Osborne Clarke (OC) has launched an office in Brussels with the hire of a ten-strong team from Belgian firm De Wolf & Partners, the firm's former local ally.

The new base will be led by employment partner Thierry Vierin and commercial partner Stefan Deswert, alongside five associates and three support staff, all of who are joining from De Wolf.

The team moves to OC after it loosened ties with De Wolf last year after announcing plans to merge with members of its former alliance network, including firms in Spain and Italy.

The five associates specialise in corporate, commercial, competition and employment, while the firm is in the process of recruiting more senior lawyers to staff the base, which opens today (3 June).

OC managing partner Simon Beswick said: "For our clients, the ability to get advice at the heart of the European Union is vital. That's particularly true of our US and Asian clients, who see the city as the key to successful European expansion."

The launch marks OC's fourteenth office in six jurisdictions, with the firm now boasting 550 lawyers across Barcelona, Brescia, Bristol, Brussels, Cologne, Hamburg, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Padua, Rome, Silicon Valley and Thames Valley.

The firm is also planning to open in Paris after breaking off its alliance with Stehlin & Associes.