Novius and Marlex become NOMA

May 2024 marks a new start for niche legal specialists Novius and Marlex. Whereas the two firms had followed separate paths since their establishment in the early 1990s, their paths will now merge under the name NOMA. Challenging? Absolutely, but because of their shared values and personal click, the merge feels very natural and logical. "Creating added value is the common thread. By bringing our legal expertise together, we provide even more depth and know-how." We sit down with Dirk Merckx, Marc D'hoore, Michaël Boudry, Gregory Vermaercke and Toon Proost, the five leaders of the brand new NOMA. 

Connect, deepen and strengthen

With advanced knowledge of corporate, tax and environmental law, NOMA targets a professional, entrepreneurial clientele. Specialisation in depth is central to this, says Toon.

"NOMA is a niche specialist. Rather than assisting clients from A to Z in all matters, we focus on our core areas. We are the first point of contact for the client and call on external parties for specialised advice in which we are not - or less - at home. After all, law is a very multifaceted field, and therefore inextricably linked to adjacent topics. Where it is useful and necessary, we call in additional expertise from, for example, numerical experts or other firms."

This synergy of knowledge sharing has also been strong between Novius and Marlex in recent years. Gregory explains. "For advanced tax advice, we often called on Novius" deep-rooted experience from Marlex. Conversely, Marlex then offered niche knowledge in the field of environmental law. With NOMA, we cluster our disciplines so that each lawyer retains his or her specialisation, but we can expand and improve our service to clients.’ 

Pragmatic solutions, connection as spearhead

Not only in terms of expertise, but also in terms of values and DNA, Novius and Marlex immediately noticed a professional as well as personal click. "A must", Marc explains. "Advocacy is after all a people business, we work together very intensively. If there is no match, it doesn't work."

When asked what core values bind them, the answer is unanimous: the pragmatic, solution-oriented mindset. NOMA does not limit itself to mere advice, but wants to actively guide clients towards a practical workable solution. "In this sense, we are dealmakers throughout all the matters we handle," Marc explains. "We defend our client's interests, but also put ourselves in the shoes of those on the other side. That is the essence: parties who understand each other, know each other's mutual concerns and conclude a lasting agreement from there. As lawyers, we try to connect entrepreneurs as much as possible and steer towards a mutual settlement whenever possible. Even in long-running disputes, it teaches us that this approach pays off."

Niche office with quality label

What does the future hold? The five partners agree: NOMA is a starting point, not an end point. Growth is mentioned in the same breath with more expertise, more knowledge exchange and more opportunities for advancement. Michaël explains: "In the future too, we want to remain a quality label and guide our diverse clientele through the turbulent waters of the legal world. Legislation is very complex, knowledge and specialisation are the new gold. With NOMA, we are ushering in a promising new chapter, assisting clients with a wealth of knowledge and experience. We look forward to fulfilling our ambitions!"