The practice at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is renowned for its capabilities advising on the gamut of complex competition matters. The team’s client portfolio features renowned names, which it advises on cases including international mergers and acquisitions; the combining of companies’ operations with those in other jurisdictions; and digital regulation and consumer guidance issues. Further, it is vastly experienced handling high-stakes litigious matters, such as its representing DAF Group in its multi-billion euro settlement with the European Commission, a case involving alleged anticompetitive practices and twenty jurisdictions. ‘Expert in his field’ Jolling de Pree oversees the team, with support from key practitioners including the ’incredibly bright’ Helen Gornall who is particularly capable in merger control, cartel, dominance and vertical restraint cases, the ‘exceptional’ Arjan Kleinhout, the ’skilled’ Bart de Rijke, and Stephanie The.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Very experienced partners with an excellent understanding of the business areas they advise in - very pragmatic.’

  • ‘I have been working with Helen Gornall for several years now and there is no other competition lawyer with a similar level of knowledge of our industry. Her ability to find pragmatic solutions while satisfying the needs of the business is exceptional.’

  • ‘Jolling de Pree is the best competition lawyer I know - an expert in his field who is able to combine his expertise with knowledge of our business and advise us practically.’

  • ‘The team knows everything there is to know about competition law and is able to advise in a practical and applicable way for the business.'

  • ‘The team has an in-depth knowledge of sector-specific regulations and is able to translate complicated legal matters into hands-on advice.’

  • ‘Arjan Kleinhout is an exceptional regulatory lawyer who is easy-going but knows the law.’

  • ‘Bart de Rijke is a very knowledgeable and skilled competition lawyer who translates complex notions of competition law into workable recommendations that we can execute. We would highly recommend working with him.’

  • ‘Helen Gornall is incredibly bright and client friendly.’

Key clients

  • Aegon
  • AkzoNobel
  • AholdDelhaize
  • ASML
  • Booking.com
  • British Airways
  • Celanese
  • D.S. Smith
  • EQT Partners
  • Just Eat Takeaway.com
  • Nederlandse Gasunie
  • Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)
  • NN Group
  • PACCAR/DAF Trucks
  • Parcom
  • PON Holdings B.V.
  • Otis
  • Royal DSM
  • Royal Philips
  • Royal Schiphol Group
  • SHV Group/Nutreco
  • Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners

Work highlights

  • Acted for PACCAR/DAF through Supreme Court and appeal proceedings in the UK and secured the dismissal of all claims in Norway and in France in the GCR Colas case; we have secured a judgement from the UK Supreme Court upholding our argument that mass claim litigation funding agreements cannot be enforced in competition damage proceedings in the UK.

Lawyers

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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

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Jolling de Pree

Other key lawyers

Helen Gornall, Arjan Kleinhout, Bart de Rijke, Stephanie The, Machteld de Monchy