Netherlands > Industry focus: telecoms > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

Allen & Overy LLP is judged to have 'just the right background for a telecoms and competition law practice along with years of experience in the industry'. Peter Eijsvoogel's 'thorough methods make him the best man for the job' and the 'thorough and precise' Kees Schillemans 'is a great pleasure to work with'.  Associate Tjarda van de Vijver is noted as 'very promising, talented and dedicated'. The team offers end-to-end expertise regulatory,  anti-trust, M&A, litigation, finance, tax and employment matters to clients including Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile and VEON.

As well as leading Bird & Bird LLP’s consulting and regulation practice, Marjolein Geus heads the Hague-based global tech and communications sector group. She led a team appointed by the European Commission in an extensive public tender procedure to perform the EU wide study on the implementation of the Net Neutrality provisions in the EU. Other key team members include Paul Waszink, who has a focus on regulatory regimes, and senior counsel Frank Simons. New hires include Marianne Minnecré from the Dutch Media Authority and Wilfred Steenbruggen previously with Leijnse Artz.

The Brinkhof team acts for many of the major telecoms companies offering the gamut of expertise including related competition and regulatory regimes. It is entrusted with complex disputes; Pepijn van Ginneke has been representing KPN in a long-running matter in which Vodafone challenged its acquisition of Reggefiber. It also counts Tele2, BT Global Services, Sky Radio and VEON among its clients. Quinten Kroes is a notable partner in the team which has added Joost van Eymeren to its ranks, who joined from Stibbe. Gerrit-Jan Zwenne left to join Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV.

Winfred Knibbeler, a competition expert with extensive litigation experience in the telecoms sector, heads the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer practice. The practice can draw upon a range of expertise such as corporate and tax. In recent work, it is advising Ziggo on various matters including competition law aspects of the implementation of new legislation concerning copyright in film works and a dispute concerning access to its telephony customer database. The team also acted for CK Hutchinson as an intervener in an action brought by Fastweb for the annulment of the Commission’s clearance decision regarding its Italian mobile telecoms joint venture with VimpelCom.

The Clifford Chance team is 'very hands-on and provides out of the box ideas'. It assists clients with the full range of expertise including IT, outsourcing, cyber security and data protection. It can also call on experts in  corporate M&A, tax and finance. Alvin Khodabaks, Mark Jan Arends and Hans Beerlage are some of the key team members and counsel Jaap Tempelman 'is clearly very knowledgeable in the telecoms sector and was willing to go the extra mile to come up with new standards that would still be acceptable to all parties'. The team advised L2Fiber Holding on the greenfield set up of fiber optic network operations in Rotterdam, as part of a wider program to roll out fiber-to-the-home networks throughout the Netherlands.

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek offers regulatory expertise and a leading corporate practice to clients including Portugal Telecom International Finance, T-Mobile and Ericsson. Jolling de Pree, Daan Beenders and Gertjan Kuipers collectively offer specialisms in M&A, competition and IP; de Pree led the advice to KPN following the European Commission approval of the acquisition of cable TV operator Ziggo by Liberty Global. KPN appealed against the approval and the  EU General Court annulled the decision.

DLA Piper can deliver comprehensive capabilities to its telecoms clients, including IP, outsourcing, corporate and litigation expertise combined with its cross border reach. It counts the likes of Vodafone-Ziggo, Lebara, Alcatel-Lucent and EchoStar Mobile as clients and assisted Irdeto negotiate a master framework agreement with KPN for the supply of Irdeto’s conditional access technology for KPN’s digital terrestrial broadcasting services in the Netherlands and for the hosting Irdeto’s OTT services for KPN second screen services. Joris Willems and Léon Korsten are the key contacts.

Houthoff's TMT group has special expertise in corporate matters and litigation including Supreme Court cases and attracts both international and domestic clients. Thomas de Weerd heads the group that acted for New York investment firm Aurelius Capital on its investment in Brazilian telecom provider, the Oi group. In other work, it is handling a range of contentious issues for various telecoms clients.

Maverick Advocaten N.V. specialises in telecoms regulations and competition law and attracts clients such as T-Mobile, VEVAM and NORMA. Practice head Bas Braeken acts for Fox Networks Group on a range of issues at both the national and EU level, including regulatory proceedings and in an appeal initiated by KPN and CAIW concerning the ACM's decision not to further investigate its distribution policy. Senior partners Martijn van de Hel and Diederik Schrijvershof are also key team members.

At bureau Brandeis, Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm and Machteld Robichon co-head a 'focused and hands-on team that is a pleasure to work with'. The lawyers, including Simone Peek and Oskar Mulder 'operate at a high level and have a good combination of legal knowledge and strategic thinking'. The team is acting for Netflix on a number of TMT and privacy matters including a case before the ECJ. Robichon is also advising RTV Noord-Holland and AT5 on various media issues including various regulations.

Data protection and privacy specialist Kim Lucassen,along with IP and litigator Serge Zwanen, are the key lawyers in Loyens & Loeff's TMT practice. The department serves clients including Tata Communications and Interxion. In highlight work, the team acted for Brazilian telecoms company Oi in its restructuring and litigation of more than $20bn worth of debt.

Piet Sippens Groenewegen heads NautaDutilh's TMT group which is acting for a telecoms client in relation to the European Commission's assessment of the intended merger between two major telecoms companies. Corporate partners Leo Groothuis and Ruud Smits are worthy of note. Vodafone is a client.

Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV's telecoms focus is based on its strong regulatory, litigation and administrative law expertise. Elisabeth Pietermaat has an established administrative law practice and routinely advises on regulatory regimes. Jannetje Bootsma advises government bodies on telecoms issues and Arnoud Boorsma is also a noted team member.