Since joining Eubelius in 2016, Michiel Stuyts has built up an impressive track record within the Corporate/M&A team. He was appointed counsel as of 1 January 2026. He sees this promotion as recognition of the work he has accomplished with the team, and as a further evolution into a more managerial and strategic role.
“I started working here in 2016 right after my studies. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on investment and acquisition projects, with a penchant for private equity. Along the way, I’ve also had the opportunity to gain experience in various matters, from advice around investment funds to capital market transactions. I’ve always been very well coached in this regard. This has brought me to where I am today, with a multifaceted track record and a good feel for the broader ecosystem around capital investments.”
What does this promotion mean to you?
“For me, this is primarily a nice recognition of the work I have been privileged to do over the past few years, which I obviously haven’t done alone. Successful completion of a transaction often requires many hands. By putting your heads together, you come up with better solutions. None of the work we do here is done by one person alone. So I also see it as a form of appreciation for the team.”
“This promotion is also a form of appreciation for the team. Because none of the work we do here is done by one person alone.”
What do you look back on with pride?
“Every transaction where the client walks away satisfied brings me fulfilment, and I can be deeply happy with an elegant contract. Of course, there are certain projects that are just a little more memorable. A few years ago, I was intensely involved in Crelan’s acquisition of AXA Bank Belgium. That was a very intense file, with challenging timing. Up until a few days before the signing, I gave it everything I could. Then I got married. I finally read the press release about the signing during my honeymoon.”
“In parallel with my practice, I’ve also completed a PhD in recent years. That academic commitment has always excited me. Combining it with full-time legal practice was tough, but I rose to the challenge because legal research should serve practical purposes. This is also why I focused on a subject close to my heart as an adviser: deferred equity instruments. These are legal techniques relating to future shares, which are important for various areas including management incentive structures and convertible instruments. I find it fascinating to get right to the bottom of my subject from a legal perspective. By mastering the fundamentals, you gain a clearer picture of the available options, enabling you to provide clients with better solutions. “I now reap the benefits of that knowledge on a daily basis.”
What would you like to achieve in your new role?
“I believe that you create the most value as an adviser when you guide clients through their journey, from fundraising to investments to exit. This continuity means that you can provide much better advice. That is what I want to pursue further. Not via some rigid five-year plan. The world is changing too fast for that. Most of all, I try to respond to our clients' needs at that moment in the best possible way every day, constantly thinking of ways to serve them even more efficiently and proactively. For example, a major challenge today is how to fully capture the value of AI. We’re experimenting with this extensively, but remaining critical: speed shouldn’t come at the expense of accuracy, and the use of AI shouldn’t become an end in itself.”
“I believe that you create the most value as an adviser when you guide clients through their journey, from fundraising to investments to exit. This continuity means that you can provide much better advice.”
“I don’t experience being appointed as counsel as a break from the past, but as an evolution. The balance shifts further from operational to strategic. In recent years I’ve already become much more involved in team leadership. This makes sense, given the experience I’ve accumulated in the meantime. You have to use your talents where they create the most value.”
“And of course I’m also very much looking forward to April, when I’ll become a dad for the first time. That’s another very exciting new role.”
