Shearwaters > Amsterdam, Netherlands > Firm Profile
Shearwaters Offices
BARBARA STROZZILAAN 101
1083 HN AMSTERDAM
Netherlands
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Shearwaters > The Legal 500 Rankings
Netherlands > Employment Tier 5
Boutique firm Shearwaters is known for its expertise in corporate employment law and often acts as local counsel to international law firms on their employment mandates in the Netherlands. The firm also assists various international clients with the employment aspects of M&A transactions and potential follow-up litigation. Martijn van Broeckhuijsen and Maarten Vestering co-chair the practice, supported by Hester van den Dorpel.Practice head(s):
Martijn van Broeckhuijsen; Maarten Vestering
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘We regularly rely upon Shearwaters for employment matters. We have a longstanding collaborative relationship with Martijn van Broeckhuijsen and Maarten Vestering.’
‘We value the responsiveness of Shearwaters. Hester van den Dorpel is exceptional.’
‘Martijn van Broeckhuijsen’s vast experience means that he can predict how counterparties will respond, which makes him very good at strategising for a case.’
‘They listen, are knowledgeable, and will take further advice where they believe this is necessary in order to achieve the best result possible.’
‘We have direct and personal contact with Maarten Vestering, who provides very good, quick, to-the-point and practical advice and support.’
‘The most important thing to highlight that would make me recommend this firm to others is the service level and responsiveness of the partners involved. The team felt totally accountable for the outcome of my case and provided the best level of service that I’ve ever experienced in achieving the desired outcome. The other area to draw attention to is the depth of knowledge that the team has on employment legal issues. Both partners were clearly very experienced and very often were many steps ahead. This made me feel that I had the upper hand throughout the process.’
‘The two partners I worked with were both outstanding and exceptional. Maarten Vestering provided better client service than I have ever experienced at another firm. He patiently guided me through the process and advised me accordingly. Martijn van Broeckhuijsen was the perfect complement to Maarten. He was the ultimate professional who knew his way around every part of Dutch employment law and the legal process. He is someone you always want on your team.’
‘The firm combines the relevant expertise and business acumen to provide first-class legal advice to its clients.’
Key clients
Scandit
The Aurora Group
Vistra Netherlands
Shin-Etsu Silicones
BTS & Partners
Bioriginal Food & Science Corporation
West Coast Supply Group
Financial firms XR Trading, Radix Trading and Blue Fire Capital (Galaxy Digital)
Amino Technologies/24i Unit Media (p/o stocklisted Aferian plc.)
Work highlights
- Advised Scandit on various employment-related topics, including advising on a restructuring and resulting individual dismissals and litigation.
- Advised Vistra Netherlands on various employment-related topics.
Shearwaters > Firm Profile
The firm: Shearwaters is a highly experienced boutique firm. We offer expert advice to large internationally operating corporates, financial services clients and ‘high-profile individuals’ on Dutch corporate employment law. The firm has a deep bench of seasoned practitioners who handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, with marked success in complex litigation.
Shearwaters is the unique boutique firm in the Netherlands, as its sole focus is on Dutch corporate employment law in the international business environment. Its fee-earners have gained over 75 years of joint relevant experience at some of the world’s premier law firms (BakerMcKenzie and Linklaters).
What do we offer?
- Transactional support
- Strategic advice
- Litigation
The firm works from Amsterdam’s financial district (Zuidas) and helps its clients navigate through the complexities of Dutch corporate employment law by providing transactional support, strategic advice and litigation capabilities.
The firm is particularly adept at advising clients on collective redundancies and reorganizations (including negotiations with trade unions on social plans), works council consultation processes, executive remuneration and delicate (executive and senior) dismissals.
Independent global legal directories Chambers and Partners, Acritas and The Legal 500 (EMEA) Series recognize, recommend and/or rank Shearwaters and its lawyers as a leading firm with leading experts. In addition, the firm was shortlisted in the category “European specialist firm of the year” at The Lawyer European Awards in 2017.
Since its inception in 2015, Shearwaters has grown to a team of eight lawyers which equals or exceeds the employment law capability of most full-service firms in the Netherlands. Not only in size, but also and perhaps more importantly: in experience and expertise.
The firm is best known for consistently delivering a seasoned team of lawyers with a strong track record. Additional strengths include fostering personal relationships with companies and executives, being consistent, pragmatic, business-oriented, focused, well networked, getting things done, cutting through to key issues and providing sound judgement, not just technical expertise.
