Schoups

What Schoups does

Schoups is a privately held Belgian full-service law firm headquartered in Brussels with a second office in Antwerp, operating under the legal name Schoups BV. Founded in 1950 and employing 101–250 people, the firm serves enterprise and mid-market business clients across Belgium, providing legal advisory and contentious representation in more than 20 practice areas organized into four domains: Business (Company Law, M&A, Commercial Law, Distribution Law, Insolvency, Restructuring, Arbitration, Mediation), Construction & Real Estate (Private Construction Law, Public Procurement, Real Estate, Tenancy, International Construction Contracts, Insurance, Social Obligations in Construction), Public (Public Procurement, Environmental Law, Climate & Renewable Energy, PPP), and Social (Labour Law, Social Criminal Law, Privacy & Data Protection), plus a Secondment/In-house Lawyer offering. The firm holds recognized positions in Legal 500 and Chambers rankings and has been involved in notable Belgian transactions such as the Aertssen Group acquisition of Ghent Dredging, Zidis's growth capital raise from Akiles, and the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen/Antwerp Symphony Orchestra merger.

The firm's business model is traditional professional services: partner-led client engagement, quote-based and retainer-style fee arrangements, with revenue derived primarily from hourly billing and fixed-fee matter work for corporate clients. The go-to-market is sales-led, relying on third-party legal rankings, partner relationships, referrals, and a small LinkedIn and website content footprint to generate top-of-funnel demand. Distribution is entirely domestic, served from two physical offices in Brussels and Antwerp, targeting Belgian enterprise and mid-market companies in industries including construction/infrastructure, media production, and the cultural/public sector.

On 4 June 2026, the firm rebranded to "Scale" and publicly positioned the change as an important step in its growth trajectory. The rebrand coincides with the launch of a dedicated "AI & Innovation" pillar on the firm website, suggesting an early-stage effort to translate legal expertise into proprietary tools, though no specific AI products or data assets are disclosed. Recent lateral departures (partner Liesbeth Truyens and associate Celine De Buck to Crowell & Moring in January 2026) and a continued focus on complex public infrastructure and M&A mandates indicate a firm in transition, balancing stable core practice areas with new positioning and capability investments.

Name

Schoups

Legal name

Schoups BV

Website

https://schoups.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Schoups (rebranding to Scale as of June 2026) is a privately held Belgian full-service law firm with offices in Brussels and Antwerp, serving enterprise and mid-market corporate clients across business law, construction and real estate, public, and social law practice areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Antwerp

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: Traditional law firm billing for legal advisory services, likely including hourly rates, fixed fees for specific matters, and retainer arrangements for ongoing client relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Schoups is a full-service Belgian law firm providing advisory and contentious legal services to enterprise and mid-market clients across Business Law, Construction & Real Estate, Public, and Social domains. The firm specializes in company law, M&A, commercial law, distribution law, insolvency, restructuring, arbitration, mediation, construction law, public procurement, real estate, environmental law, climate law, labour law, and privacy/data protection. Services are delivered through partner-led engagement out of offices in Brussels and Antwerp.

