Big American law firms are heading for Holland

A number of big American law firms are looking to move to the Netherlands, which is likely to end a long period of stability in the Dutch legal services market, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday.


Recently, US law firm Jones Day said it was setting up a Dutch operation and legal sector advisors say more are on their way.
Jones Day, which has 37 offices worldwide, will open next year and aims to employ 30 to 40 lawyers within two years.

Expansion

‘I expect another two to arrive within 18 months,’ Gerard Tanja, a partner with Venturis Consulting Group, told the paper. ‘The big American and British law firms have expansion into the Benelux on their agenda.’
Martijn Snoep, managing partner at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek told the FD: ‘If Jones Day is coming, then other US firms will look at the Dutch market. They hunt in packs.’
The last big influx of foreign law firms in the Netherlands took place around the turn of the century when big British firms Allen & Overy and Linklaters opened up operations, the FD said.
De Brauw has 266 lawyers and is the biggest in the Netherlands, followed by Nauta Dutilh (256 advocaten), Loyens & Loeff (250), Houthoff Buruma (236) and AKD (186).

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