AKD is sharpening its strategic focus with a clear ambition: to become an even more connected and strategic partner to its clients by aligning its organisation, expertise and innovation efforts around their most important challenges and opportunities.
The strategy sets a clear direction for growth, evolution and integration across AKD’s offices, practices and client offerings over the next years. Building on its strong heritage as a leading independent law firm, AKD is strengthening its ability to provide integrated, forward-looking advice in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
A key objective of the strategy is to further strengthen and solidify AKD's position as an independent law firm of reference in its home jurisdictions of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, while continuing to evolve in line with the changing needs of clients and the markets in which they operate.
At the heart of the strategy is a stronger focus on building long-term client relationships. AKD aims to work alongside clients as a trusted adviser, bringing together legal expertise, industry insights and a deep understanding of their business environments to help them navigate strategic decisions, regulatory developments and structural change.
“Our strategy is built around a simple idea: the closer we are to our clients’ businesses, industries and challenges, the greater the value we can create for them,” says Carlos Pita Cao, Managing Partner of AKD. “Clients are increasingly looking for advisers who understand not only the law, but also the industries in which they operate and the strategic challenges they face. Our strategy is designed to align AKD even more closely with our clients’ businesses, enabling us to build deeper relationships, think alongside them and support them in navigating long-term opportunities and challenges.”
Focus industries
A key element of AKD’s strategy is a stronger sector-focused approach.
AKD's sector focus is not new. What is new is the degree of strategic focus, structure and investment behind it. The firm has taken a very deliberate approach in identifying the sectors that are expected to shape economic, regulatory and societal developments in the years ahead and has organised dedicated multidisciplinary teams around those sectors. This allows AKD to deepen its market knowledge, anticipate developments more effectively and work alongside clients as a long-term strategic partner.
The firm is deepening its structural focus on six strategic industries:
Energy, Technology, Healthcare & Life Sciences, International Trade, Public Sector and Real Estate.
Developments in these industries increasingly bring legal, regulatory, technological and commercial issues together. Through dedicated multidisciplinary teams, AKD is bringing together top expertise from across offices, jurisdictions and practice areas to provide clients with integrated and industry-specific solutions.
The sector-focused approach enables AKD to deepen its understanding of clients’ markets, anticipate developments more effectively and build long-term strategic relationships. It reflects the firm’s belief that the most complex challenges faced by clients require expertise that cuts across traditional legal disciplines.
AKD’s depth of legal expertise, combined with a client base that includes national and multinational corporations, financial sponsors, financial institutions, government bodies and large public authorities, gives the firm a unique position to deliver integrated legal solutions across its home jurisdictions and beyond.
Three integrated practice divisions
To support this client-centric and sector-driven approach, AKD is evolving towards a matrix organisation built around three practice divisions: Disputes, Transactions and Regulatory.
These divisions are rooted in AKD’s historic strengths and provide the foundation for the firm’s future growth, collaboration and multidisciplinary way of working. The structure will make it easier to connect expertise across practices and jurisdictions, strengthen teamwork throughout the firm and respond more effectively to increasingly complex client needs.
Disputes
Disputes reflects AKD’s ambition to further strengthen its position as a leading firm in contentious matters. The division brings together expertise across corporate, financial and commercial litigation, insolvency, Supreme Court litigation and international arbitration.
Transactions
Transactions combines AKD’s transactional expertise, with a focus on cross-border M&A, private equity and venture capital, real estate transactions and complex financing transactions.
Regulatory
Regulatory brings together expertise across public law and interactions with public authorities, financial regulation, antitrust, foreign direct investment and ESG.
“The most important matters facing our clients rarely fit within a single practice area,” says Carlos Pita Cao. “They involve legal, regulatory, commercial and increasingly technological considerations. By bringing our expertise together through even more integrated teams, we are making it easier for clients to access the full breadth of AKD’s capabilities through a single trusted relationship.”
Vision on AI
Artificial intelligence forms an important part of AKD’s strategy, but the firm’s approach differs from the way AI is often viewed within the legal sector.
While many firms focus primarily on using AI to improve internal efficiency, AKD sees AI first and foremost as an opportunity to create additional value for clients and strengthen client relationships. The firm is developing AI-powered solutions that can be integrated directly into clients’ processes and decision-making environments, enabling them to access legal expertise more effectively and make better-informed decisions.
“We see the role of legal AI shifting from an internal tool for lawyers to a strategic instrument for clients," says Carlos Pita Cao. "We want to be at the forefront of that development. By combining our legal and expertise with technology and AI, we can help clients make better-informed decisions, integrate legal knowledge into their processes and access our expertise in new and more direct ways. Our ambition is not simply to use AI to work more efficiently ourselves, but to use it to strengthen relationships with our clients and create entirely new forms of service delivery."
Refreshed Brand Positioning
This strategic development goes hand in hand with AKD’s updated brand positioning and visual identity, captured in the new sign-off “We’re on it”. The positioning embodies the way AKD works with clients: combining deep expertise with a pragmatic, responsive and business-minded approach.
“What clients value most is our way of working,” says Carlos Pita Cao. “We place strong emphasis on being pragmatic and responsive, while combining technical excellence with a clear understanding of their business context. We make it easier for clients to access the right expertise and help them move forward with clear, practical advice.
Ultimately, AKD’s strategic direction is not about structures, divisions or technology. It is about helping our clients succeed. Whether through deeper industry knowledge, more integrated teams or AI-enabled services, everything starts with the question of how AKD can create greater value for our clients. That is what ‘We’re on it’ stands for. It reflects AKD’s commitment to being proactive, responsive and fully engaged in the opportunities and challenges our clients face, today and in the years ahead.
