Wink

Faros Cake Challenge - A Sweet Touch of Competition

True to one of our focus areas, at Faros we love a bit of … competition. Combining our sweet tooth with a real contest, we have launched a “cake the week” challenge, taking turns in bringing cake to the office. The best cake — meeting a few well-defined (and fiercely debated) criteria — takes the win. And what better way to compete than with this beautiful creation, starring our very own competition Captain and data protection Chef? Let’s see if it takes the crown (its toughest rival: the legendary Chokotoff cake). One thing is certain: this cake definitely deserves the title of "best Faros fit".

Family day at the Efteling (The Netherlands)

The Faros team went on a weekend trip to Efteling! Not only our colleagues, but also their partners and children joined in the fun. Together we enjoyed fairytale attractions, delicious food and lots of smiling faces. The weekend was a success.

Behind the scenes

Did you enjoy the summer break? So did we. Although we worked hard to get a fresh series of puppet theatre videos in shape. And we promise: access to data protection and competition law has never been easier. Keen to look behind the scenes before we get started with our new series?

Check it out here!

Masterclass Excel and ChatGPT at Faros

In the past, you had to figure everything out manually and type it all in yourself. Flipping through books was the standard practice. And now? ChatGPT acts like your personal therapist! Today, everything revolves around artificial intelligence.

Anything seems possible… but are we actually using Excel and ChatGPT the right way? That was the question we brought into our Masterclass.

Trainer Johnny Da Paixao showed us how to truly master Excel, while Trainer Dieter Vanden Heede made it clear: “Why bother? ChatGPT already does it for you!”

The future? We’ll be sharing it with… robots? Absolutely - but now we know how to make it work. A big thank you to Expert Academy for the inspiring workshop. We’re definitely putting all of this into practice!

A summer full of talent

This summer, we were happily joined by students who came to support our team. They were immersed in our favorite areas: competition law, data protection, and compliance. There was plenty of laughter during lunch breaks, but also a lot of hard work. After all, there is always a lot going on at Faros.

The help of our students was therefore more than welcome. It was a pleasure to have Alexander, Cato, Anna, Ernette, Nelle, Lotte and Magali on board.

We wish them a wonderful holiday and, of course, a bright and successful future in the legal world!

The Faros team is back on the road for a good cause!

Together with friends and family, our 8 Faros riders took on the Kom op tegen Kanker 1000 km challenge, each cycling 125 km to support life-saving cancer research. From Faros to Mechelen and across Flanders, they spent 35 hours in the saddle and raised nearly €6,000. Every kilometer brought us closer to a future with fewer heartbreaking stories and more lives saved. A sunny day filled with energy and determination, and of course… team spirit.

Easter Fun at the Office

On Tuesday, the Easter Bunny paid a surprise visit to Faros and left a trail of chocolate behind. Together with the whole team, we went on a hunt for the Easter eggs – because who says egg hunting is only for kids? A fun break full of enjoyment and teamwork: sometimes it are the small moments that make all the difference.

Flowers for Secretaries' Day

On Thursday, April 17th, we celebrated Secretaries' Day, a special occasion to honor our office team. At Faros, we took this opportunity to show our appreciation with beautiful flowers. The office team was pleasantly surprised with the gift as a small token of gratitude for its dedication and hard work.

Maurits Bogaerts, Economics and Law student, completes his internship at Faros

After a month full of new insights and valuable experiences, Maurits is completing his internship at Faros.

This was the first time that we, as a law firm, welcomed a student with an economics background, and experience that proved highly valuable for both Maurits and ourselves.

During his internship, Maurits brought a fresh economic perspective and was primarily involved in market research across various sectors. At Faros, we take pride in working with students. We look forward to following Maurits’s career and wish him every success in his further studies and professional journey!

Faros colours and puzzles for Kom Op Tegen Kanker

Never change a winning team: not only will our cyclists be part of the 1000 km of Kom Op Tegen Kanker again, but our KOTK colouring book is also getting a second edition (after last year's success). This year, Faros also has something special up its sleeve: not only are there the beautiful drawings to colour in that were provided to us by friends, family and even clients, there is also a challenging puzzle section. Especially for the thinkers among us, we dive into the legal world with those puzzles. Don't worry, you don't need to be a lawyer (although it may help a little) to successfully complete those puzzles.

All proceeds from the colouring and puzzle book will go to the fight against cancer and will thus be passed on to the Kom Op Tegen Kanker organisation. Would you also like to contribute to this initiative?

