The Legal 500

Within Arbitration , NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh is consistently rated as a leading arbitration practice. It recently handled disputes against nation states, such as a case regarding governmental interference with an energy sector investment, and was also local counsel in proceedings concerning the manufacture and sale of luxury jewellery. Practice head Gerard Meijer is ‘a leading light’ in the arbitration field. Toon van Mierlo regularly handles international proceedings.

Within Asset finance and structured finance, NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh ‘brings that little extra to the table to make a very successful transaction’ in the securitisation space, and practice head Willem Ruys is ‘generally recognised as the godfather of securitisation in The Netherlands’. Michaëla Ulrici has the ‘ability to bring multiple parties in line, combined with wide knowledge of the market’. Arjan Scheltema is ‘a highly experienced, very knowledgeable and thorough lawyer’. Recent instructions include providing Dutch law advice to ING Bank regarding the restructuring of a back-up facility arranged with the Dutch state.

Within Banking and finance, NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s team, led by Arjen Tillema, is noted for its ‘excellent strength in depth and business acumen’, and its regulatory expertise. Larissa Silverentand, who ‘understands the consequences of actions for business’, acted for AlpInvest in negotiating its sale to The Carlyle Group through a private equity purchase. The practice also advised Deli Maatschappij on a €210m refinancing and acted for a consortium of banks on lending facilities to shipbuilder IHC Merwede. Diederik Vriesendorp was promoted to the partnership.

Within Capital markets, NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh ‘gives excellent service and is clearly knowledgeable’. The team advised domestic issuers on various debt offerings and was local counsel on a number of international issues, including Arcos Dorados Holdings’ R$400m bond issuance and NYSE IPO. It also advised Eureko as selling shareholder on the largest IPO in Poland to date. Practice head Petra Zijp and Walter Schellekens are recommended.

Within Commercial litigation , NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s insolvency specialist Robert van Galen and Supreme Court litigator Freerk Vermeulen are part of the team representing Yukos Oil Company and its Dutch subsidiaries in seeking to prevent confiscation of Dutch assets by the Russian Federation. The firm’s securities litigation capabilities are also highly regarded, with Frank van der Leeuw recommended. Paul Olden is acting for Delta in a share ownership dispute with Essent and RWE, regarding the Netherlands’ only nuclear power plant. Corporate litigators Bart Gerretsen and Harmen de Mol van Otterloo are also recommended.

Within Construction , NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh ‘understands a client’s business, and its advice is not just legal’. Bernard ter Haar leads the team, which includes newly promoted partner David van Ee, who is ‘a very fast, straightforward thinker and no frills in his advice’. He is advising Mahler 4 on The Rock skyscraper, and acting for Neste Oil in contract disputes. Other clients include Rabobank, BAM and Movares.

Within Corporate and M&A, NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh has been acting on the buyer side of notable cross-border transactions, acting Dutch counsel to Johnson & Johnson on its public offer for Crucell, and to Apollo and CVC on their buyout of Brit Insurance. Christiaan de Brauw and Leo Groothuis also advised Elekta on its €365m acquisition of Nucletron. Joost den Engelsman is recommended for M&A work, while Geert Raaijmakers and Hein Hooghoudt focus on corporate governance for clients such as ABN AMRO, Dutch Central Bank and Maxeda.

Within EU and competition , NautaDutilh is a second tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s recent work includes merger clearances in the TMT sector, including Vodafone’s acquisition of BelCompany and advising ProSieben and SBS on the sale of Dutch media businesses. Practice head Charles van Sasse van Ysselt ‘gives knowledgeable, thoughtful and experienced advice in a perfectly clear manner’, while Herman Speyart ‘listens to the wishes of clients and gives high-quality advice’. Jaap Feenstra represented NOS (Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation) in a state aid matter regarding alleged overcompensation.

Within Employment , NautaDutilh is a third tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s Homme ten Have focuses on the sports sector, and recently negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement for professional cyclists in the Netherlands. Other clients include ECT, Mediq and the Muncipality of Amsterdam. Warner Roeters van Lennep and Albert van der Kolk head the practice.

Within Energy , NautaDutilh is a second tier firm,

NautaDutilh ‘does a tremendous job combining its M&A expertise with energy sector knowledge’. Harm Kerstholt is the ‘strategic team leader and has very good market knowledge’: he advised Delta in dispute with RWE regarding ownership of the Borssele nuclear plant and in the subsequent share acquisition. Jaap Jan Trommel is ‘a first-rate and highly efficient dealmaker with an excellent commercial mind’. Trommel advised E.ON, Electrabel and GDF Suez on their carbon capture storage joint venture, and also advised Tullow Oil on acquiring Nuon’s North Sea upstream operations.

Within Environment and planning, NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh handles contentious and non-contentious planning and environment matters for government authorities and corporate clients, particularly in relation to infrastructure and energy sector developments. It is representing a municipality in proceedings regarding environmental and planning issues for a waste power plant. It is also acting for the project manager of the Ziggo Dome concert hall development in judicial review proceedings. Erik Minderhoud is ‘a generalist who can link different issues and come up with solutions’.

