Houthoff offers expertise in commercial and corporate disputes, arbitration, mass claims and Supreme Court litigation. The team boasts a sizeable bench, helmed by Jan Willem de Groot and Bart van der Wiel. De Groot is an expert in corporate litigation, regularly leading on landmark cases, while van der Wiel heads the Supreme Court litigation team and excels at commercial disputes. An authority on cross-border disputes, Albert Knigge is well-versed in Dutch civil procedures and leads on high-profile litigation. Commercial litigator Rick Cornelissen is a go-to for contract litigation and class actions; David Heems handles a mix of commercial, corporate and distressed litigation, as well as international disputes; and Marjolein Heuten is noted for her work on corporate disputes and shareholder litigation. Laura van Gardingen is a further core part of the Supreme Court litigation team.
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Accolades
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Albert Knigge and Anne Stortelder are very knowledgeable and pleasant to work with. Working with them feels like working as one team.’
- ‘We use Houthoff for Supreme Court work. That team is very pleasant to work with. They are down to earth and professional.’
- ‘Rick Cornelissen is a well-known face with a very solid reputation for antitrust damages litigation as well as in the area of vertical agreements and related issues of competition law. His extensive knowledge, broad experience and well-developed analytical and strategic skills ensure that your case is in good hands.’
- ‘Jan Willem de Groot stands out in convincingly arguing a case. David Heems stands out for being fully aware of every single detail of a case. Vera van Erpers Roijaards and Pam de Haas are both very responsive, pro-active and seem fully in control over the matters they are working on.’
- ‘To me Houthoff stands out for the excellent quality of the team performing the work.’
- ‘Bart van der Wiel combines excellent strategic thinking with outstanding legal knowledge and experience. A convincing Supreme Court lawyer who always goes the extra mile for his client.’
Key clients
- BC Partners
- HPS Investment partners
- Dummen Orange
- CBRE
- G-Squared
- 3G Capital founders Marcel Telles and Beto Sicupira
- Dragan Solak
- Yildirim / Yildirim Group
- Elliott Management
- Trafigura, Singapore-based
- Fujifilm Holdings Corporation
- NatWest Markets
Work highlights
Advised Sharp Corporation on a litigation victory in the District Court which ruled that it has no jurisdiction to hear a former major distributor’s claim for tens of millions of euros of compensation against Sharp.
Represented G Squared in a corporate governance dispute before the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal concerning G-Squared and Mubadala's investment in Getir.
Represented Fortenova and its parent Fortenova STAK, in a major long-running dispute with the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
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Leading partners
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Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
Jan Willem de Groot; Bart van der Wiel
Other key lawyers
Rick Cornelissen; Albert Knigge; Laura van Gardingen; Naomi Dempsey; David Heems; Vera van Erpers Roijaards; Pam de Haas; Anne Stortelder; Anne van Heijningen; Rosalie Becker; Marjolein Heuten; Paul Sluijter