BarentsKrans covers commercial and contractual litigation, private enforcement disputes and finance-related claims. William Schonewille and Philip Fruytier jointly led the team, with Schonewille focusing on financial disputes and Fruytier leading on Supreme Court litigation. Rieme-Jan Tjittes is a specialist in commercial contract law and Martijn van Maanen aids claimants in private enforcement issues and class actions. Annelies van der Ploeg is also a go-to lawyer for commercial contract issues, representing producers, importers, distributors and retailers. Roeland de Mol and Marjolein van Rest both left the firm in 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Rieme-Jan Tjittes is outstanding in the field of arbitration and commercial litigation. He is very client minded, is able to provide thorough legal opinions in a short period of time and he is an outstanding expert witness.'
- 'Martijn van Maanen is an outstanding commercial and corporate litigator.’
- ‘BarentsKrans's commercial litigation team provides high-quality legal services. The lawyers are easily accessible and approachable. They are proactive and think along with you to find the best solution in business.’
- ‘The quality delivered by the BarentsKrans team is outstanding. Their advice is to the point.’
- ‘Annelies van der Ploeg is to the point, understands our business, very detail oriented, yet understands the bigger picture perfectly. Celine van Es is very knowledgeable, practicable and very mature for her experience.’
- ‘Very smart lawyers that get the most out of any case.’
Key clients
- OMV
- Macedonian Thrace Brewery
- Claims Funding Europe
- KPN B.V.
- TataSteel
- White & Case
- Enexis Netbeheer B.V.
- Achmea Rechtsbijstand
- Corbiere c.s.
- Smith
- Hyva
- Van Lanschot Kempen-entities
Work highlights
Represented Milieudefensie c.s. in its claim against Shell to reduce its CO2-emissions by 45%.
Represented OMV in a claim against Celanese, Westlake/Vinnolit, Orbia/Vestolit, and Clariant as large purchasers of ethylene that had manipulated the pricing mechanism (MCP).
Represented Oxfam Novib in its case with respect to the delivery of parts for the F-35’s by the State of the Netherlands to Israel.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
William Schonewille; Philip Fruytier
Other key lawyers
Rieme-Jan Tjittes; Martijn van Maanen; Annelies van der Ploeg; Celine van Es