Order the book here for €10 incl. VAT: https://cdn.flxml.eu/f-065f2c51019fa88d

Faros believes in “health is wealth”

Today, our hardworking team enjoyed a well-deserved treat: a relaxing massage to help unwind and recharge. After all, a little self-care goes a long way in keeping teams motivated and energized. Did you know this? Happy employees are 12% more productive (University of Warwick, 2015). Employees who feel appreciated work 50% harder (O.C. Tanner research). All that may be true, but that is not why we organized this; it simply was fun to do!

The puppets are coming to live!

Behold our latest Faros gadgets: the Glossary key rings. The Captain and Chef from our Glossary video series come to life in the form of these fun gadgets. Want to get your hands on one of these key rings? Send an email to glossary@faros.eu with the reason why and we will send you one! PS: The entire Glossary video series can be found on the ‘Glossary’ page on this website and on our YouTube and LinkedIn pages.

Introducing The Faros Four-mula: 4 Colours for Student Success!

As the academic year kicks off, we're thrilled to introduce our newest fun and functional gadget, made for students: the Faros Four-mula pen! This isn't just any pen—it's a four-colour Bic, with each colour representing a core asset that Faros offers to students. Look out for the Faros Four-mula pen in student goodie bags! The snapshot here is from the Codex Workshop at Elsa Leuven, where students eagerly put their new pens to work, marking up their codices. Eager to get hold of our pen? Catch us at upcoming job fairs and networking events, or simply drop us a line at info@faros.eu with a brief motivation.

Faros opens its warmest door to students!

Yesterday, three motivated students had the opportunity to work with Faros in support of the Warmste Week. The students were given an exclusive insight into the world of data protection, competition and compliance, and their earnings were fully donated to a charity partner of the Warmste Week: a true win-win. Their curiosity and fresh perspective on today’s legal challenges were an inspiration to us all!

Today, the Faros Team attended the 'Insights Discovery' training by trainer Tom Saeys of the Expert Academy.

We were introduced to our own 'colour profile', as well as that of other team members. Furthermore, we were trained to understand the colour mix and how to work with it in our day-to-day practice. It was a particularly insightful session, which further strengthened the team.

In October, trainer Tom will return to Faros for a follow-up training. We are already looking forward to that session!

Wondering how Amina experienced her winter internship?

We asked Amina some questions about her internship at Faros. The result? You can read this below.

Faros cycles for a good cause!

Vincent, Louis, Morgane, Frank, Rob and Wesley cycled each 125 km to support cancer research (Kom Op Tegen Kanker). This annual event attracts approximately 1200 teams of each 8 riders. Faros designs a cycling outfit for the event so that our riders do not get unnoticed. As always, each of our riders was well-prepared and completed the 125 km with a smile. Faros is glad to contribute 5500 EUR to this good cause and … to a healthy challenge for our team.

Faros preparing for sports events in support of ‘Kom op Tegen Kanker’

Faros will once again go sporty to support 'Kom op Tegen Kanker' (crowd funding of cancer research). Several team members as well as family and friends will run and cycle in support of this cause. We obviously need training, and what better way to do this than in a genuine Faros sports T-shirt? Here you can see our team gathering the last feedback on the new design. Stay tuned to see the final result!

A Faros ornament in your Christmas tree

Also this year, no classic Christmas card for us, but a real Faros Christmas ornament consisting of the 'O' of Faros. Complete your Christmas tree with this fun Faros gift! You do need to assemble the ornament yourself. Here is a video showing how to proceed. Good luck & happy holidays!

Launch Glossary big success

The launch of our 'Glossary' page was a huge success. Not only did we appear on radio and television, our clients were also very enthusiastic about the new concept. On the right you can read some of the pleasant reactions that we received. And there is more to come …

Curious about our Glossary? Take a look here.

Faros Family Day

Last weekend, the Faros "Family Day" took place. We headed to Pairi Daiza for a day full of animal fun! On the right is a fun snapshot with our new friend 'Mala'.

Faros @ 1000 km cycling event generating funds for cancer research

During the prolonged weekend of 18-21 May, Faros participated in the 1000 km cycling event generating funds for cancer research. All of our riders completed their 125 km contribution and arrived safely. Brilliant organization. Brilliant atmosphere. Special thanks to Herman and his family who embraced our Faros riders in the broader Toetiewoetie-team. Toetiewoetie is the nick name of Anke Antonissen who started the team more than 10 years ago and whose initiative we are proud to continue in her remembrance. We will be back next year with more Faros riders!