Product overview

Schoups (rebranding to Scale as of June 4, 2026) is a Belgian law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal services across multiple practice areas. The firm operates across Business Law (including Company Law, M&A, Commercial Law, Distribution Law, Insolvency, Restructuring, Arbitration, and Mediation), Construction & Real Estate (covering Private Construction Law, Public Procurement, Real Estate, Tenancy Law, International Construction Contracts, and Social Obligations), and Social/Public domains (including Labour Law, Social Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Climate & Renewable Energy, PPP, and Privacy & Data Protection). The offering is structured as a full-service legal practice with domain-specific teams rather than a software product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Company Law Advisory and contentious assistance on all company law questions with high quality and pragmatic approach, for businesses requiring expert help on corporate legal matters.
• Acquisitions (M&A) Specialized legal services for mergers and acquisitions, venture capital transactions, and private equity transactions, targeting companies undergoing transactional change.
• Commercial Law Extensive expertise in all commercial law aspects that businesses may face, both in advisory and dispute contexts.
• Distribution Law & Market Practices Legal expertise regarding distribution agreements and related legal issues for businesses operating through distribution networks.
• Insolvency Specialized knowledge of insolvency law supporting businesses in all aspects of insolvency proceedings.
• Restructuring Specialized team focused on corporate restructuring in the broadest sense, supporting businesses through restructuring processes.
• Arbitration Specialized know-how in ad-hoc and institutional arbitration for clients seeking alternative dispute resolution.
• Mediation Mediation services focused on dispute avoidance and resolution considering all available options.
• Private Construction Law Legal expertise in assisting contractors and other businesses in the context of construction projects.
• Public Procurement Leading legal practice in public procurement with particular specialization in complex public infrastructure projects.
• Real Estate and Project Development Years of practical experience in all aspects of real estate law for developers and property companies.
• Tenancy Law Specialized team handling all aspects of tenancy law, including commercial leases, residential leases, common leases, brewery contracts, and real estate leasing.
• International Construction Contracts In-depth knowledge of international construction contracts for cross-border construction projects.
• Insurance Law Support for companies in all aspects of risk management and insuring risks.
• Environmental Law Expertise in multidisciplinary advice and procedures in environmental law across the Flemish, Brussels, and Walloon regions.
• Climate and Renewable Energy Special knowledge of renewable energy projects, sustainable building, energy law, and climate law at international, European, and national/regional levels.
• Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Multidisciplinary team providing advice in public-private partnership (PPP) cases.
• Labour Law Assistance in all aspects of individual and collective labour law and HR issues for employers and organizations.
• Social Criminal Law In-depth knowledge of criminally sanctioned obligations regarding labour law and social security.
• Privacy & Data Protection Guidance on processing of personal data (GDPR) and privacy compliance for organizations handling personal data.
• Secondment / In-house Lawyer Temporary reinforcement of client legal teams with experienced lawyers through secondment arrangements.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Crowell & MoringminorOthers · 13 January 2026Former Schoups lawyers Liesbeth Truyens (partner) and Celine De Buck (associate) joined Crowell & Moring's Brussels office, representing lateral hire departures rather than an active partnership arrangement.
• BDOminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBDO served as financial advisor alongside Scale and Lamote Stragier Advocaten in the Aertssen Group acquisition of Ghent Dredging.
• Lamote Stragier AdvocatenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel on Aertssen Group acquisition of Ghent Dredging, working jointly with Scale legal team.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tiberghien: Belgian law firm with strong tax, corporate and private client practices; a domestic peer competing with Schoups/Scale for Belgian enterprise and high-net-worth mandates.
• Eubelius: Belgian independent full-service law firm headquartered in Brussels, comparable in size, Belgian-only footprint and breadth of corporate/public/regulatory practice to Schoups/Scale.
• NautaDutilh: Premier Benelux law firm with offices in Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg, comparable in full-service corporate, finance and dispute resolution offerings to Schoups/Scale.
• Loyens & Loeff: Major full-service Benelux law firm with strong Belgian practice in tax, corporate, M&A and regulatory law, directly comparable in geography, practice breadth and enterprise client base to Schoups/Scale.
• Stibbe: Leading Benelux law firm headquartered in Amsterdam with a large Brussels office; competes with Schoups/Scale for Belgian corporate, M&A, public and construction mandates.

Broad incumbents

• Clifford Chance: Global magic-circle law firm with a strong Brussels practice across corporate, finance, public law and dispute resolution, competing for the largest Belgian enterprise and public-sector mandates.
• Linklaters: Global magic-circle law firm with a large Brussels office; broader portfolio competitor for Belgian M&A, finance, public procurement and competition matters.
• Allen & Overy (A&O Shearman): Global magic-circle law firm with a major Brussels office; competes with Schoups/Scale on cross-border Belgian mandates and is the destination of departed Schoups talent (Crowell & Moring being a comparable global firm).
• Bird & Bird: European-headquartered international law firm with a Brussels office active in regulatory, tech, IP and corporate matters — a global incumbent whose Brussels practice overlaps with Schoups/Scale's full-service mandate.

Emerging players

• Crowell & Moring: International law firm actively building its Brussels sanctions, export controls and international trade practice through lateral hires from Schoups BV; a niche competitor and recent talent destination relevant to Schoups/Scale's positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/schoups.be
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schoups

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schoups