THE FIRM

Mr. Paul Van Rompaey started his career with the bar association of Turnhout in 1992, when he went on a work placement to law firm Schuermans & Schuermans, where his specialisations included helping banking institutions with collection dossiers and bankruptcy dossiers.

In early 1996, he opened a one-man firm in Westerlo, and four years later he was appointed bankruptcy curator at the then commercial court in Turnhout. Over the past 25 years, he has handled hundreds of bankruptcy dossiers ranging from small grocery stores to multinational companies.

Mr. Van Rompaey does not only share his expertise with the court. Besides his activities as a curator, he also offers legal services to creditors and bankrupts.

In 2002, the firm moved to its current location at Zandberg 19 in Westerlo.

The firm continued to grow and, in 2003, changed its legal status to that of a limited company (BVBA), whereby BVBA Advocatenkantoor Paul Van Rompaey was born.

A cooperation agreement was then established with Dutch firm OJW advocaten, which was based in Goirle (Tilburg) and is now known as West Point Advocaten.

After the firm opened its second office in Antwerpen Nieuw Zuid in 2016, it changed its name to ‘Ledeganck advocatenkantoor’. This name change is not only a reference to the new office near the Scheldekaaien, but also refers to Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck.

Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck came from a working class background and, despite facing treacherous conditions, managed to better himself via self-study. Having started as a labourer in a linen factory, he went on to become a clerk at the town hall of Ghent, which gave him the free time needed to study at the Gentse Hogeschool. This is where he earned his law degree in 1835. He later became a justice of the peace, education inspector, member of the provincial council, lecturer and poet. He was responsible for the first Dutch translation of the Civil Code. In short, a truly determined man, who rightfully serves as inspiration for the firm.

The firm’s logo can be attributed to the internationally-renowned South African painter Lionel Smit, who allowed the firm to use a fragment from one of his masterpieces.