Epiq Systems, Inc. have opened an office in Brussels to provide support for clients involved in pan-European and global litigation and regulatory investigations. Epiq is best known for its DocuMatrix review platform and for corporate insolvency, as well as for litigation work.
An Epiq team will be permanently based in Brussels which, as International Managing Director Greg Wildisen put it, is “in the heart of the European Union and alongside policy-making institutions”.
Greg Wildisen makes a point which is often overlooked – that the various forms of alternative dispute resolution impose an investigative and disclosure burden in the same way as formal litigation and regulatory or internal investigations do. Parties may be more free to agree their own rules as to the scope of disclosure and the manner of production, but the home team needs to know what evidence exists, and opponents will be entitled to see some documents on whatever are the terms agreed between the parties.
Brussels is only a short hop from London. There is no doubt, however, that clients like their support providers on their doorstep, even though much of what they do could be provided from anywhere. In a year when litigation is likely to be rife and regulators increasingly active (all those stable doors to shut), it is no bad thing to be on the spot.
Epiq’s new office is located at Level 12, Avenue Louise 149/24, B-1050 Brussels. Greg Wildisen can be contacted on +44 (0)20 7367 9127.
