Corporate law, Not-for-profit, Healthcare law, Sports law

marleen.denef@curia.be
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Marleen Denef graduated from Leuven University (LL.M.) in 1992, after having obtained her LL.B. at Namur (FNDP). Having specialised in International and European Law at the Université Catholique de Louvain, she was called to the Brussels Bar in 1993 with the corporate department at Claes & Partners (now Leboeuf - Lamb - Greene & Macrae). She was trainee in-house counsel for six months with Hoogovens Aluminium NV in 1996.

Between 1996 and 2002 Marleen served as Research Fellow with Prof. Koen Geens at K.U. Leuven, picking up her interest in the social economy and the not-for-profit sector. Her research in that area led to a Ph.D. in the economic activities of not-for-profit associations (charity law) and trusts, for which she received the three-yearly Arco price.

Between 2003 and 2006, Marleen was a partner at the law firm Dewallens & partners in Leuven (Belgium), where she was head of the department non-profit and socialprofit law, thus dealing mainly with associations,  foundations and cooperative companies. As a partner, she stood at the cradle of Curia on 1 October 2006.

In recent years, Marleen has been consulted in particular for assignments which are in line with new trends such as market-orientation, commercialisation, privatisation and networking. The formulas for partnerships and increase in scale more and more exceed the pattern of the classic merger. Today cooperative partnership models, a well thought-out development of group-structures, autonomisation of commercial activities, public-private partnership ... belong to the new techniques which are increasingly applied in the social profit sector. For such assignments her expertise in traditional enterprise law and in particular in corporate law is a plus.
 
Marleen has remained an active academic. Since 2004, Marleen has been teaching in the “Master-after-Master in Corporate law” at the Catholic University of Brussels for a specialised course on "associations and foundations law”. In January 2007 she was appointed to the interdisciplinary 'Chair of Social Economy" at the University of Antwerp where she has lectured " legal principles of social economy” in an inter-faculty class until the end of June 2009. Since September 2009 she has been teaching a course on the “Legal framework of the social profit organisation”.at the Law Faculty of the University of Antwerp appointed to the Acerta Chair of Social Profit.
 
Marleen is also very frequently asked for training and education on this matter, by federations of a particular subsector as well as by professional training institutions (University of Antwerp Management School, Upgrading, Confocus...).

Marleen regularly publishes on various topics relating to the functioning of organisations in the non-profit and socialprofit. As a permanent author of the journal “Tijdschrift voor Rechtspersoon en Vennootschap (T.R.V)” she has been annotating for over 10 years the legislation, case law and legal theory in the biennial "chronicles on associations and foundations”. 

Due to her mixed experience, both in theory and practice of associations, Marleen is also regularly invited to participate in consultation or steering committees. She participated for example in the CSR conference of the SERV (Social and Economic Council of Flanders) in October 2007, she was part of the steering committee of a project on social governance for Steunpunt Welzijn, Gezondheid en Gezin and was also an activemember of a project of the King Boudewijn Foundation, which developed a first set of "good governance recommendations for social profit organisations". Since October 2009 she has also been a member of the Acerta Social Profit Advisory Council.

Selected publications

M. Denef, “Vermarkting en commercialisering in de social-profitsectoren: impact op de organisatievormen ?”, in Vermarkting van de zorg, Coates, A. en Van Regenmortel, A. (eds.), Brugge, Die Keure, 2011, 303-341

M. Denef, “De omzetting van een vzw in een VSO”, in Liber Amicorum, Luc Weyts, Larcier, Gent, 2011, 745-763

M. Denef, “De VZW: nooit handelaar, ooit verkoper en steeds onderneming ?”, in Beginselen van Belgisch Privaatrecht, Handels- en Economisch Recht, XIII, Deel I – Ondernemingsrecht, Vol. A, B. Tilleman en E. Terryn (eds.),  2011, p. 311-327

M. Denef e.a., "Kroniek verenigingen en stichtingen”, rechtspraak en rechtsleer sinds 1998 in (twee-) jaarlijkse overzichten tot heden, T.R.V. 1999 tot heden.

