DR. INES WILLEMYNS assists clients on international trade and investment, including EU and World Trade Organization (WTO) trade remedies, customs rules, market access and regulatory barriers, trade policy negotiations, export controls and trade sanction regimes.
Recent experience includes advising:
- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, in its acquisition of the treaty reinsurance brokerage operations of Willis Towers Watson for US$3.25 billion.
- Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. in its proposed US$5.2 billion acquisition of Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc.
- Clearlake Capital in connection with its significant equity investment in RSA Security LLC, a global provider of mission critical cybersecurity software and governance risk and compliance management software.
- Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. in its acquisition of Precisely together with TA Associates.
In her practice, Ines focuses on issues related to digital trade, including cross-border data flows and digital regulation, as well as environmental regulation with an impact on international trade. Ines is a part of Sidley Brussels’ digital trade team and Green Deal team.
Prior to joining Sidley, Ines gained experience interning at the Appellate Body Secretariat of the World Trade Organization, where she assisted with the legal drafting and legal research on various cases. Before that, Ines was a doctoral researcher at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (KU Leuven) where she wrote her thesis on the legal framework applicable to digital services. Ines continues to focus her research on all aspects related to digital trade.
Ines frequently speaks at international conferences, including the Society of International Economic Law Biennial Conference and the Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law. Her research has been published in leading journals, including the European Journal of International Law, the Journal of International Economic Law and the Journal of World Trade.
Ines is proficient in English, Dutch and French.