AKD is sharpening its strategic focus with a clear ambition: to become an even more connected and strategic partner to its clients by aligning its organisation, expertise and innovation efforts around their most important challenges and opportunities.
The strategy sets a clear direction for growth, evolution and integration across AKD’s offices, practices and client offerings over the next years. Building on its strong heritage as a leading independent law firm, AKD is strengthening its ability to provide integrated, forward-looking advice in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
A key objective of the strategy is to further strengthen and solidify AKD's position as an independent law firm of reference in its home jurisdictions of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, while continuing to evolve in line with the changing needs of clients and the markets in which they operate.
At the heart of the strategy is a stronger focus on building long-term client relationships. AKD aims to work alongside clients as a trusted adviser, bringing together legal expertise, industry insights and a deep understanding of their business environments to help them navigate strategic decisions, regulatory developments and structural change.
“Our strategy is built around a simple idea: the closer we are to our clients’ businesses, industries and challenges, the greater the value we can create for them,” says Carlos Pita Cao, Managing Partner of AKD. “Clients are increasingly looking for advisers who understand not only the law, but also the industries in which they operate and the strategic challenges they face. Our strategy is designed to align AKD even more closely with our clients’ businesses, enabling us to build deeper relationships, think alongside them and support them in navigating long-term opportunities and challenges.”
Focus industries
A key element of AKD’s strategy is a stronger sector-focused approach.
AKD's sector focus is not new. What is new is the degree of strategic focus, structure and investment behind it. The firm has taken a very deliberate approach in identifying the sectors that are expected to shape economic, regulatory and societal developments in the years ahead and has organised dedicated multidisciplinary teams around those sectors. This allows AKD to deepen its market knowledge, anticipate developments more effectively and work alongside clients as a long-term strategic partner.
The firm is deepening its structural focus on six strategic industries:
Energy, Technology, Healthcare & Life Sciences, International Trade, Public Sector and Real Estate.
Developments in these industries increasingly bring legal, regulatory, technological and commercial issues together. Through dedicated multidisciplinary teams, AKD is bringing together top expertise from across offices, jurisdictions and practice areas to provide clients with integrated and industry-specific solutions.
The sector-focused approach enables AKD to deepen its understanding of clients’ markets, anticipate developments more effectively and build long-term strategic relationships. It reflects the firm’s belief that the most complex challenges faced by clients require expertise that cuts across traditional legal disciplines.
AKD’s depth of legal expertise, combined with a client base that includes national and multinational corporations, financial sponsors, financial institutions, government bodies and large public authorities, gives the firm a unique position to deliver integrated legal solutions across its home jurisdictions and beyond.
Three integrated practice divisions
To support this client-centric and sector-driven approach, AKD is evolving towards a matrix organisation built around three practice divisions: Disputes, Transactions and Regulatory.
These divisions are rooted in AKD’s historic strengths and provide the foundation for the firm’s future growth, collaboration and multidisciplinary way of working. The structure will make it easier to connect expertise across practices and jurisdictions, strengthen teamwork throughout the firm and respond more effectively to increasingly complex client needs.
Disputes
Disputes reflects AKD’s ambition to further strengthen its position as a leading firm in contentious matters. The division brings together expertise across corporate, financial and commercial litigation, insolvency, Supreme Court litigation and international arbitration.
Transactions
Transactions combines AKD’s transactional expertise, with a focus on cross-border M&A, private equity and venture capital, real estate transactions and complex financing transactions.
Regulatory
Regulatory brings together expertise across public law and interactions with public authorities, financial regulation, antitrust, foreign direct investment and ESG.
“The most important matters facing our clients rarely fit within a single practice area,” says Carlos Pita Cao. “They involve legal, regulatory, commercial and increasingly technological considerations. By bringing our expertise together through even more integrated teams, we are making it easier for clients to access the full breadth of AKD’s capabilities through a single trusted relationship.”
Vision on AI
Artificial intelligence forms an important part of AKD’s strategy, but the firm’s approach differs from the way AI is often viewed within the legal sector.
While many firms focus primarily on using AI to improve internal efficiency, AKD sees AI first and foremost as an opportunity to create additional value for clients and strengthen client relationships. The firm is developing AI-powered solutions that can be integrated directly into clients’ processes and decision-making environments, enabling them to access legal expertise more effectively and make better-informed decisions.
“We see the role of legal AI shifting from an internal tool for lawyers to a strategic instrument for clients," says Carlos Pita Cao. "We want to be at the forefront of that development. By combining our legal and expertise with technology and AI, we can help clients make better-informed decisions, integrate legal knowledge into their processes and access our expertise in new and more direct ways. Our ambition is not simply to use AI to work more efficiently ourselves, but to use it to strengthen relationships with our clients and create entirely new forms of service delivery."
Refreshed Brand Positioning
This strategic development goes hand in hand with AKD’s updated brand positioning and visual identity, captured in the new sign-off “We’re on it”. The positioning embodies the way AKD works with clients: combining deep expertise with a pragmatic, responsive and business-minded approach.
“What clients value most is our way of working,” says Carlos Pita Cao. “We place strong emphasis on being pragmatic and responsive, while combining technical excellence with a clear understanding of their business context. We make it easier for clients to access the right expertise and help them move forward with clear, practical advice.
Ultimately, AKD’s strategic direction is not about structures, divisions or technology. It is about helping our clients succeed. Whether through deeper industry knowledge, more integrated teams or AI-enabled services, everything starts with the question of how AKD can create greater value for our clients. That is what ‘We’re on it’ stands for. It reflects AKD’s commitment to being proactive, responsive and fully engaged in the opportunities and challenges our clients face, today and in the years ahead.