M. Denef, Economische activiteiten van VZW en stichting. Juridische doorlichting van hun relatie met concurrenten, schuldeisers en begunstigde doelgroep, in Reeks Rechtspersonen- en Vennootschapsrecht Jan Ronse Instituut K.U.Leuven, nr. 17, Kalmthout, Biblo, 2004, 602 pag.

K. Geens, M. Denef, F. Hellemans, R. Tas en J. Vananroye, "Overzicht rechtspraak vennootschappen: 1992-1998", T.P.R. 2000, 99-538

M. Denef, "Van corporate governance naar nonprofit governance: een meer dan nodige stap", Social Profit Jaarboek 2000, VZW Zonder Winstoogmerk en Standaard Uitgeverij, Antwerpen, 2000, 29-42

Complete list of publications

Recent presentations

22 mei 2012, AMS, Master Class Sociale Economie, "capita selecta VZW-wetgeving" (i.s.m. Andrea Blondeel)

4 mei 2012, Ondernemerschap in de zorg, Centrum voor Ziekenhuis- en Verplegingswetenschap

26 april 2012, Social Governance Academy, “Impact van governance op verantwoordelijkheid en aansprakelijkheid van bestuurders”

26 maart 2012, UA, lezing Goed bestuur voor cultuur: over corporate governance in de cultuursector

2 maart 2012, Upgrading, "Fusies en splitsingen voor vzw’s” (i.s.m. Jurgen Goyvaerts)

9 december 2011, Antwerpen, UA-Instituut Sociale Zekerhied, "Vermarkting in de social profit sector: impact op de diverse stakeholders"

2 en 3 december 2011, "Governancemodellen en bestuursrisico's. Impact van het  governance-debat op de verantwoordelijkheid en aansprakelijkheid van het ziekenhuisbeheer" in kader van Symposium "Governance aanbevelingen 2012" ICURO, Brugge (i.s.m. S. Verschaeve)

29 november 2011, Confocus, "Risicomanagement en verzekeringen binnen ziekenhuizen en
zorginstellingen: bestuursaansprakelijkheid"

25 november 2011, Upgrading, "Commerciële activiteiten voor VZW's: beperkingen en oplossingen door pseudo-verzelfstandiging?"

22 november 2011, AMS, Master Class Social Profit, "capita selecta VZW-wetgeving" (i.s.m. Andrea Blondeel)

28 oktober 2011, Upgrading, "Schaalvergroting in de socialprofitsector: netwerkorganisaties en partnershipmodellen"

4 mei 2011, Berchem, Confocus, "Risicomanagement en verzekeringen binnen ziekenhuizen en zorginstellingen: bestuursaansprakelijkheid"

28 april 2011, Brussel, Sociare, "Bijscholingssessies VZW-wetgeving" (i.s.m. A. Blondeel)

23 november 2010, "Social profit masterclass: behoorlijk bestuur", Antwerpen, UAMS

15 november 2010, "Fusies en splitsingen in vzw's na de wet van 30 december 2009", Brussel, seminarie EHSAL/FHS

21 oktober 2010 en 9 november 2010, Brussel, Sociare, "Bijscholingssessies VZW-wetgeving" (i.s.m. Andrea Blondeel)

29 juni 2010, Berchem, "Verticale en horizontale samenwerkingsmodellen tussen en met VZW's", lezing op studiedag "Netwerkvorming" Pluralistisch Platform Gehandicaptenzorg

1 juni 2010, Antwerpen, "Capita selecta VZW-reglementering - deel 2", UAMS, Opleiding Management in de Sociale Economie

18 mei 2010, Antwerpen, "Capita selecta VZW-reglementering - deel 1", UAMS, Opleiding Management in de Sociale Economie

31 maart 2010, Brussel, "De grenzen van de commercialiteit zonder winstoogmerk: vergelijking VZW en stichting, Excellence for Nonprofit, VBO

25 maart 2010, Antwerpen, "De sociale onderneming", in ISUA-reeks "Sociale economie: partner of concurrent voor de vakbond"

25 januari 2010, Brussel, Dolce Hotel, “Fusies en splitsingen van non-profit entiteiten”, Studiedag IBR, “Non-profitsector: actualiteiten voor beheerders en bedrijfsrevisoren”

Complete list of presentations