Areas of practice
Employment: Recent examples of our work include: advising corporate law/M&A boutiques and international firms on the employment aspects of various M&A transactions and numerous restructurings; advising an international, Norwegian stock-listed, technology corporation on restrictive covenants and individual dismissals for urgent cause; advising a dual-listed Australian-British multinational and one of the world’s largest metals and mining corporations on individual dismissals and on employment aspects to their restructuring of its Dutch business activities; advising a well-known European cosmetics brand on Dutch employment law (ia on the delicate dismissal of a prominent board member); advising various companies on all aspects of Dutch employment law related to their ‘top executives’, (eg on remuneration issues, (non-compete and other) restrictive covenants, individual dismissals, group dismissals, collective dismissals, etc).
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Martijn van Broeckhuijsen | martijn.vanbroeckhuijsen@shearwaters.nl | +31681838825 |
| Employment | Maarten Vestering | maarten.vestering@shearwaters.nl | +31619210409 |
| Employment | Karin Bodewes | karin.bodewes@shearwaters.nl | +31655394458 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Karin Bodewes | Of counsel | View Profile |
|
Shearwaters General information | View Profile | |
|
Maarten Vestering | Co-head | View Profile |
|
Martijn van Broeckhuijsen | Founding partner and co-head | View Profile |
|
Hester van den Dorpel | Junior associate (in Dutch: “advocaat-stagiaire”) | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 50+ at this office : 8Languages
Dutch English GermanMemberships
Informal global network of boutique firms across Europe and beyond based on the Linklaters and Baker McKenzie alumni networksDiversity/Community
We value diversity and are committed to it. The majority of our lawyers is female.
Client Testimonials
TESTIMONIAL: This is what clients say about Martijn van Broeckhuijsen:
Highly experienced and knowledgeable.
Business oriented, pleasant and factual.
He really wants to represent you and to help you. He has that drive.
A skillful and amicable guy.
Commercial, helpful and prompt.
Creative in finding solutions.
Responsive, commercial and knowledgeable.
An effective negotiator with a high level of clarity in communication.
TESTIMONIAL: This is what clients say about Maarten Vestering:
A bold presence, exceptional knowledge, and great to work with. He is able to adapt quite easily; you can put him in different situations and he is comfortable.
This is what clients say about the team:
An excellent team with a business-oriented rather than a minimalistic legal view, which helps the transaction.
The lawyers have a good understanding of M&A and how that translates to the Dutch
employment situation. Quick turnaround, clear communications and guidance.
The team was able to package the advice in such a way that we could easily forward it to other departments in our company. There was no legalese and it was very clear.
It really understands us and our commercial drivers.
Client Testimonials
This is what clients say about the firm’s lawyer Martijn van Broeckhuijsen:
Experienced, quick and really responsive.
He brings relevant experience and deep knowledge on the topics at hand.
He proactively drives towards a good outcome.
He demonstrates experience in employee mobility and individual dismissals.
Responsive, commercial and knowledgeable.
An effective negotiator with a high level of clarity in communication.
Highly experienced and knowledgeable.
He has a broad practice that encompasses individual dismissals, restructuring processes and the Dutch employment law aspects of significant global M&A transactions.
Business-oriented, pleasant and factual.
He really wants to represent you and to help you. He has that drive.
A skilful and amicable guy.
Commercial, helpful and prompt.
Creative in finding solutions
This is what clients say about the firm’s lawyer Maarten Vestering:
A bold presence, exceptional knowledge, and great to work with. He is able to adapt quite easily; you can put him in different situations and he is comfortable.
This is what clients say about the team:
The lawyers have a deep understanding of labour law and are able to communicate difficult topics in an understandable way.
Business-oriented and knowledgeable on key topics.
Noteworthy firm with proven expertise in the employment aspects of M&A transactions and individual dismissal matters. Also assists employers with strategic hires and transfers of undertakings. Additionally experienced in advising high-level executives on contentious claims against employers. Sector-specific expertise includes IT, banking and private equity.
Shearwaters is a small firm with very personalised and attentive service which is highly specialised in employment law and the nuances between local and international implications.
The team’s commercial employment focus covers executive dismissals, works council consultations, collective redundancies and reorganisations.
Martijn van Broeckhuijsen and Maarten Vestering co-head the group; ‘both provide advice without allowing the heat of the situation to interfere with timing and decisions’.
The group’s clients include international law firms as well as corporates.
An excellent team with a business-oriented rather than a minimalistic legal view, which helps the transaction.
Quick turnaround, clear communications and guidance.
The lawyers have a good understanding of M&A and how that translates to the Dutch employment situation. Quick turnaround, clear communications and guidance.
The team was able to package the advice in such a way that we could easily forward it to other departments in our company. There was no legalese and it was very clear.
It really understands us and our commercial drivers.
Diversity
We value diversity and are committed to it. The majority of our lawyers are female.
We also value the local and global communities that we work in, which is why we work pro bono when the opportunity arises, and we contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering and ethically-oriented practices.
- Employment