Livorno | Advocatenkantoor Vanheule & Vercaemst

Livorno is a law firm specialising in criminal law, with offices in Brussels and Kortrijk.

Founded in 2019, the firm is the result of a collaboration between two dedicated lawyers who previously practised at different law firms alongside highly respected criminal defence lawyers.

Jan Vanheule and Renaud Vercaemst combine in-depth legal knowledge with extensive practical experience. They handle numerous cases across a wide range of areas of criminal law, including economic and social criminal law, road traffic and transport criminal law, environmental criminal law, sports criminal law, customs criminal law and administrative criminal law. They have also developed particular expertise and experience in cases involving hate speech, hate crimes, discrimination, human trafficking and human smuggling.

The firm represents individuals, companies, public authorities, organisations and executives, whether they are suspected of committing criminal offences or have been victims of crime.

The firm operates throughout all judicial districts in Belgium. Livorno also provides legal representation in several major national and international fraud cases.

Livorno’s main office is located in Brussels (Etterbeek).

In 2026, Livorno opened an office in Kortrijk to improve accessibility, optimise its services and provide even better support to clients in the West Flanders region.

The firm handles all aspects of criminal law and provides legal assistance and representation in criminal proceedings, both during the investigation stage (including police interviews, arrests and searches) and before the courts.

Thanks to the expertise and specialised training of its lawyers, Livorno also represents clients in proceedings before the Belgian Court of Cassation and the European Court of Human Rights.

Jan Vanheule and Renaud Vercaemst take a discreet and carefully considered approach to every case, regardless of its size or complexity. They focus on achieving results while working in close consultation with their clients.

Livorno became the first European free port at the end of the 16^th century. Merchants were welcome regardless of their origins and beliefs, and were granted immunity from prosecution for debts contracted previously or crimes previously committed.

Costituzione Livornina – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, II

Dr Jan Vanheule

Jan Vanheule has been active in the fields of criminal law and criminal procedure for more than twenty-five years. He combines extensive and in-depth knowledge of criminal law with many years of practical experience as a lawyer.

He is a member of the Brussels Bar (Dutch-speaking Bar Association) and the West Flanders Bar.

He studied law at KU Leuven, graduating in 1997. He subsequently completed postgraduate studies in environmental law and obtained a postgraduate diploma in taxation from KU Leuven in 1998.

Since 1998, he has been involved in academic research at KU Leuven, where he further specialised, initially in environmental law and subsequently in criminal law and criminal procedure. In 2009, he obtained his PhD in Law under the supervision of Professor Emeritus Lieven Dupont, with a doctoral thesis on criminal participation.

In 2010, he joined the Brussels law firm Eubelius, where he completed his legal traineeship under the supervision of Raf Verstraeten. In 2014, he followed him to the law firm Verstraeten, Dewandeleer & Gillard (VDG Advocaten, Leuven), where he further specialised as a lawyer in various areas of criminal law.

Since 2018, Jan Vanheule has held the Certificate of Specialised Training in Criminal Cassation Proceedings.

Jan Vanheule acts as legal counsel in a wide range of criminal cases, representing individuals, companies and public authorities.

He regularly represents companies operating in a broad range of sectors that face criminal law issues in the course of their business activities (environmental and planning criminal law, social criminal law, economic criminal law, transport criminal law, tax criminal law, etc.). In this context, he has particular expertise in environmental criminal law and the criminal liability of legal entities and their directors and executives.

Jan Vanheule is also well acquainted with administrative enforcement procedures and assists clients facing administrative proceedings, including administrative fines and enforcement measures.

Jan Vanheule is affiliated with the Institute of Criminal Law at KU Leuven as a research fellow. In this capacity, he publishes academic articles, provides commentary on judicial decisions and regularly speaks at academic conferences and seminars.

He is also a member of the core editorial board of Tijdschrift voor Strafrecht, a peer-reviewed academic journal specialising in criminal law.

Renaud Vercaemst

Renaud Vercaemst is a dedicated criminal defence lawyer.

He studied law at KU Leuven. In 2012, he joined the Dendermonde Bar, where he completed his legal traineeship under the supervision of Jef Vermassen. At the end of 2014, he joined the law firm VDG Advocaten in Leuven, under the supervision of Professor Raf Verstraeten. He also served as a teaching assistant at the Institute of Criminal Law at KU Leuven.

In 2018, Renaud Vercaemst joined the Brussels Bar. He specialises in economic criminal law and handles a wide range of fraud cases, including fraud, breach of trust, misuse of corporate assets, forgery, money laundering, bank fraud, subsidy fraud, social fraud and cases handled by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). His expertise also extends to online offences, such as internet fraud, hate speech and cyberbullying. He also handles criminal cases involving violent offences and sexual offences.

Renaud Vercaemst holds the Certificate of Specialised Training in Criminal Cassation Proceedings and regularly represents clients in proceedings before the Belgian Court of Cassation.

Renaud Vercaemst also provides legal assistance in cases involving road traffic offences. He also defends the rights of cyclists, particularly in Brussels.

Alongside his legal practice, Renaud Vercaemst is Managing Director of citydev.brussels, the Brussels-Capital Region’s regional development agency, since 2026.

After obtaining a diploma in public speaking from the Municipal Academy of Roeselare, Renaud Vercaemst successfully participated in several moot court competitions during his law studies. In 2011, he reached the final of the prestigious European Law Moot Court Competition (ELMC).

In 2013, he won the Vlaams Pleitjuweel, a competition recognising the best young advocates. As a lawyer, he always advocates on behalf of his clients with care and conviction.

Renaud Vercaemst is co-host of the legal podcast #Tussenderegels.