Law firms of the Netherlands explained

In 2019, the top 50 Dutch law firms (Dutch; Flemish: advocatenkantoren) had around 4,476 attorneys (Dutch; Flemish: advocaten)[1] and the top 30 law firms had around 183 notaries (Dutch; Flemish: notarissen) and 527 candidate notaries.[2] According to the Chambers and Partners legal directory, the top five law firms in the Netherlands are Allen & Overy Netherlands, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Houthoff, Loyens & Loeff and Stibbe.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Every year advocatie.nl publishes a list of the 50 biggest law firms in headcount.

Structure

Bigger law firms in the Netherlands are often organised as a partnership, private limited liability company (B.V. or Dutch; Flemish: [[besloten vennootschap]]), public company (N.V. or Dutch; Flemish: [[naamloze vennootschap]])) or cooperative. It is common for a law firm to have notaries attached to it. Smaller law firms sometimes opt for a maatschap, where all lawyers run their own offices, but share the costs of rent, employees and marketing.

Largest Law Firms

Attorneys

A list of law firms (in alphabetical order) with more than 100 attorneys in the Netherlands in 2020 is set out below.

NameDate FoundedAttorneys[8] Revenue (€ million)(Note 1)[9]
AKD1903[10] 19684,19
Allen & Overy Netherlands(Note 2)1854(Note 3)[11] 169(Note 4)
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek(Note 5)1871[12] 298167,70
Dirkzwager10441,76
11555,22
Clifford Chance Netherlands1972[13] 126(Note 6)
CMS Netherlands11546,99
Houthoff245123,80
EY HVG Law12445,01(Note 7)
Kennedy Van der Laan2006[14] 10226,23
Loyens & Loeff(Note 2)2000[15] 255343,90
NautaDutilh1724[16] 266175,20
Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn1969[17] 15154,63
Stibbe(Note 8)1911[18] 193101,21
Van Doorne 1930[19] 15359,06

Notes:

(1) 2019/2020, including notarial revenue.

(2) In 1991, Benelux law firm, Loeff Claeys Verbeke, formed a tripartite alliance with Magic Circle law firm Allen & Overy and French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel. Allen & Overy and Gide Loyrette Nouel terminated their alliance in 1998.[20] After it was unable to agree on a full merger with Allen & Overy, in 2000, a third of the Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg offices of Loeff Claeys Verbeke merged with Allen & Overy to form Allen & Overy Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands, a third merged with tax advisers Loyens & Volkmaars to form Loyens & Loeff and a third left the firm. At its height, Loeff Claeys Verbeke had more than 500 attorneys and notaries.[21] [22]

(3) Allen & Overy was founded in the City of London on 1 January 1930.[23] [24]

(4) Allen & Overy does not separately report its revenue for the Netherlands. In its 2019/20 financial year, it had global revenue of £1,69 billion.[25]

(5) In 1998. De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and three other European law firms entered into an alliance with Linklaters to form Linklaters & Alliance.[26] In 2002, it terminated that alliance, choosing not to merge with Linklaters.[27] It has since entered into a "best friends" alliance with BonelliErede (Italy), Bredin Prat (France), Hengeler Mueller (Germany), Slaughter and May (UK) and Uría Menéndez (Spain).[28]

(6) Clifford Chance does not separately report its revenue for the Netherlands. In its 2019/2020 financial year, it had global revenue of £1,8 billion.[29]

(7) 2018/2019.[30]

(8) In 2002, Silver Circle law firm Herbert Smith (now Herbert Smith Freehills) (UK), Gleiss Lutz (Germany) and Stibbe formed a tripartite alliance.[31] In November 2011, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe voted against a merger with Herbert Smith.[32] That alliance subsequently ended on 31 December 2011.[33]

Notaries

A list of law firms (in alphabetical order) with more than 20 notaries and candidate notaries in the Netherlands in 2020 is set out below.[34]

NameNotariesCandidate Notaries
Actus Notarissen1111
Allen & Overy Netherlands318
Baker McKenzie Netherlands218
Daamen De Kort van Tuijl1012
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek428
Dirkzwager813
Houthoff543
Hermans & Schuttevaer917
Het Notarieel1218
Hoekstra & Partners914
Loyens & Loeff1061
NautaDutilh939
Trip515
Van Doorne 917
VBC Notarissen618

Rankings

Chambers and Partners rankings of the number of speciality areas in each law firm recognised as leading in the Netherlands in 2020. In the Netherlands, Chambers and Partners ranks law firms in bands from 1 (highest) to 4 (lowest). Being ranked in any band is an achievement.[35] This list is non-exhaustive.

