The Legal 500

Within Arbitration, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek provides ‘very clear and business-oriented advice’, and regularly handles high-value, cross-border cases. Marnix Leijten is ‘highly experienced in international arbitration, particularly in European energy market cases’, and Bommel Van der Bend has ‘excellent analytical and strategic skills’. The team represented NXP in winning a $59m award in an ICC arbitration against STMicroelectronics. Leijten was also counsel to Achmea in winning an investment treaty dispute and subsequent appeal against The Slovak Republic.

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Within Asset finance and structured finance, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek has ‘a good team dedicated to the aircraft business’, including lease financings. Menno Stoffer advised VION on increasing its securitisation facility with Rabobank and DZ Bank. Other clients include Ex-Im Bank, UBS, DVB Bank and Dutch Railways. Berend Crans has recently advised various banks on refinancing debt in US leveraged leasings.

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Within Banking and finance, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

‘A true partner in business’, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is best known for representing corporate borrowers on financing transactions but also advises banks on lending and regulatory matters. It recently advised China Development Bank on loans to Telefónica and helped BAM to obtain credit facilities. Jan Marten van Dijk leads the team, which includes Niek Biegman, the ‘pragmatic, innovative and client-focused’ Berend Crans, and Menno Stoffer, who has ‘a lot of transactional expertise’.

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Within Capital markets, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek provides ‘high-quality advice’ on Dutch law matters, and is particularly experienced in equity issues. The practice advised JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as lead managers on Ziggo’s IPO, and acted for Royal Imtech on various private placements. Niek Biegman advised Rabobank on its Basel III-compliant equity bond issuance. Issuer-side capital markets expert Jan Willem Hoevers acted for DE Masterblenders on its Euronext listing.

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Within Commercial litigation, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is noted for its expertise in cross-border disputes and Supreme Court litigation. It defended Royal Dutch Shell against a major environmental damage claim, and is representing Ageas and Yukos Oil in ongoing, high-value financial litigation. It also acts for ABN AMRO in insurance cases, and other clients include KPMG, AkzoNobel and Ahold. Marc Ynzonides heads the practice, which also includes expert commercial litigator Marnix Leijten and Supreme Court lawyer Jan De Bie Leuveling Tjeenk.

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Within Construction, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek has expertise in contentious and non-contentious infrastructure and other project developments. Bommel van der Bend, who has ‘in-depth knowledge and broad experience of tendering and construction contracts’, advised Port of Rotterdam on negotiations with ProRail regarding the redevelopment of a harbour railway system. The practice also advises BAM Group on various PPP and PFI developments.

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Within Corporate and M&A, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek acts on large-scale transactions and provides support to major Dutch corporates. Arne Grimme advised Philips Electronics on a joint venture with TPV Technology and acted for Rabobank on its acquisition of Friesland Bank. Paul Cronheim advised ABN AMRO on divesting a business to BNP Paribas. Klaas de Vries advised Ahold on acquiring Bol.com. New clients include PostNL and WoltersKluwer.

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Within EU and competition, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s Erik Pijnacker Hordijk and Jolling de Pree co-head the practice, which represented Grolsch in a successful appeal against cartel allegations, and is advising an international bank in the Libor rate-setting investigations. It also acted for Philips on merger filing and in cartel investigation proceedings. Other clients include Ahold, Rotterdam Port Authority, Rabobank and GasTerra. Martijn Snoep and recently promoted partner Jaap de Keijzer are also recommended.

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Within Employment, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is particularly noted for its litigation and pension law expertise. It recently handled a number of Supreme Court cases, including acting for the Dutch trade union for civil pilots in an age discrimination case and advising an individual on a decision that extends employer’s liability to self-employed workers. Other clients include Philips, AkzoNobel, Capgemini and Endemol. Key contacts include Evert-Jan Henrichs and Stefan Sagel.

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Within Energy, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek gives ‘sound, practical advice’ on transactions, regulations and disputes. The practice advised Spyker Energy on the sale of Smart Energy Solutions to Tulip Oil, and Nicolien van den Biggelaar advised Gasunie on extending its gas transport network. The practice is now led by newly promoted partner Anja Mutsaers, following Elisabetta Aarts’ departure to Loyens & Loeff. Jaap De Keijzer also made partner. Marnix Leijten is ‘highly experienced in international arbitration and provides business-oriented advice on European gas market disputes’.

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Within Environment and planning, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek has strong experience in planning, zoning and environmental aspects of large-scale infrastructure projects. Nicolien van den Biggelaar regularly advises AkzoNobel on its industrial sites and is also counsel to Groningen Seaports on nature protection issues. The practice obtained permits for the Maasvlakte 2 terminal project at Port of Rotterdam. Other key clients include TenneT, Tata Steel and Gasunie.

