Bertrand Vrijens
Law FirmYour partner in Belgium for legal advice, mediation and assistance during legal proceedings. Our law firm has multiple years of experience in many areas of law. We also have in-house multilingual lawyers with experience in criminal law, family law, private international law, migration law and human rights. You can always contact us by e-mail or telephone without any obligation. We have a network of lawyers in Antwerp, Oudenaarde, Bruges, Kortijk, Ghent and Brussel who are at our disposal at all times. We always make an initial assessment of your legal problem. This means that we will tell you what we think needs to be done, how much it will cost and what the risks are.
Multilingual
Our lawyers will assist you in Dutch, French, English, Spanish and German.
Global
Do you have a question with a foreign element? We certainly can help you.
Accessible
We are open to listen to all your legal problems, big or small.
Do you have a case?
We always act fairly and transparently. This without losing sight of the person behind the case.
Team
Our team of lawyers is ready to assist you.
Our Team
Bertrand Vrijens
holds a law degree and has been a member of the bar since 1986. He is also the chairman of the council of the municipality and the OCMW of Merelbeke. His preferred subjects are international private law, family law, human rights, sports law, criminal law, traffic law and migration law.
Professional account
BE88 6301 9020 5541
Third party account
BE89 6301 9505 0285
VAT number
0851.546.370
Lut De Meyer
holds a law degree and has been registered at the bar since 2011. She has been working for us as a legal assistant since 1998. Her preferred subjects are private international law, family law, human rights and migration law.
Professional account
BE62 6301 9136 1861
Third party account
BE86 6301 9516 3150
VAT number
0819.489.058
Elke Van de Cotte
holds a law degree and has been registered at the bar since 1997. Her preferred subjects are migration law, human rights, private international law and family law.
Professional account
BE84 3900 6026 6559
Third party account
BE65 6301 9509 0196
VAT number
0812.593.546
Silke Van Maele
is a Master of Laws and enrolled at the Bar of Ghent since 2021. She graduated from Ghent University after completing her Master’s thesis research on child victims of sexual exploitation. Lawyer Van Maele is particularly interested in all areas of law where fundamental human rights are at stake, such as migration law, juvenile law and criminal law.
Professional account
BE50 3632 1563 8518
Third Party account
BE27 6304 3947 9373
VAT number
0774.792.448
Fleur De Pauw
is a Master of Laws, obtained an Advanced Bachelor in Global Citizenship and Development and has been registered at the Bar of Ghent since October 2024.
At our firm, Master De Pauw focuses mainly on migration law, criminal law and civil
law (including personal and family law).
Professional account
BE07 0019 8985 4966
Third-party account
BE94 0019 9282 7614
VAT number
1013.371.866
Helena Van den Dooren
holds a law degree and is registered at the Bar of Ghent since 2021. Although Mr. Van den Dooren has very diverse interests in all areas of law, her main interest lies in criminal, traffic and civil law.
Professional account
BE90 7512 1118 7632
Third party account
BE18 7504 6270 0165
VAT number
0771.404.475
Derry Van Hecke
is an external collaborating lawyer with offices in Ghent, Lange Violettestraat 281. Mr. Van Hecke holds a law degree, has been registered at the bar since 1990, and prefers to practise civil and criminal law.
Mieke Scheyving
is our administrative assistant.
Nato Kaishvili
is our administrative assistant.
