Olivier Clevenbergh – the former managing partner of Benelux heavyweight law firm Stibbe – has linked with the former head of litigation at that practice, Jean-Pierre Fierens, and Benoit Malvaux, a former tax partner at Holland’s NautaDutilh, to form Strelia.

Recruiting associates

Mr Clevenbergh was also the head of Herbert Smith’s former alliance with Stibbe and leading German practice Gleiss Lutz, which broke down at the end of 2011 when the Londoners kicked off negotiations for their ultimate merger with Australia’s Freehills.
According to a report in The Lawyer newspaper, Mr Clevenbergh announced his departure from Stibbe last July. The new firm is understood to have a dozen associates, mostly following the two former Stibbe partners from the Brussels-based firm. The founding partner told the newspaper that he is aiming to expand to between 30 to 50 lawyers in total.