The Legal 500

Within Arbitration, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Dirk Knottenbelt leads Houthoff Buruma’s practice, which handles matters including bilateral investment treaty award proceedings. It advised a major utility company in a dispute with various energy corporations and is also acting for an IT sector client in UNCITRAL arbitration against an African republic.

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Within Asset finance and structured finance, Houthoff Buruma is a third tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma has been focusing on the restructuring of real estate asset portfolios, with Loet Venrooy recently advising Hatfield Philips on a €300m-plus securitised portfolio. The practice also advised purchasers on acquiring Opera Finance’s distressed portfolio.

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Within Banking and finance, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma has recently been advising on restructurings, including assisting Vestia with its asset finance portfolio. André de Neve advised Petrobras on asset financing. Loet Venrooy has ‘industry knowledge and excellent transaction management skills’. He has been advising Hatfield Philips on restructuring a securitised real estate portfolio. Oscar van Angeren, who is ‘effective during negotiations’ and has ‘great knowledge on Dutch investment funds’, forms a strong team with associate Daan Horsthuis.

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Within Capital markets, Houthoff Buruma is a third tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma has a busy equity market listings practice. Alexander Kaarls, whose ‘advice is always appropriate and in-depth’, recently advised BTG Pactual on an IPO and dual listing in São Paulo and Amsterdam. The team also advised Petrobras on an $14.8bn equity issue. The practice lost Matthijs van den Broek who left to establish corporate firm Rutgers & Posch.

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Within Commercial litigation, Houthoff Buruma is a first tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma ‘combines profound legal knowledge with a pragmatic approach’, and is ‘one of the best firms for Supreme Court work’. Financial litigation specialist Albert Knigge is ‘absolutely top of the bill’. He is defending former managers of Fortis against a multibillion-euro claim brought by the Dutch Shareholders Association (VEB). Supreme Court litigators Rob Meijer and Bart van der Wiel represented Essent in its claim against the state in the Dutch Unbundling Act case. Vincent Affourtit was promoted to the partnership.

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Within Construction, Houthoff Buruma is a first tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma provides procurement, financing and regulatory expertise on large-scale construction matters, and has recently advised on the contractual and financing aspects of hospital and wastewater treatment plant developments. Project finance lawyer Peter Habraken and procurement specialist Jan Michiel Hebly are the key contacts.

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Within Corporate and M&A, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma’s service is ‘pragmatic, appropriate, to the point and shows business sense. The lawyers act with an informal touch, without losing their professional attitude’. The team has been active in various transactions, with ‘hands-on’ practice head Michiel Pannekoek advising the selling shareholders on Friesland Bank’s takeover by Rabobank. Casper Banz advised Telegraaf Media Groep on acquiring Metro Holland, and Willem de Nijs Bik represented DHV during its €700m merger with Royal Haskoning. Counsel Michiel Bruinzeel and Jan-Paul van der Hoek are also recommended.

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Within EU and competition, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Weyer VerLoren van Themaat leads Houthoff Buruma’s competition law group, which focuses on cartel defence and merger control matters. He acted for T-Mobile to settle a Dutch investigation into telecoms operators and has been representing Singapore Airlines in the air cargo cartel proceedings.

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Within Employment, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma advises on pension law, restructuring, remunerations, and litigation. Clients include T-Mobile, NedCar, Fiat, Colgate-Palmolive, and ABN AMRO Pension Fund. Rixt de Vries advised Telegraaf Media Groep on various contentious issues. Edward de Bock leads the team.

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Within Energy Other recommended firms

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Within Environment and planning, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma leverages its real estate and public law expertise to advise municipalities on environmental and planning issues regarding housing, infrastructure and commercial developments. Environmental law specialist Robert Crince le Roy recently represented the province of South Holland and the city of Rotterdam in appeal proceedings regarding the Maasvlakte 2 project. Practice head Jan Frans de Groot handles Supreme Court litigation.

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Within Information technology, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma has been advising on a combination of M&A, outsourcing and compliance issues. Representative clients include Ohpen, CA Technologies and Comscore. Wolter Wefers Bettink is noted for his experience in contentious matters. Newly promoted partner Thomas de Weerd handles commercial and transactional work, and is ‘dedicated, available and knowledgeable’.

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Within Insurance, Houthoff Buruma is a first tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma advises financial institutions such as NIBC and DSB Bank on coverage issues and is also acting for the Dutch Export Credit Agency on credit insurance relating to various project companies. Hans Londonck Sluijk has experience high-profile D&O liability and other complex litigation. Huib Lebbing acts for corporate insurers and Berry Jonk-van Wijk advises on regulatory matters.

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Within Intellectual property, tier 4

Houthoff Buruma co-ordinated IP litigation between the brewer Bavaria and its rival Bayerischer Brauerbund regarding the trade mark registration of a protected geographical indication. The team also represented Ajinomoto in a Supreme Court patent case. Bas Le Poole focuses on copyright and trade mark matters.

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Within Media and entertainment, Houthoff Buruma is a first tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma advises publishers, advertising agencies, broadcasters and production companies on regulatory, advertising and litigation matters. It has been defending Trion Publishers in an image rights case brought by former footballer Johan Cruijff, which was heard at the Supreme Court, and successfully represented TV broadcaster NOS in a defamation case. The team also advises Adidas on sponsorship issues and Telegraaf Media Groep on freedom of expression and other publicity matters. Litigator Bas Le Poole is highly experienced in dealing with publicly sensitive matters.

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Within Mediation, Houthoff Buruma is a first tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma’s Marry de Gaay Fortman focuses on mediations relating to procurement, governance and real estate law.

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Within Private equity, Houthoff Buruma is a third tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma, which acts for various Dutch private equity groups, recently advised H2 Equity Partners on several divestments and acquisitions. The team also acted for the seller and acquirer on the buyout of Eurofiber, which Doughty Hanson bought from Reggeborgh. Jan-Paul van der Hoek and Michiel Pannekoek are key contacts.

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Within Project finance and PFI, Houthoff Buruma is a second tier firm,

Peter Habraken heads Houthoff Buruma’s practice, which has been acting on various PPP mandates, including advising the SAAone consortium on the €4.4bn A1/A6 road project and representing another consortium bidding for a mixed-use development in South Rotterdam. The team is also acting for Ballast Nedam and Strukton as winning bidders on the A2 motorway PPP scheme.

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Within Real estate, Houthoff Buruma is a first tier firm,

Widely regarded as a leading player with a broad-based practice, Houthoff Buruma has been busy acting on large restructurings and refinancings. The team acted for housing corporation Vestia in negotiating an agreement with a syndicate of banks regarding the winding down of its multibillion-euro derivatives portfolio. The group also advised on various major transactions, including commercial property lawyer Herman Lohman acting for Credit Suisse Euroreal on its €140m sale of its Amsterdam office. Jan Cees Kuiken, who mainly represents international clients, recently assisted Unibail-Rodamco on the €110m sale of its retail development in Eindhoven.

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Within Restructuring and insolvency, Houthoff Buruma is a first tier firm,

Houthoff Buruma is ‘highly sought’ for its ‘no-nonsense, result-oriented approach’ and strong experience in major bankruptcies. Frédéric Verhoeven focuses on cross-border insolvency work and continues to act as a joint trustee of Lehman Brothers Treasury, and Rutger Schimmelpenninck continued in a similar role for DSB Bank. The practice also acted for Dutch National Railways on the high-speed rail network restructuring.

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Within Tax Other recommended firms

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Within Telecoms Other recommended firms

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