RankNameBand 1Band 2 Band 3Band 4
1Allen & Overy Netherlands[36] 12641
2De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek[37] 1162None
3Stibbe[38] 8731
4Loyens & Loeff[39] 8431
5Houthoff[40] 749None
NautaDutilh[41] 5113None
Clifford Chance Netherlands[42] 4731
AKD[43] 4232
Van Doorne[44] 4143
Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn[45] 3311
Stek[46] 2121
Linklaters Netherlands[47] 2None23
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Netherlands[48] 1532
DLA Piper Netherlands[49] 1161
Lexence[50] 1None21
Simmons & Simmons Netherlands[51] None413
Jones Day Netherlands[52] None311
Baker McKenzie Netherlands[53] None231
CMS Netherlands[54] None123
deBreij[55] None1NoneNone
Kennedy Van der Laan[56] NoneNoneNone1
EY HVG Law[57] NoneNoneNoneNone

Associate remuneration

In 2019, the average gross annual salary for associates at Dutch law firms ranged between:

Notes and References

  1. Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 2020 Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
  2. Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 4 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
  3. Chambers & Partners Allen & Overy Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/allen-overy-llp-europe-7:7
  4. Chambers & Partners De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/de-brauw-blackstone-westbroek-europe-7:3861
  5. Chambers & Partners Stibbe Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/stibbe-europe-7:3874
  6. Chambers & Partners Loyens & Loeff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/loyens-loeff-europe-7:64329
  7. Chambers & Partners Houthoff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/houthoff-europe-7:3865
  8. Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 4 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
  9. Advocatie Omzetten top 50-kantoren 2019: grote sprong Dirkzwager, zorgen voor 2020Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/business/omzetten-top-50-kantoren-2019-grote-sprong-dirkzwager-zorgen-voor-2020/
  10. LinkednIn AKD Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.linkedin.com/company/akdbenelux/about/
  11. Top Employers Allen & Overy Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.top-employers.com/en/companyprofiles/nl/allen--overy-llp/
  12. ADvocatenblad De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.advocatenblad.nl/2014/06/30/bouwer-van-de-brauw/
  13. Clifford Chance Amsterdam 1 August 2020 https://www.cliffordchance.com/people_and_places/places/europe/netherlands.html
  14. Bloomberg Kennedy Van der Laan Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/4043125Z:NA
  15. FD Loyens & Loeff moet €21 mln vergoeden wegens fouten Accessed 1 August 2020 https://fd.nl/economie-politiek/1352625/loyens-loeff-moet-21-mln-vergoeden-wegens-fouten-advies-bedrijfsopvolging
  16. International Law Office NautaDutilh Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.internationallawoffice.com/Directory/NautaDutilh/Rotterdam
  17. Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn History Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.pelsrijcken.nl/over-ons/geschiedenis
  18. Advocatie Stibbe Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/kantoor/stibbe/
  19. IFRL100 Van Doorne Accessed 1 August 2020https://www.iflr1000.com/Firm/Van-Doorne-Netherlands/Profile/3199#undefined
  20. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB972342347213081293 "When Firms Decide to Merge, Some Lawyers Decide to Leave"
  21. News: Allen & Overy Takes on 140 Lawyers From Belgium's Loeff Claeys Verbeke. Konstantin Richter Staff Reporter of The Wall Street. Journal. Wall Street Journal . 9 November 2000 .
  22. NRC Handelblad Advocatenkantoor Loeff valt uit elkaar na 'fusie' 13 July 1999 https://retro.nrc.nl/W2/Nieuws/1999/07/13/Vp/08.html
  23. Web site: The History of Allen & Overy: 1930 – 1971 - Adam Smith, Esq.. adamsmithesq.com. 2 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180610114957/https://adamsmithesq.com/2007/07/the_history_of_allen_over/. 10 June 2018. dead.
  24. Web site: Allen & Overy LLP-Company Profile-Vault.com.
  25. The Lawyer A&O breaks magic circle financials silence with modest growth Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.thelawyer.com/allen-overy-financials-2020/
  26. De Volkskrant De Brauw in alliantie met Britse Linklaters https://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/de-brauw-in-alliantie-met-britse-linklaters~bb4f073d/
  27. Law.com De Brauw withdraws from Linklaters' European alliance 17 April 2002 https://www.law.com/international-edition/2002/04/17/de-brauw-withdraws-from-linklaters-european-alliance/
  28. Web site: Slaughter and May – The Best Friends group. www.slaughterandmay.com. 21 September 2015.
  29. The Lawyer Clifford Chance fends off virus threat with 6 per cent revenue surge Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.thelawyer.com/clifford-chance-financials-2020/
