The September 2023 arrival of George Driessen and his team from HVG Law LLP has expanded Simmons & Simmons‘s capabilities in commercial litigation. Driessen handles a range of post-M&A, shareholder and joint venture disputes, as well as being experienced in corporate governance cases. Team lead Paul Tjiam draws on his expertise in IP when acting in commercial and tort cases. Cartel litigation and financial and healthcare disputes have all been recent areas of focus for the firm. Machteld Hiemstra, who joined in May 2023 from Pinsent Masons LLP, is the name to note for finance and pharmaceutical industry-related disputes.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'George Driessen is like a visionairy general to his team. Highly strategic and master on the play. However never faul play and always a fair sportmen. It is a pleasure to work with him and an absolute joy to work against him.'
- ‘Paul Tjiam is a very strong litigator and strategist. His personal approach is much appreciated by me. Edwin van der Velde has the same approach and they work very well together. They both take their time to explain their choices but always take my view into consideration and listen to me.’
- ‘The firm has shown great willingness to support us on a pro bono basis and has invested much energy and time into doing so.’
- ‘Paul Tjiam and Edwin van der Velde are both very strategically strong lawyers. They are very thorough.’
- 'George Driessen team has always assisted us in a very professional and pleasant manner in an extremely complex legal dispute. From a simple business to the entreprises chamber, he assisted us. All charges were won by him with flying colours.'
- 'George Driessen is an expert in litigation. His advice and strategy is always sharp and to the point. A no nonsense lawyer.'
‘Paul Tjiam is a very dedicated and competent lawyer - he will fight fiercely for his client's interests and will not give up on a case easily. He has also not hesitated to dedicate time outside office hours to advise and support us on a pro bono basis. His knowledge and experience of the legal field is outstanding.’
'The lawyers were very approachable and committed.'
Key clients
- Kingdom of Spain
- MUFG Bank Ltd & MUFG, Inc. / MUFG Securities (Europe) N.V.
- Nippon Cargo Airlines Ltd.
- Wintershall AG
- Air Liquide Healthcare Nederland B.V.
- Northwharf Nominees Limited (subsidiary of Barclays)
- Booking.com
- Binance
- Foris Dax (Crypto.com)
- Becton Dickinson
- Ms. Van Egten
- GS-Star
- Terumo
- Lamb Weston-Meijer
- Unicef
- Doctors without Borders
- Transporeon Group
- LMEY Group
- Zondag Bouwgroep Ontwikkeling
- Van Nieuwpoort groep
- Majority shareholder of the Severs Breeman group
- WeAreBrain
- Pancreas en Stak Kloosterboer
- HOYER Logistics
- Bond voor Belastingbetalers (Dutch Taxpayers Alliance)
- RGF Staffing / Unique
- Protix
- Coöperatieve Nederlandse Bloembollencentrale
- Q-Park
- Dutch Medical Group
- I3D.net
- Capricorn Capital Group
- VCSW
- Founding shareholder of Imkerij De Traay
- Kenda Health
- Founding shareholder of Priogen Energy
- Ropapharm International
- Translink
- Founding shareholder of PAIX Holding
- Founding shareholder of Vedder & Vedder
Work highlights
- Represented an individual in 9 court cases against Gerard Sanderink and his companies Strukton and Centric.
- Representing MUFG in follow-on cartel damages claims regarding the FX spot trading market.
- Representing Crypto.com in numerous proceedings before the Dutch courts.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Paul Tjiam