Kristof De Creus is a member of the Brussels Bar Association and a senior partner of the firm.
He is fluent in Dutch, English and French with a working knowledge of German and Spanish.
Kristof De Creus graduated in 1992 as Licentiate (Master) in Law at the University of Louvain (KUL), magna cum laude, and is a former lecturer at the University.
He obtained a Master in Business Administration from the EHSAL Management School (Brussels) in 1997. Through this education, Mr. De Creus gained a solid understanding of corporate finance, accounting, financial analysis and business management.
Kristof started his professional career as a lawyer at the Ghent Bar Association with the firm De Meulenaere & Partners. As a junior lawyer, he worked frequently for the flagship account of the firm, the well-known car manufacturer Volvo Cars, located in the Ghent harbour.
In 1997 he joined the prominent Belgian bank “Kredietbank” (currently “KBC Bank”) as in-house legal counsel. There he gained substantial expertise in complex loan and security structures of large enterprises and obtained in-depth knowledge of the financial and legal aspects of debt financing and other financial products and instruments.
From 1999 Kristof worked as Senior Manager at the major worldwide multidisciplinary audit, tax, consulting and legal services firm KPMG where he started and developed the legal services department of KPMG’s Antwerp office. In January 2001, Kristof joined the law firm Lontings & Partners that acquired the legal services department of KPMG and became a member of the Brussels Bar Association.
In 2003, Kristof founded, together with Michael Olislaegers, the law firm Olislaegers & De Creus, a niche Belgian law firm practicing in close cooperation with the US law firm Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP that was succeeded in Brussels by Steptoe & Johnson LLP in 2004. At Olislaegers & De Creus, Kristof co-heads the commercial, corporate & M&A department.
During his career, Kristof was involved in many high-profile transactions, often working alongside the client’s financial and tax experts and gained a wealth of experience in mergers & acquisitions and corporate structuring and restructuring. His practice has always focused on the legal aspects of corporate & M&A, commercial & contract law, banking & finance, litigation, regulatory & compliance and property & real estate.
Kristof De Creus has for many years been listed as a Belgian Corporate and M&A legal expert in the European Legal Experts Guide and recommended by the Legal 500 EMEA legal guide for being a “very good contractual lawyer”.
Boutique firm Olislaegers & De Creus offers a partner-led approach to M&A, corporate governance and operational matters, and commercial contracting agreements, advising a number of domestic clients alongside international names in fields such as IT and life sciences. The practice is led by Kristof De Creus, who is the key name for M&A and other transactional work, alongside Michael Olislaegers, who combines M&A advice with work on corporate litigation and regulatory issues.
I worked very intensively with Kristof De Creus. Kristof is one of the best lawyers I have ever worked with. He is an excellent M&A lawyer because of his in-depth knowledge of the subject matter in both the legal and tax fields. He delves into every detail and no element escapes him. He is also extremely customer-oriented and a very pleasant partner to work with. His approach to both the client and the opponent is very professional, well-founded, determined but always friendly, constructive and conciliatory. He achieves the intended results and is very successful in his approach. I can therefore warmly recommend Kristof. On a next occasion I will definitely work with Kristof again.
Correct service on all levels.
Excellent and professional service carried out by partner Kristof De Creus. We like working with him for his knowledge and his accuracy, the availability and his professional attitude.
Personal contact, high-quality, and transparent billing.
We work with Kristof De Creus directly. He delivers outstanding quality in his work. His writing (in Dutch, French and English) is flawless. He keeps a neutral position and highlights all angles before taking action. He can bring every situation back to the basics, takes emotion out and keep it strictly a legal matter. He has knowledge of many legal specialties.
Personal approach and professional follow-up.
The product delivered so far by Mr. De Creus is of a tremendous quality while representing a great value for money. It allowed our internal organization to move forward with the decision making process, launching the brainstorming on the implications of the operation, the governance and costs involved.
Kristof De Creus is the lawyer we have been mostly working with and we are totally satisfied. He is particularly good in listening his client and responding taking into consideration not only facts but political/personal and sensitive aspects in a very discrete manner. The briefings/legal opinions are written in a very accessible style and language while remaining highly professional.
I have been working with the firm three times in my position of managing director and I have been always satisfied. The ratio between quality and value for money spent remains without comparison so far. We would address to a different legal firm only in case this one would not be able to assist us for whatever reason.
We would assess the overall level of service of Mr. De Creus as excellent. Very quick response time, deadlines are met, advice given is content wise very complete and clearly based on thorough evaluation of the issues at stake; advice given is not merely theoretical but offers real guidance for management to assess sometimes difficult situations and to take decisions. Mr. De Creus has grown a very solid understanding of our industry sector, which is clearly felt in the advice given. We can strongly recommend Mr. De Creus. He is extremely committed and dedicated to the job and the client, pragmatic and efficient in the solutions offered and very professional. He shows a clear ability to think beyond the legal issues and on a strategic level. He has strong expertise and easily combines knowledge of legal concepts and economic and financial drivers of a commercial undertaking which makes him a real asset to company management. Compared to other firms, we would say this firm and particularly Mr. De Creus excels in commitment, service level, hands-on approach, legal precision and timing. I would strongly recommend the firm and particularly Mr. De Creus
My overall assessment of the service level provided by Mr. De Creus is Excellent. Content-wise well-thought and extremely precise & accurate, all deadlines were met; Mr. De Creus thinks along with the client, which enhances the involvement and commitment significantly. Compared to others, Mr. De Creus excels in its precision, timing, commitment and service level to the client, especially in the area of Enterprise Acquisitions. In the latter area, I would strongly recommend Mr. De Creus to peer companies. Mr. De Creus shows clear ability to think beyond the pure legal advice, which was highly appreciated.
Ik vond de samenwerking ook heel professioneel, kwalitatief hoogstaand en daarbij ook nog heel tof. Ik zal zeker nog aan jou denken als er serieuze dossiers op ons afkomen.
Mooi resultaat, na een bijzonder lastig parcours. Dank voor de samenwerking – wij hebben deze ook als uiterst professioneel ervaren.
Kristof, not to state the obvious, but you are a real pro. A holiday well earned. On behalf of all the team, a tremendous thanks.