In 2019, the top 50 Dutch law firms (Dutch: advocatenkantoren) had around 4,476 attorneys (Dutch: advocaten)[1] and the top 30 law firms had around 183 notaries (Dutch: 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: besloten vennootschap), public company (N.V. or Dutch: 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.
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![Allen & Overy Netherlands's office in Apollo House, Apollobuurt, Amsterdam. Apollo House is a Dutch national monument (Dutch: rijksmonument).[8]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Apollo_House_Apollolaan_15_pic5.JPG/160px-Apollo_House_Apollolaan_15_pic5.JPG)
Allen & Overy Netherlands's office in Apollo House, Apollobuurt, Amsterdam. Apollo House is a Dutch national monument (Dutch: rijksmonument).[8] -
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek's office in The Rock, Zuidas, Amsterdam. -
Clifford Chance Netherlands's office in Haarlemmerbuurt, Amsterdam. -
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Linklaters Netherlands's office in the World Trade Center (Amsterdam), Zuidas, Amsterdam. -
NautaDutilh's office in Rotterdam. -
Stibbe's office in Zuidas, Amsterdam.
![Allen & Overy Netherlands's office in Apollo House, Apollobuurt, Amsterdam. Apollo House is a Dutch national monument (Dutch: rijksmonument).[8]](http://oksuvcw.org/?page_id=158&rdp_we_resource=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AApollo_House_Apollolaan_15_pic5.JPG)
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.
| Name | Date Founded | Attorneys[9] | Revenue (€ million)(Note 1)[10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKD | 1903[11] | 196 | 84,19 |
| Allen & Overy Netherlands(Note 2) | 1854(Note 3)[12] | 169 | (Note 4) |
| De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek(Note 5) | 1871[13] | 298 | 167,70 |
| Dirkzwager | 104 | 41,76 | |
| DLA Piper Netherlands | 115 | 55,22 | |
| Clifford Chance Netherlands | 1972[14] | 126 | (Note 6) |
| CMS Netherlands | 115 | 46,99 | |
| Houthoff | 245 | 123,80 | |
| EY HVG Law | 124 | 45,01(Note 7) | |
| Kennedy Van der Laan | 2006[15] | 102 | 26,23 |
| Loyens & Loeff(Note 2) | 2000[16] | 255 | 343,90 |
| NautaDutilh | 1724[17] | 266 | 175,20 |
| Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn | 1969[18] | 151 | 54,63 |
| Stibbe(Note 8) | 1911[19] | 193 | 101,21 |
| Van Doorne | 1930[20] | 153 | 59,06 |
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.[21] 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.[22][23]
(3) Allen & Overy was founded in the City of London on 1 January 1930.[24][25]
(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.[26]
(5) In 1998. De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and three other European law firms entered into an alliance with Linklaters to form Linklaters & Alliance.[27] In 2002, it terminated that alliance, choosing not to merge with Linklaters.[28] 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).[29]
(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.[30]
(7) 2018/2019.[31]
(8) In 2002, Silver Circle law firm Herbert Smith (now Herbert Smith Freehills) (UK), Gleiss Lutz (Germany) and Stibbe formed a tripartite alliance.[32] In November 2011, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe voted against a merger with Herbert Smith.[33] That alliance subsequently ended on 31 December 2011.[34]
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.[35]
| Name | Notaries | Candidate Notaries |
|---|---|---|
| Actus Notarissen | 11 | 11 |
| Allen & Overy Netherlands | 3 | 18 |
| Baker McKenzie Netherlands | 2 | 18 |
| Daamen De Kort van Tuijl | 10 | 12 |
| De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek | 4 | 28 |
| Dirkzwager | 8 | 13 |
| Houthoff | 5 | 43 |
| Hermans & Schuttevaer | 9 | 17 |
| Het Notarieel | 12 | 18 |
| Hoekstra & Partners | 9 | 14 |
| Loyens & Loeff | 10 | 61 |
| NautaDutilh | 9 | 39 |
| Trip | 5 | 15 |
| Van Doorne | 9 | 17 |
| VBC Notarissen | 6 | 18 |
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.[36] This list is non-exhaustive.