Expertise
Criminal law
Criminal law determines which rules society must abide by and which punishments must be given when the rules are broken. You can come to us for the following situations, among others:
- You commit a traffic offence and are summoned to appear before the police court
- You want to file a complaint against a person who assaulted you
- You are suspected of dealing in prohibited substances
- You are being summoned for questioning by the police
- You are in prison and would like to be released early
- You are wrongly accused of theft
Family law
Family law is the legal branch of law that regulates the most important aspects of personal life, such as parentage, birth, marriage, divorce and nationality. You can come to us for the following situations, among others:
- You want to acknowledge your child
- You want to separate from your partner and minimise the impact on your children
- You want to adopt a child
- You want to change your name on your birth certificate because it is incorrect
Private international law
Private international law determines which national law is applicable in an international dispute. It also determines which court in which country has jurisdiction to rule on the situation, and how the ruling of that court is recognised and enforced in other countries. You can come to us for the following situations, among others:
- You married abroad and you want to have the marriage recognised in Belgium
- You won a court case in Belgium and you want to enforce the judgement abroad
- Your uncle, who lives abroad, dies and leaves an inheritance. You want to know if you are an heir
- You bought real estate in Germany, but afterwards it turns out to be a fraud
- You want to marry your Moroccan partner
Human rights
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion or any other status You can come to us for the following situations, among others:
- You are refused entry to a swimming pool because you want to wear a burkini
- You are forced by your parents to marry a man you do not know
- You were a victim of torture
- You may not marry or legally cohabit with your partner according to the registrar
- You will not be assisted by a lawyer during a police interrogation
Migration law
Migration law is the law governing the movement of persons between countries. It also includes the powers and obligations of those countries and the rights and obligations of migrants. You can come to us for the following situations, among others:
- You want to obtain Belgian nationality
- You want to apply for asylum in Belgium
- You want to bring your child, who lives abroad, to Belgium
- You want to cohabit with your foreign girlfriend but this is refused by the registrar
- You want to obtain a right of residence in Belgium
- You want to work or employ someone here in Belgium
- You wish to pursue a self-employed activity
Rates
“Lawyers shall estimate their fees with the modesty that should be expected of their position. Any stipulation in this respect that is exclusively linked to the outcome of the dispute is prohibited. If the fee is not fixed with a fair moderation, it shall be reduced by the Bar Council, taking into account the importance of the case and the nature of the work, subject to the restitution which it shall order, if there is reason to do so, all this without prejudice to the party’s right to apply to the court if the case is not subject to arbitration.”
Art. 446ter Judicial Code
General
We make proper arrangements with the client and discuss in advance what our services will cost. Because the efforts to be made can rarely or never be estimated in advance, we work in principle with an hourly rate. Our performance and costs are closely monitored. This allows us to make a clear price agreement in advance at the client’s request.
Commissions
The system of commissions, namely the payment of an advance that was previously agreed upon, makes it possible to start work, bona conscientia. It is possible that several commissions are demanded. This depends on the characteristics of the case.
Costs
The starting point for the calculation of the fee is 125 EUR per hour. This amount may be reduced or increased according tot the simplicity of complexity of the case or who is to work on the case. The following costs are in principle always taken into account when drawing up a file:
€ 100,00€ 10,00 per page. .
| first consultation: | € 75,00 |
| development and conservation of a new file: | € 100,00 |
| letters and procedural documents: | € 10,00 per page |
| displacements: | € 0,50 per kilometer |
| special costs: (court fees, expert fees, bailiff fees,…) | real cost price |
Since January first 2014, services rendered by lawyers are subject to VAT. All fees must therefore be increased by 21% VAT.
Contact us
Lawyer Bertrand Vrijens
Bertrand Vrijens has his office hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays by appointment. An appointment is made by mail or phone: Tel 09/ 231 83 57 – Fax 09 / 231 27 15 – Email: bertrand.vrijens@skynet.be
Lawyer Lut De Meyer
You can make an appointment with Lut De Meyer by e-mail: Email: lut.de.meyer@vrijens.net
Lawyer Elke Van de Cotte
You can make an appointment with Elke Van de Cotte via e-mail: Email: elke.vandecotte@skynet.be
Lawyer Silke Van Maele
Silke Van Maele can be contacted by telephone or e-mail: Tel 09 / 231 83 57 – Fax 09 / 231 27 15 – Email: silke.van.maele@vrijens.net
Lawyer Bella Mankieva
Lawyer Bella Mankieva can be contacted by telephone or e-mail: Tel 09 / 231 83 57 – Fax 09 / 231 27 15 – Email: bella.mankieva@vrijens.net
Lawyer Helena Van den Dooren
Lawyer Helena Van den Dooren can be contacted by telephone or e-mail: Tel 09 / 231 83 57 – Fax 09 / 231 27 15 – Email: helena.vandendooren@vrijens.net
Contact us
You can always contact us by e-mail or telephone without any obligation.. We have a network of lawyers in Antwerp, Oudenaarde, Bruges, Kortijk, Ghent and Brussel who are at our disposal at all times. We always make an initial assessment of your legal problem. This means that we will tell you what we think needs to be done, how much it will cost and what the risks are.