  30. UK Companies House HVG Law LLP Group of companies' accounts made up to 30 June 2019 https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/document-api-images-live.ch.gov.uk/docs/l-dJbS2EIelYdJ07lStn9jn7DwFWFTBQv3o7bjvXpGs/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAWRGBDBV3B547PMBL%2F20200804%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200804T182135Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEN%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCWV1LXdlc3QtMiJIMEYCIQD5VN07rnH01DAYgeh13LIHHPnWj7K3avY8sPv1w7wRiwIhANBQZ1nIvi%2FFq7isYNANHgvESPW8G7fxu8QnPCOSq7j2Kr0DCKj%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEQAhoMNDQ5MjI5MDMyODIyIgyY845ewuu4mPjhG%2BcqkQN9bBCWjrwYCemaNCoNuG%2BphGd885X52bh4Ba7sR%2FGH6kXk2g0FnT2kHqlRnRc8w%2FNh9Jk7ep%2BzgfmLZdgsxsnuzKu3gB4rEE5MVgKhCbL7v36Y0iLYo9PZSXy%2Fwx9tOhPr12zStm3WGIRyUn4riQMRsY2hVCEFbLDqHZkuTyZ951oiwqHiHMVw1s457zdObIBnkhtbcnZNEP9m8%2F98jMmdbsx5bvM0NlO9grSDvWgy4C00YRwWJP8ndY5vixCwC01deeFt2dqhMf7I9obrN9HX7nCzkaKulRIRtk%2Bu6lIAu2g4%2Bcva8ftrpQQyanSaHiMGNqUYaiVYrWxnVawhYl6UEbQB83suDMl%2BxRxdrWcdLTkWoGF%2FK7mAL2sBfvjnv1fe0HxqOjHPEX5YiUh1nasxWXCDgGNbtgtAFJ5GE%2BFqVIZGvOsShLG24wV%2BvYc4gEjb%2FEVVCn%2FOFqm%2Bew7ixVxtbkbnbTI5NsJUQU3DVHn1oLRqYR%2F%2F5CQtUDXXgVuMWTF1aFwzE3Q5nWWX%2FSaeXk51YDC56KX5BTrqAf3LkGfFCjcv915%2Fjn5XYfmN964ucUWFzwlg6wV3oeoZN6UU3XkhQC0QUnT2zEipXs2bfa2bpa3UKYtwUftWlsJUKOLlQl8TpdSHZkk2I%2Fhnny8v2rTLkx9Ces2Xe3Cgb3Z7lsUG4A1eHtWm0mP2yXCKaBP1N01DaS0m6k8Im3MzZOLZ5Qizff49ksMjfs3VqNtiHbGhTeKLNh3fMS61GYRXjbDJS9Urx%2By61h6u4u%2FNJ%2FIxgaMbLhMZB5qv9znOoQQH44mD%2F2COmZURdrMo45CR46Su1scDYXIXdMt3NDF6E6EsrtJ%2F9wttQQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=a17673e6bc6bd45c40ef97120cdc44d0c3f762e299305eb94e146cc6de398385
  31. News: Merging is a step too far for Herbies, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe. 13 October 2013. The Lawyer. 10 December 2007.
  32. News: Herbert Smith reviews future of European alliance after failed merger bid. 13 October 2013. The Lawyer. 22 November 2011.
  33. News: Herbert Smith's European alliance to officially end at close of year. 13 October 2013. The Lawyer. 22 December 2011.
  34. Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 4 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
  35. Chambers and Partners Ranking Explained https://chambers.com/research/the-rankings-explained
  36. Chambers & Partners Allen & Overy Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/allen-overy-llp-europe-7:7
  37. Chambers & Partners De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/de-brauw-blackstone-westbroek-europe-7:3861
  38. Chambers & Partners Stibbe Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/stibbe-europe-7:3874
  39. Chambers & Partners Loyens & Loeff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/loyens-loeff-europe-7:64329
  40. Chambers & Partners Houthoff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/houthoff-europe-7:3865
  41. Chambers & Partners NautaDutilh Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/nautadutilh-europe-7:3868
  42. Chambers & Partners Clifford Chance Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/clifford-chance-llp-europe-7:83
  43. Chambers & Partners AKD Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/akd-europe-7:3859
  44. Chambers & Partners Van Doorne Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/van-doorne-europe-7:1421
  45. Chambers & Partners Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/pels-rijcken-droogleever-fortuijn-nv-europe-7:3879
  46. Chambers & Partners Stek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/stek-europe-7:1222235
  47. Chambers & Partners Linklaters Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/linklaters-europe-7:255
  48. Chambers & Partners Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/freshfields-bruckhaus-deringer-llp-europe-7:147
  49. Chambers & Partners DLA Piper Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/dla-piper-llp-europe-7:22401592
  50. Chambers & Partners Lexence Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/lexence-europe-7:113028
  51. Chambers & Partners Simmons & Simmons Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/simmons-simmons-llp-europe-7:383
  52. Chambers & Partners Jones Day Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/jones-day-europe-7:8429
  53. Chambers & Partners Baker McKenzie Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/baker-mckenzie-europe-7:2692
  54. Chambers & Partners CMS Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/cms-europe-7:7489
  55. Chambers & Partners deBreij Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/debreij-europe-7:22404228
  56. Chambers & Partners Kennedy Van der Laan Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/kennedy-van-der-laan-global-2:3866
  57. Chambers & Partners HVG Law Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/hvg-law-llp-europe-7:140562
  58. Statista Annual salary of associates working in the Dutch legal firms in the Netherlands in 2019, by years of experience Accessed 3 August 2020 https://www.statista.com/statistics/561787/dutch-law-firm-associate-annual-income-by-experience-netherlands/

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Law firms of the Netherlands".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.