department of Law of the European University Institute in Florence, an associate researcher at the UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles, and a regional leader of the Sabin Center’s Global Network of Peer Reviewers on Climate Litigation. His research interests include climate change litigation, inter-state disputes, and the use of storytelling in legal practice. Prior to his PhD, Antoine studied law and philosophy in Brussels, Leuven, and Zurich, and obtained an LLM from Yale Law School.
Professor Catherine Barnard, University of Cambridge
Catherine Barnard, FBA, FLSW, FRSA is Professor of European law and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge and Director of the Centre for European Legal Studies. She is the author of EU Employment Law (Oxford, OUP, 2012, 5th ed.), The Substantive Law of the EU: The Four Freedoms, (Oxford, OUP, 2025, 8th ed), and (with Peers ed), European Union Law (Oxford, OUP, 2023, 4th ed, 5th ed due in 2026). She has also written (with Costello and Fraser Butlin), Low-Paid EU Migrant Workers: The House, the Town, the Street, (Bristol, Bristol University Press, 2024), an innovative work exploring the lives of EU migrant workers in the UK post Brexit and the issues face securing their rights which won the UACES book of the year which won UACES book of the year in 2025. She has just submitted the manuscript for Reimagining Employment Dispute Resolution (with Sarah Fraser Butlin and Maayan Menashe). She is a member of the European Commission funded European Labour Law Network (ELLN). She is also a Senior Fellow of the UK in a Changing Europe (UKCE) (http://ukandeu.ac.uk/) project (UKCE). This is an authoritative, non-partisan think-tank which does research and provides information about all aspects of Brexit. Catherine’s work focuses on the legal issues around migration, together with the legal and constitutional issues associated with Brexit, in particular examining the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Part of UKCE’s remit is to make that information accessible to the general public. She has appeared on the main media channels – BBC, ITV and Sky – as well as some of the more specialist programmes such as Law in Action, Woman’s Hour, Question Time, Any Questions and the Briefing Room. She has also written for the Guardian and the Telegraph. She has given evidence to numerous select committees on the legal issues connected with Brexit. She has her own podcast, 2903cb, and she blogs on Brexit and related issues, mainly for the http://ukandeu.ac.uk/.
James Ogilvie, UEFA Head of European Affairs
James is based in the UEFA EU Representative Office in Brussels. He is responsible for overseeing UEFA’s long-term partnership with European institutions, rooted in our joint commitment to protect and promote the European sports model. This includes managing UEFA’s institutional partnership agreements with both the European Union and the Council of Europe. James started his career in the European Commission and has previously worked as a strategic advisor on European affairs to corporations and NGOs. He holds an LLM in European Law from the College of Europe and has been involved in football at grassroots level all his life.
Professor Daniel Sarmiento, Eunity Legal, EULawLive, Universidad Complutense (Madrid)
Daniel Sarmiento is Professor of EU Law at the University Complutense of Madrid, as well as Editor-in-Chief of EU Law Live and a lawyer in private practice. He was an advisor in the Spanish Supreme Court (2006-2007) and a legal secretary in the Court of Justice of the EU (2007-2015). He is the author of several books and over a hundred articles and book chapters on a variety of areas linked to EU Law, in particular institutional law, procedural law, internal market law and fundamental rights protection in Europe. In his private practice as a lawyer he has represented governments, EU Institutions, multinational corporations and NGOs in complex litigation before the Court of Justice and the General Court. Since 2024 he is the Vicepresident of the Spanish Association of European Law (AEDEUR), Spanish branch of FIDE.
Adrian Berry KC, Garden Court Chambers, London
Adrian Berry KC practices across the field of public law, especially in British nationality, statelessness, immigration, EU law and after, international protection (refugee status, asylum), housing and accommodation, social assistance, and education. His most recent publications include Fransman’s British Nationality Law (co-author, 4th edition, 2024) and ‘Asylum and Irregular Migration’ in British Legal Reform (2024). He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law. Adrian is a Patron of the UK Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA), Convenor of its Legislation Working Group, and its former Chair. He writes a blog on nationality and citizenship law, as well as a blog on migration, citizenship, and free movement called Cosmopolis. Adrian acts for individuals, communities, NGOs, and international organisations. In addition to his casework, he assists with legislative policy work and amendment, and with strategic litigation. He is widely known for his contribution to debates on immigration and nationality law.
Dr Alexandra von Westernhagen, Keystone Law, Brussels
Nicolas Vermeulen, Linklaters LLP Brussels & Vice Chairman, Vlaams Pleitgenootschap
Nicolas Vermeulen is an associate in the Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations practice of Linklaters Brussels. He studied law at Ghent University and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and holds an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. Alongside his practice, Nicolas is active within the Brussels Bar, including as Vice-President of the Vlaams Pleitgenootschap bij de Balie te Brussel.
Pierce O’Meara, Gide Loyrette Nouel
Pierce O’Meara is an Irish barrister and LLB graduate of Trinity College Dublin. Since 2023 he has worked as an associate in the EU Competition & International Trade team at the Brussels office of France’s leading international law firm, Gide Loyrette Nouel.
Pierce’s practice encompasses a broad spectrum of antitrust and trade issues, including litigation before the European General Court, advising on anti-competitive complaints before EU and national authorities, and counselling European industry as part of anti-dumping investigations conducted by DG Trade. Pierce works with a diverse range of clients from across Europe in a number of sectors, particularly transport, agri-food and manufacturing.
Síofra Collins, CJEU
Síofra Collins was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2023. After completing her undergraduate degree at Trinity College Dublin, she obtained a Master’s in European Union Law from Université de Paris II, Panthéon-Assas. Síofra gained experience working in the Competition and Anti-Trust department of Hogan Lovells, Paris and in the Litigation and International Arbitration department of Uría Menéndez, Madrid. Síofra began working at the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2023. She is currently a legal assistant at the CJEU.
Registration from 13:45 at Universitaire Stichting
Kindly sponsored by EULawLive
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