Ivan Reyns

Experience

Ivan Reyns is the founder of Reyns Advocaten, established in 1990, and has served as the firm’s Managing Partner, guiding its development into a mid-sized practice with a strong focus on corporate law, insolvency, and related fields. His professional leadership underpins a practice that emphasizes pragmatic, business-minded legal solutions for entrepreneurs and organisations. Over the years, Reyns Advocaten has grown from a sole practitioner office into a team of around 25 professionals, reflecting a sustained commitment to delivering specialised legal services with a clear, client-focused approach. In his capacity as founder and leader, Reyns has overseen strategic areas of growth and service expansion, positioning the firm as a trusted partner for companies seeking ongoing legal support across corporate and insolvency matters.

Beyond his role in the firm, Reyns has held notable public and professional roles that complement his private practice. He has been active at the bar since 1990, initially in Dendermonde and later also in Antwerp from 2017, which underscores a long-standing commitment to the legal profession and ongoing engagement with courtroom practice. His professional journey reflects a blend of private practice leadership and public service-oriented duties, reinforcing his expertise in the intersection of business operations and legal governance.

In the realm of insolvency and restructuring, Reyns has assumed leadership positions that connect legal practice with court-administered processes. He serves as a deputy judge at the Enterprise Court in Ghent, Dendermonde division, and also acts as a receiver at the Enterprise Court in Ghent, Dendermonde division. These roles place him at the center of corporate reorganization and liquidation proceedings, where his professional insight into insolvency law informs both advocacy and strategic guidance for clients facing financial distress. His responsibilities in these capacities reflect a breadth of experience spanning litigation, negotiation, and court-supervised restructuring, enabling him to advise clients on the most effective procedural paths available under Belgian insolvency law.

Reyns is also actively involved in professional communities related to insolvency and corporate law. He serves as a member of Embuild and contributes as a redactor for the Tijdschrift voor Insolventie- en Beslagrecht (TIBR), which highlights his ongoing engagement with scholarly and practitioner-focused discourse on insolvency and enforcement procedures. This combination of practical courtroom experience and scholarly engagement informs a holistic approach to advising businesses in financial trouble, where both procedural acumen and strategic thinking are essential to safeguarding client interests over the short and long term.

Specialty

Ivan Reyns concentrates his practice in insolvency, corporate law, and related areas, with a robust record in guiding companies through difficulties and restructurings. His client-facing work encompasses the full spectrum of corporate issues, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and real estate matters, all integrated with his insolvency expertise to support clients under financial strain. The insolvency practice at Reyns Advocaten emphasizes judicial reorganisations, preventive restructurings, and the management of creditor expectations, with an emphasis on preserving business value and protecting stakeholder interests.

The firm’s insolvency focus is anchored in Belgian procedures for corporate reorganization, including both amicable settlements and formal judicial procedures. Reyns Advocaten emphasises measures designed to safeguard the continuity of a business while controlling creditor claims, and the team provides guidance on procedures such as public judicial reorganisation through amicable settlements or collective agreements for both small and large companies. This specialization is complemented by a broader corporate law offering, including corporate housekeeping, governance, and dispute resolution, enabling the firm to support clients throughout the lifecycle of a business—from formation and growth to crisis management and recovery.

In addition to its insolvency work, Reyns Advocaten offers integrated services in corporate and M&A matters and real estate transactions, reflecting the firm’s belief in serving as a comprehensive legal partner for entrepreneurs. The combined expertise in corporate structuring, governance, and cross-cutting disciplines supports clients facing complex financial and operational challenges, including restructurings, reorganisations, and the renegotiation of contractual relationships. Reyns Advocaten positions itself as a practical, business-oriented adviser, focused on sustainable solutions that balance the interests of the debtor, creditors, and other stakeholders, while maintaining a clear emphasis on the clients’ commercial objectives.

Education and professional development underpin Reyns’s approach to insolvency and corporate law. The practice benefits from a founder with extensive formal training in business law and a commitment to ongoing education, ensuring the team remains conversant with evolving Belgian insolvency procedures and corporate governance standards. The integration of courtroom experience, scholarly engagement through editorial work, and active participation in professional associations informs a well-rounded practice geared toward navigating complex restructuring scenarios and advising clients on the most prudent path forward in a dynamic legal environment.

Education

Ivan Reyns earned an illustrious legal education in Belgium, beginning with a licentiate in law from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) in 1989, awarded with distinction. He continued his specialization in business law by obtaining the degree of Bijzonder licentiaat Bedrijfsrecht (Special Master in Business Law) at V.U. Brussels in 1990, followed by a Master in Business Law from the University of Antwerp (U.I. Antwerpen) in 1996. These foundational degrees established a strong emphasis on corporate and business law that informs Reyns’s insolvency practice and corporate advisory work.

Further enhancing his credentials, Reyns holds the certificate of special training as curator-liquidator, awarded in 2009, reflecting a formal capability in appointment as a restructuring expert. In 2020, he completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Vennootschapsrecht (Company Law) at Vives Brugge Business School, underscoring a commitment to staying current with Belgian corporate law developments. His continued legal education complements his hands-on experience in insolvency, governance, and corporate matters, reinforcing his ability to guide clients through complex financial and regulatory landscapes.

Educational language proficiency and continued professional engagement are complemented by Reyns’s long-standing bar admission—active since 1990 in Dendermonde and since 2017 in Antwerp—demonstrating a sustained and credible presence in the Belgian legal community. This educational and professional background forms the backbone of a practice that blends rigorous theory with practical, outcome-focused advocacy for companies in distress and their stakeholders.