Meet Willem-Alexander Devlies

Telephone:

+32 2 426 14 14

Email:

willem-alexander.devlies@altius.com

Willem-Alexander advises a wide range of national and international clients on all aspects of sports law, including regulatory matters, disciplinary and arbitration proceedings and employment-related disputes. His clients include athletes, clubs, intermediaries and sports federations.

He holds a Master of Laws from the Catholic University of Leuven and a Master in International Sports Law from ISDE, Madrid, and gained international experience at the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball (CEV) in Luxembourg and a renowned international law firm in London.

Willem-Alexander regularly acted as ad hoc clerk in arbitration proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne and is a member of the Dutch-speaking Chamber of First Instance within the Royal Belgian Pigeon Fanciers’ Association. He also regularly gives guest lectures on sports law at the University of Ghent and Université de Lille.

Willem-Alexander is internationally recognised as a sports law lawyer by Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal, among others.

Education

• Master of Laws (KU Leuven – KUL)
• Master of International Sports Law  (ISDE)

Languages

• Willem-Alexander is fluent in Dutch, English and French

Selection of publications

• “Sports Law In 2024 – Key Issues to Watch in Europe (Belgian contribution)”, 2024, LawInSport
• “Key Sports Law Cases & Developments 2023 – Europe (Belgian contribution)”, 2023, LawInSport
• “Case Law of the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport between (2012-2018) and of the Court of Arbitration for Sport with Belgian parties (1992-2018)”, 2021, SSRN
• “Advocaten en voetbalmakelaars: belang van het onderscheid”, 2021, Jubel
• “Vlaams sporttribunaal van start”, 2021, De Juristenkrant
• “The URBSFA’s decision not to grant Excelsior Virton a professional licence appears prima facie to be incompatible with Belgian competition law”, 2020, Football Legal
• “Technological fraud in cycling: the perceived success of the UCI’s action plan”, 2018, World Sports Advocate
• “The Sell-on Clause in Football: Recent Cases and Evolutions“, 2016, Yearbook on International Sports Arbitration 2015, T.M.C. Asser Press/Springer
• “UCI’s evolving approach to detecting technological fraud“, 2016, World Sports Law Report

Selection of publications

• “Willem-Alexander Devlies is always available for help and is a real problem solver, clearly an up-and-coming man in the sector. He is also very connected and recognised both nationally and internationally.” – Legal 500 EMEA, 2024
• “I would like to especially mention Willem-Alexander Devlies, who has been doing outstanding work since I have started working with him a couple of years ago, especially his ability to deliver quality work on complex legal matters within a short period of time is exceptional.” – Legal 500 EMEA, 2024