| Rank | Name | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Band 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen & Overy Netherlands[37] | 12 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| 2 | De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek[38] | 11 | 6 | 2 | None |
| 3 | Stibbe[39] | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | Loyens & Loeff[40] | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | Houthoff[41] | 7 | 4 | 9 | None |
| NautaDutilh[42] | 5 | 11 | 3 | None | |
| Clifford Chance Netherlands[43] | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| AKD[44] | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Van Doorne[45] | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn[46] | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Stek[47] | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Linklaters Netherlands[48] | 2 | None | 2 | 3 | |
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Netherlands[49] | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| DLA Piper Netherlands[50] | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |
| Lexence[51] | 1 | None | 2 | 1 | |
| Simmons & Simmons Netherlands[52] | None | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jones Day Netherlands[53] | None | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Baker McKenzie Netherlands[54] | None | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| CMS Netherlands[55] | None | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| deBreij[56] | None | 1 | None | None | |
| Kennedy Van der Laan[57] | None | None | None | 1 | |
| EY HVG Law[58] | None | None | None | None |
Associate remuneration
In 2019, the average gross annual salary for associates at Dutch law firms ranged between:
- €45,000 and €80,000 for one to four years' experience;
- €70,000 and €105,000 for four to seven years' experience; and
- €95,000 and €150,000 for more than seven years' experience.[59]
References
- ^ Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 2020 Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
- ^ Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 4 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
- ^ Chambers & Partners Allen & Overy Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/allen-overy-llp-europe-7:7
- ^ Chambers & Partners De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/de-brauw-blackstone-westbroek-europe-7:3861
- ^ Chambers & Partners Stibbe Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/stibbe-europe-7:3874
- ^ Chambers & Partners Loyens & Loeff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/loyens-loeff-europe-7:64329
- ^ Chambers & Partners Houthoff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/houthoff-europe-7:3865
- ^ Apollo House Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.apollo-house.com/
- ^ Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 4 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
- ^ 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/
- ^ LinkednIn AKD Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.linkedin.com/company/akdbenelux/about/
- ^ Top Employers Allen & Overy Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.top-employers.com/en/companyprofiles/nl/allen--overy-llp/
- ^ ADvocatenblad De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.advocatenblad.nl/2014/06/30/bouwer-van-de-brauw/
- ^ Clifford Chance Amsterdam 1 August 2020 https://www.cliffordchance.com/people_and_places/places/europe/netherlands.html
- ^ Bloomberg Kennedy Van der Laan Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/4043125Z:NA
- ^ 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
- ^ International Law Office NautaDutilh Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.internationallawoffice.com/Directory/NautaDutilh/Rotterdam
- ^ Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn History Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.pelsrijcken.nl/over-ons/geschiedenis
- ^ Advocatie Stibbe Accessed 1 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/kantoor/stibbe/
- ^ IFRL100 Van Doorne Accessed 1 August 2020https://www.iflr1000.com/Firm/Van-Doorne-Netherlands/Profile/3199#undefined
- ^ "When Firms Decide to Merge, Some Lawyers Decide to Leave" Wall Street Journal 24 October 2000
- ^ Journal, Konstantin Richter Staff Reporter of The Wall Street (9 November 2000). "Allen & Overy Takes on 140 Lawyers From Belgium's Loeff Claeys Verbeke". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ NRC Handelblad Advocatenkantoor Loeff valt uit elkaar na 'fusie' 13 July 1999 https://retro.nrc.nl/W2/Nieuws/1999/07/13/Vp/08.html
- ^ "The History of Allen & Overy: 1930 – 1971 - Adam Smith, Esq". adamsmithesq.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Allen & Overy LLP-Company Profile-Vault.com".
- ^ The Lawyer A&O breaks magic circle financials silence with modest growth Accessed 4 August 2020 https://www.thelawyer.com/allen-overy-financials-2020/
- ^ De Volkskrant De Brauw in alliantie met Britse Linklaters https://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/de-brauw-in-alliantie-met-britse-linklaters~bb4f073d/
- ^ 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/
- ^ "Slaughter and May – The Best Friends group". www.slaughterandmay.com. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ 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/
- ^ 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
- ^ "Merging is a step too far for Herbies, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe". The Lawyer. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "Herbert Smith reviews future of European alliance after failed merger bid". The Lawyer. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "Herbert Smith's European alliance to officially end at close of year". The Lawyer. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ Advocatie Advocatuur Top 50 4 August 2020 https://www.advocatie.nl/advocatuur-top-50-2020/
- ^ Chambers and Partners Ranking Explained https://chambers.com/research/the-rankings-explained
- ^ Chambers & Partners Allen & Overy Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/allen-overy-llp-europe-7:7
- ^ Chambers & Partners De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/de-brauw-blackstone-westbroek-europe-7:3861
- ^ Chambers & Partners Stibbe Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/stibbe-europe-7:3874
- ^ Chambers & Partners Loyens & Loeff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/loyens-loeff-europe-7:64329
- ^ Chambers & Partners Houthoff Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/houthoff-europe-7:3865
- ^ Chambers & Partners NautaDutilh Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/nautadutilh-europe-7:3868
- ^ Chambers & Partners Clifford Chance Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/clifford-chance-llp-europe-7:83
- ^ Chambers & Partners AKD Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/akd-europe-7:3859
- ^ Chambers & Partners Van Doorne Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/van-doorne-europe-7:1421
- ^ Chambers & Partners Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/pels-rijcken-droogleever-fortuijn-nv-europe-7:3879
- ^ Chambers & Partners Stek Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/stek-europe-7:1222235
- ^ Chambers & Partners Linklaters Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/linklaters-europe-7:255
- ^ Chambers & Partners Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/freshfields-bruckhaus-deringer-llp-europe-7:147
- ^ Chambers & Partners DLA Piper Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/dla-piper-llp-europe-7:22401592
- ^ Chambers & Partners Lexence Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/lexence-europe-7:113028
- ^ Chambers & Partners Simmons & Simmons Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/simmons-simmons-llp-europe-7:383
- ^ Chambers & Partners Jones Day Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/jones-day-europe-7:8429
- ^ Chambers & Partners Baker McKenzie Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/baker-mckenzie-europe-7:2692
- ^ Chambers & Partners CMS Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/cms-europe-7:7489
- ^ Chambers & Partners deBreij Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/debreij-europe-7:22404228
- ^ Chambers & Partners Kennedy Van der Laan Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/kennedy-van-der-laan-global-2:3866
- ^ Chambers & Partners HVG Law Accessed 1 August 2020 https://chambers.com/law-firm/hvg-law-llp-europe-7:140562
- ^ 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/