Dispute resolution: Commercial litigation

Willem Heemskerk

Willem Heemskerk has been with Pels Rijcken since 1992 and is one of the most experienced litigators in the Netherlands. He handles complex civil law disputes for mainly large national and international companies. His areas of expertise include liability, damage & insurance, professional liability, attachment, collection and enforcement, and media law. Willem acts as counsel both in adjudication as well as arbitral proceedings. He is regarded as a leading expert in Dutch civil procedural law; he has many publications to his name, was the Vice President of the Dutch State Advisory Committee on procedural law, and regularly serves as expert in foreign proceedings. For many years, Willem is ranked in Band 1 for Dispute Resolution in the Chambers Global and Europe Guide and in the Hall of Fame for Dispute Resolution: Commercial Litigation in The Legal 500 Guide. In late 2018, Willem was recognised as the “Best Litigator in the Netherlands” in an election organised by the VIA.

Albert Knigge

partner

Fons Leijten

Partner

Paul Olden

Partner

Simon Boersen

Senior associate

Jessica de Rooij

Partner

Raimond Dufour

Senior associate

Marjolein Heuten

Huib Schrama

Partner

Isabel van Tuyll van Serooskerken

Senior Associate

Jonas Verheul

attorney-at-law/partner

Anouk Rosielle

Partner Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Tim de Greve

Tim has proven expertise and knowledge in a wide range of areas including banking litigation, mass claims, corporate fraud, directors’ fraud, contractual and tort disputes, and conducting internal investigations. Tim is admired for his tactical thinking, commercial attitude, good sense of context, rational approach and strong litigation skills. He is also known for achieving successful results.

Jan Willem de Groot

Jan Willem specialises in corporate and commercial litigation, with a focus on acquisition disputes, shareholder disputes, inquiry proceedings at the Enterprise Chamber and liability proceedings. He is a litigator and advises companies and national and international investment companies in complex proceedings often involving multiple jurisdictions. Jan Willem, among other things, led the team in the Elliott/AkzoNobel case. He is a lecturer at the Law Firm School, and a member of the Dutch Corporate Litigation Association and the Dutch Association for Procedural Law. Jan Willem also frequently publishes and speaks on topics related to corporate litigation.

Marcel Evers

attorney-at-law/partner

Sjoerd Kamerbeek

As corporate law specialist, Sjoerd advises and litigates for internationally renowned clients on M&A, warranty & indemnity (insurances), investment(-losses) and more generally commercial and corporate disputes. Sjoerd is specifically focussed on disputes between board members, shareholders', and other key stakeholders. In doing so, he frequently acts before the Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Amsterdam. He acts for the largest international (hedge) funds on their shareholder activist campaigns in the Netherlands. Finally, he assists with strategic M&A in connection with takeover and shareholder disputes. Sjoerd frequently publishes articles on various corporate topics. Further, Sjoerd is regularly a guest lecturer on social entrepreneurship at Utrecht University. He is also a co-founder of and member of the advisory board to the Utrecht University Social Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Jasper Leedekerken

Jasper is a member of Van Doorne’s management board and heads the dispute resolution practice group. He specializes in complex commercial and corporate litigation. In legal proceedings, he represents a range of both national and international clients with leading businesses. His practice involves a broad range of civil liability issues, including disputes about various types of contracts, tort litigation, mass damages, and securities litigation. In addition, Jasper successfully completed (cum laude) the Corporate Litigation postgraduate programme at Grotius Academy. He is a member of the Dutch Association for Civil Procedure Law and the Corporate Litigation Association as well, and is also a frequent guest lecturer for continuing education programmes for lawyers.

Frans Overkleeft

Partner

Koen Rutten

Koen Rutten (1975) is a founding partner of Finch Dispute Resolution. He specializes in corporate, financial, and commercial dispute resolution. He specializes in company-law disputes, liability proceedings and corporate governance issues. He represents the interests of companies, shareholders, directors and officers, and supervisory directors. Koen also handles Post M&A disputes and inquiry proceedings at the Enterprise Chambers. He also litigates and advises on the Dutch Financial Supervision Act and the liability of financial institutions and supervisory authorities. Koen represents the interest of individuals, but also, he represents clients in class actions and bundled claims He has successfully handled multiple cases on behalf of investors and other victims of misconduct. Koen is the President of the Association for Mass Claims Litigators.

Rieme-Jan Tjittes

Rieme-Jan is a very experienced litigation and arbitration attorney (‘advocaat’). He is considered to be one of the leading authorities in (international) commercial contracts in The Netherlands. His clients are national and international companies, which are confident to let him handle their most complex and high risk disputes to reach satisfactory solutions. His litigation and arbitration work encompasses a wide array of legal topics and business activities, such as post M&A warranty and indemnity disputes, the termination of distribution and licensing agreements, gas and electricity supply contracts, high tech and construction contracts and setting aside (international) arbitral awards. Rieme-Jan is frequently asked to be arbitrator in national and international institutional arbitrations (NAI, ICC, AAA) as well as ad hoc arbitrations.

Bart van der Wiel

As a Supreme Court specialist, Bart has been involved in numerous landmark cases on finance, insolvency and liability law, acting for financial institutions such as Achmea, AIG, Allianz, ING and Nationale-Nederlanden. He has also litigated for the bankruptcy trustees of KPNQwest against shareholders and directors, and he represents the estate of Lehman Brothers Treasury, in matters that are vital for the resolution of these insolvencies. Bart received a Ph.D. in 2004 and has since authored many publications. He is a member of the editorial team of the Tijdschrift voor Civiele Rechtspleging journal and a highly sought-after speaker and lecturer.

Hans van Wijk

Hans van Wijk has been with Pels Rijcken since 1990 and has more than 30 years of experience in the Supreme Court practice. He is a full-time Supreme Court litigator. Before joining the firm, Hans practised law in the Dutch Caribbean for a number of years. The cases he deals with cover a wide spectrum of civil law, particularly in the area of corporate law, insolvency law, government private law and liability law. He is also specialised in Caribbean affairs. Hans is often sought out as a lawyer’s lawyer, for example in appeal cases, especially in large and complex proceedings where much is at stake. He graduated cum laude from the University of Utrecht in 1990. He has long chaired Pels Rijcken’s Supreme Court department as well as the Association of Civil Supreme Court Lawyers (VCCA). Hans serves as a deputy justice at the 's Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal. He has several academic publications to his name, especially on corporate law. Hans has long been in Band 1 of Chambers.

Freerk Vermeulen

Partner

Wemmeke Wisman

Wemmeke Wisman was admitted to the Dutch Bar in 1998. She specialises in conducting (complex) civil proceedings with public (international) law aspects. Her clients include listed companies, various ministries and other public authorities. Wemmeke provides judicial and extrajudicial advice to commercial entities in the field of liability law and contract law. Furthermore, she litigates on behalf of the tax authorities in civil cases and also deals with issues such as the immunity of foreign states and the restitution of stolen art. Wemmeke is a board member of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Procesrecht (NVVP, the Dutch Procedural Law Association) and regularly publishes in the field of civil procedural law.