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publicado el 05 de OCTUBRE de 2009

Freshfields appoints new head of EU regulatory and public affairs in Brussels

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed Christiaan Smits as head of its EU regulatory and public affairs practice in Brussels. Formerly of American International Group, Christiaan will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm’s EU regulatory and public affairs practice, other members of the Brussels team include former European Commission director general Alexander Schaub, consultant Claire Darmon and competition partner Dr Andreas von Bonin. Freshfields’ regulatory and public affairs team is an integral part of the firm’s international network. Consisting of a strong integrated practice located primarily in Brussels and Berlin, it works closely with legal teams across the entire firm offering clients strategic policy advice and helping them to shape EU legislation and administrative decisions. Dr von Bonin commented: ‘We are delighted to welcome Christiaan to the team. His breadth of extensive cross-industry experience will be hugely beneficial to Freshfields’ public affairs offering in Brussels. We look forward to working with Christiaan on the important strategic issues that affect our clients.’ Christiaan Smits said, ‘It is a challenging time for both business and the regulators, and public affairs and regulatory advice is growing in importance as companies try to negotiate the new frameworks being put into place. I am looking forward to the challenge ahead and having access to the depth and range of expertise available at an international law firm such as Freshfields.’ Profile: Christiaan Smits Christiaan joins from American International Group, a financial conglomerate comprising companies in the areas of insurance, banking, investment and aircraft leasing, where he was responsible for various public affairs campaigns, providing strategic advice on the EU institutions and policy-making processes and advocacy on a range of EU issues. Prior to that he ran the Institutional Relations department at CEA, the EU federation for the insurance industry, where he guided EU advocacy through an industry network across Europe. He has worked on a broad range of projects across industry sectors including environment, financial services, transport and network industries. Christiaan graduated from the University of Twenthe, The Netherlands with an MA in Public Policy and Public Administration, specialising in political and legal aspects of EU legislation. Christiaan works in English, Dutch and French.