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Within Fraud and white-collar crime, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is recommended for advising on complex corporate and financial crime matters, including internal investigations. The ‘highly skilled and knowledgeable’ Marnix Somsen and Patrick Ploeger acted for Philips and Philips Pension Fund in a large-scale fraud investigation. Other clients include Vestia, Ageas and Rabobank.

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Within Information technology, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek advises on outsourcing, compliance and litigation, and its lawyers ‘know what they are doing and do not hesitate to think further than originally asked’. Clients include IBM, KAS BANK and Ahold. Bart van Reeken is ‘an excellent negotiator and knows what he is talking about’, Lokke Moerel is ‘expert and a strong negotiator’, and ‘young star’ Joost van Ooijen ‘truly understands the technology side of contract negotiations’.

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Within Insurance, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek shows ‘strong understanding of the issues’ and advises corporate clients such as AkzoNobel, Essent, Aegon and Ageas on coverage and liability disputes as well as non-contentious matters. Practice head Eelco Meerdink is noted for his expertise in contentious insurance matters and counsel Daniëlle Pos is ‘very knowledgeable’ on the regulatory side. Newly promoted partner Dennis Horeman is ‘bright and very sharp’.

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Within Intellectual property, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a first tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s ‘high-quality’ practice continues to advise Sara Lee in a patent dispute brought by Nestlé and is representing Procter & Gamble in litigation regarding its Gilette brand. Jan Pieter Hustinx is ‘an excellent strategist, who provides creative solutions’ on patent matters. Ilja Morée rejoined the firm as counsel from an in-house role at AstraZeneca and is particularly recommended for trade mark matters. Koen Limperg is ‘very proactive and keeps an eye on developments that may affect a client’s business’. Gertjan Kuipers is also recommended.

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Within Media and entertainment, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek draws on its transactional and litigation expertise to advise major companies, organisations and individuals in the media and entertainment sectors. The team advised HBO on a joint venture with Ziggo to launch entertainment TV channels in the Netherlands and won a case for Universal Music Group against Bob Marley’s record label, Tuff Gong. The firm also advises the Royal Dutch Football Association on sports laws. Tobias Cohen Jehoram is the key contact.

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Within Private equity, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a third tier firm,

Ton Schutte leads De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s team on private equity transactions, with key clients including Waterland, AXA, Blackstone, HAL Investments and Lindsay Goldberg. Arne Grimme ‘understands how to make a deal work without losing sight of the interests of his client’. He advises AAC Capital Partners on divestments and acquisitions. Other highlights included acting for Cabot Corporation on the $1.1bn acquisition of Norit Group.

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Within Project finance and PFI, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s ‘genuinely service-minded and service-oriented’ team advises lenders and sponsors such as Strukton Group, City of Amsterdam, Dutch Railways, Rabobank, and NRG. Department head Menno Stoffer is advising BAM, Alstom and Connexxion as bidders for the PPP Regiotram light rail project in Groningen. Stoffer and Bommel van der Bend are also advising South Stream Transport on procurement and contracts pertaining to a deep-water pipeline project between Russia and Bulgaria.

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Within Real estate, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s practice head Annemieke Wessels recently advised on real estate fund structuring and also assisted Bouwinvest Dutch Institutional Residential Fund with its divestment of certain property portfolios. Koos de Blécourt represented Philips in its sale of the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, which was the biggest single-asset real estate deal in the Netherlands to date. Other clients include Shell, TenneT and ASR REIM.

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Within Restructuring and insolvency, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s seasoned insolvency lawyer Ruud Hermans is ‘an expert in the field of duty of care and combining this with his insolvency knowledge makes him an absolute expert for a limited number of complex bankruptcy cases’. He advised various Dutch banks on minimising exposure to the DSB Bank bankruptcy. Reinout Vriesendorp is ‘an expert in bankruptcy law’, and Berto Winters is also recommended.

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Within Shipping, aviation and transport, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a second tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is particularly recommended for aviation financing, but also advises on transport sector insurance and litigation. Team head Berend Crans has recently acted for DVB Bank, Aercap and Ex-Im Bank. The practice also advises Dutch Railways on financing arrangements.

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Within Tax, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a third tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s ‘advice is always very appropriate and high level’. Paul Sleurink heads the team, which also includes newly made-up partner Frank Pötgens. Dick Hofland is ‘very creative and has deep technical skills, brilliant analytical ability and strong, practical business sense’. The team has advised clients including Intel, Ahold, Philips, and Cabot Corporation on tax aspects of transactions.

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Within Telecoms, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is a third tier firm,

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek’s competition team regularly acts for KPN, and recently advised it on acquisitions as well as appeal proceedings brought against its proposed joint venture with Reggefiber. Jolling de Pree is able to ‘translate strategic thinking into practical advice’.

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