Faros improvises Recently, the Faros team attended a very original training: improvisation!

During a workshop by Lieselotte from Studio Gaga, we did several exercises that pulled us completely out of our comfort zone and taught us to react from impulse. After all, we believe that in the legal profession, you make a difference by approaching matters out of the box. Other than that, having fun in team is always pleasant! Want to know more about Studio Gaga's improv workshops? Take a look at the website: https://www.studio-gaga.be/.

The ‘Faros CEO room’

Quite central in our office we have a CEO room. Not what you think. CEO stands for Children Entertainment Office. We welcome our young visitors and, if they have to wait a bit for an e-mail to be finished or a video call to be completed, there is plenty of fun stuff to do. Not surprising. The kids of our Faros team members are simply part of the Faros family.

Poetry Day @ Faros

On 26/01, it was Poetry Day. As a part of this, all of our employees wrote a poem about Faros which they then presented to each other during the team lunch. After that, everyone voted for his/her favourite one. The poem on the right eventually emerged as the winner. There is clearly a lot of creative talent at Faros!

At Faros we like to celebrate our 'firsts'

One of the advantages of being a young law firm is that we are able to celebrate a lot of 'firsts'. Recently, we exchanged our first Christmas gifts during an office lunch and we had our first Christmas dinner. We are also very proud to have celebrated for the first time that one of our colleagues was admitted to the Brussels bar. To celebrate and to honor this formal event in her career, Sofie received a “toga”. A tradition has been set…

A Faros Christmas tree on your desk

Faros wishes you happy holidays with… a desk-size Christmas tree! No classic Christmas card for us, but instead a small Christmas tree made of the iconic Faros 'A's'. However, you still have to assemble the tree yourself. Any difficulties? Check out how to do it right. Happy Holidays!

Sustainability in every sense of the word…

No blablabla about sustainability at Faros, but action. We have banned plastic bottles from our fridges and are now presenting the one and only Faros bag which is made of plastic bottles. It is superstrong and can hold easily two and possibly even three large size folders. On top of that, it even looks nice. Not sure? Check out yourself.

If you are not a robot …

One of our friends at a client made an astonishing discovery. If you start playing with our logo, you end up with a… robot. No kidding. Check it out for yourself on the right. This message stands therefore as a general warning: we are not robots at Faros! If you do not believe us (which is not excluded after this frightening discovery), come over and have a cup of coffee with us and pinch (softly) the cheek of one of our team members.

Honoring a Belgian tradition...

At the 2022 Gondola Negotiation Summit the organisers were so kind to celebrate the start of Faros. Quite something in a Kinepolis movie theatre filled with business people. We reciprocated in a traditional Belgian way. Faros offered sugar beans which are a typical gift upon the birth of a new child. Talking about a sweet start…

Almost good to go...

Talking about a transformation! The Faros team selected office space that required quite some work and took that as an excellent opportunity to inject the Faros look and feel. Our landlord Glocal (thanks to Hans and Robert) was of enormous help. And then our team (extended with numerous family members) got going. Interested in a sneak preview of the makeover of our new work space? More footage will follow...

Sorry Telecom Operator… we will do it ourselves

When we heard the waiting music proposed by our Telcom Operator, we collectively shook our head. No, not the way to go. We started looking for home grown talent and bumped almost immediately into Wolvesman (the alias of Mario Francken). Wolvesman writes instrumental theme music and soundtracks, mostly on guitar. By keeping the music to the essence Wolvesman tries to touch different basic emotions.

No need to call us hoping that we do not pick up the phone. Want to know more about this wonderful musician? Stream the music of Wolvesman here. Because … details matter and every note counts!

The Faros ‘bic’ is the iconic “Bic”

Law firms can spend hours on the selection of the pens on which to place their logo. Not so at Faros. Thanks to PascoGifts we immediately agreed on the one and only iconic Bic. Details matter so we went straight for the “real thing”.

Also a fan of our 'Bic'? Send a fun quote about our team via this link and we will get some to you.

Vernissage @ Faros

We recently brightened up the walls in our hallway with beautiful artwork by Oliver Lenaerts. Oliver is an artist with a background in the legal world, and a lawyer with the heart of an artist. His work forms a unique dialogue between law, art and creativity. To celebrate our new art acquisitions, we organised a small “vernissage” at the office, where Oliver came to explain more about his work and the dialogue between art and law that constitutes the core of it. Curious about these artworks? Give us a call and feel free to come and have a look.