Within Fraud and white-collar crime , NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s well-regarded team is led by Joost Italianer, and also includes Bert Fibbe and Arjen Tillema. Its focus includes money laundering, fraud and insider trading, with clients including major Dutch financial institutions, corporations and civil organisations. Rob van der Hoeven has been advising multinationals on internal investigations and fraud cases.

Within Information technology , NautaDutilh is a third tier firm,

NautaDutilh advises IT suppliers and corporates on contracts, licensing and outsourcing agreements. The practice represented Ziggo in a dispute brought by anti-piracy group The BREIN Foundation regarding a media file sharing website. Piet Sippens Groenewegen heads the practice.

Within Insurance , NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s team has strength in depth, including Tjitske Cieremans who is recommended for alternative dispute resolution. Practice head Erik van Niekerk ‘uses his knowledge and experience to provide practical solutions for disputes’, and is representing Total in a major environmental insurance claim. Other highlights included advising the Delft University of Technology on property coverage issues.

Within Intellectual property , NautaDutilh is a second tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s Charles Gielen has a longstanding reputation for soft IP matters, particularly trade marks. Clients include LEGO, Marlies Dekkers, Sanrio and Pioneer Hi-Bred. John Allen handles patent litigation. Anne Marie Verschuur was promoted to the partnership.

Within Legal market overview,

The Dutch legal market is saturated with law firms, with major local players such as De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Houthoff Buruma, NautaDutilh and Stibbe competing closely with international firms such as Allen & Overy LLP and Clifford Chance. Firms are increasingly looking to gain an international foothold or focus on niche areas such as intellectual property in order to establish points of difference to compete in a highly competitive market.

Within Media and entertainment, NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s practice, led by Piet Sippens Groenewegen, recently advised ProSiebenSat.1 on the sale of its Dutch TV operations, and acted for Ziggo in a case against anti-piracy group The BREIN Foundation, regarding access to online content. It also represents public broadcaster NOS in proceedings brought by commercial competitors regarding public funding usage.

Within Mediation , NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

Bart Gerretsen handles mediation work at NautaDutilh.

Within Private equity , tier 4

NautaDutilh acted for APG on the sale of shares in AlpInvest to Carlyle and AlpInvest management, and also advised on setting up healthcare private equity fund Capital Care Partners. It was Dutch counsel on Apollo and CVC’s buyout of Brit Insurance, and for Charterhouse on its €510m acquisition of Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishers. Gaike Dalenoord is ‘very smart, proactive, solutions-driven and commercially focused’.

Within Project finance and PFI, NautaDutilh is a second tier firm,

NautaDutilh acts for lenders on energy, utilities and PPP projects. The practice acted for European Investment Bank on part financing the A12 and A15 highway projects. It was also Dutch counsel to lenders on international energy projects in the UAE and Vietnam. Erik Geerling heads the project finance group.

Within Real estate , NautaDutilh is a second tier firm,

‘Responsive beyond expectations’, NautaDutilh provides ‘seamless service’ on complex matters. It acted for WP Carey on its €155m acquisition of distribution centres from supermarket chain C1000 and advised the municipality of Amsterdam on the €4bn Zuidas project. Bernard ter Haar leads the team, which includes David van Dijk, who has ‘excellent legal and business skills’, the ‘excellent’ Arief van Rhee, and Thijs Lommen, who ‘knows what is important to clients and what can be given away in negotiations’. David van Ee was promoted to the partnership.

Within Restructuring and insolvency , NautaDutilh is a first tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s restructuring and insolvency group is led by Robert van Galen, whose ‘technical ability and strategic foresight are simply remarkable: above all, he has the ability to see the winning argument amongst many competing positions’. The practice advises Yukos and its Dutch subsidiaries on bankruptcy proceedings and in its position as a creditor for the bankruptcy of DSB Bank. On the restructuring side, the team is local counsel on the restructurings of European Directories and Uni-Invest. Teun Struycken and Barbara Rumora-Scheltema are recommended.

Within Shipping, aviation and transport , NautaDutilh is a third tier firm,

NautaDutilh recently advised Garanti Bank and ING on ship financings, and also acted for VLM Airlines on its takeover by Air France-KLM. Erik Geerling leads the team from Rotterdam.

Within Tax, tier 4

NautaDutilh produces ‘high-value, top-level work’ relating to tax aspects of transactions. Clients include Tullow Oil, European Directories, J&J and Apollo Management. Chris Warner and Nico Blom are ‘exceptionally good – very user-friendly and committed’.

Within Telecoms, NautaDutilh is a third tier firm,

NautaDutilh’s clients include Vodafone, Ziggo and Reliance Globalcom. Piet Sippens Groenewegen ‘provides realistic, candid and clear advice, and has extensive experience in telecoms to identify issues and solutions’. Senior associate Paul Waszink is ‘an excellent lawyer in administrative law and very good in court’.