Arjan Kleinhout
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
Client SatisfactionDe Brauw Blackstone Westbroek houses a team of lawyers who provide a ‘high standard of legal advice’ in the environment and planning space. In addition to complex advisory work, the team handles an array of contentious matters. Environment and energy focused practitioner Arjan Kleinhout took over leadership of the practice in January 2023 following the departure of former team head Nicolien Van Den Biggelaar to a state council position in the same month. The team’s client portfolio includes prominent names such as the Royal Schipol Group and Shell. Counsel Jasper van Uden is well-regarded for his ability to ’communicate even the most complex legal cases in an understandable manner’. Senior associate Claire Van Der Hoeven departed in March 2023.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Fit-for-purpose advice. The team is able to give excellent legal advice on short notice and are very pleasant to work with.’
‘They provide high standard legal advice, with attention to important details. They are very well-prepared and have broad experience of legal matters that may occur in our business.’
‘The unique strength of De Brauw lies in their personal yet collective approach - while there is an expert lawyer working on our cases, we feel the value of the added colleagues and partners at the firm.'
- 'Their expertise and knowledge is top-level and the team is willing to brainstorm on ideas, questions and new insights regarding new legislation and jurisprudence, rather than just sending updates. We can put our heads together and create a think tank to reach valuable, long-term, risk-assessed solutions.'
- 'The complexity and number of cases that we handle with De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is high, yet they never fail to keep a bird's eye overview and to guide us through various processes with absolute clarity.’
‘We especially value the governmental and administrative sensitivity the lawyers we work with display.'
- 'Jasper van Uden has the ability to communicate even the most complex legal cases in an understandable manner.'
- 'The lawyers have a down-to-earth approach, good availability, and their creativity and willingness to look for solutions rather than to fight legal battles unnecessarily stands out.’
Key clients
- Royal Schiphol Group
- Chemelot
- Sitech
- Gasunie
- TenneT
- GasTerra
- Stichting Afvalfonds Verpakkingen
- Shell
- Varo Energy
- Enphase Energy
- NEA/GKN
Work highlights
- Acting as lead counsel in the Porthos CCUS project, the first large CCUS project in the Netherlands to cut carbon emissions in the atmosphere by storing CO2 in a depleted gas field in the North Sea.
- Advising Royal Schiphol Group and representing them in litigation on the impact of a landmark ruling of the Council of State about the Dutch nitrogen policy under the Nature Conservation Act.
- Acting as lead counsel to Gasunie and the Port of Rotterdam in connection with the large-scale heat-distribution network known as WarmtelinQ.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Arjan Kleinhout