Dentons is set to enter the Netherlands, as the firm announced today (2 March) it has combined with Dutch law firm Boekel.
Dentons’ new Amsterdam office will operate under the firm’s European LLP, in the global swiss verein structure. The expansion will bring Dentons’ European arm up to 26 offices in 18 countries across the continent, while the global network operates in more than 60 countries around the world.
‘Two years ago, we set out our vision for growth, with an ambitious goal to enter three new markets: Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. We opened in Milan in October 2015, and in Luxembourg and Rome last year, and are now continuing the momentum with our combination in Amsterdam,’ commented Dentons Europe chief executive Tomasz Dabrowski.
‘Due to its business-friendly climate, it is an attractive location for corporate headquarters and therefore a key market for our multinational clients,’ added Dentons’ global chief executive Elliott Portnoy.
Boekel currently employs 70 lawyers, including 16 partners with a focus on real estate, corporate and litigation. The firm also has a small office in London, which is staffed on a fly-in basis by lawyers from Amsterdam. Following the combination with Dentons, Boekel will close its London office. However, no redundancies will occur as a result of the closure, and clients will have full access to Dentons’ London office.
Both partnerships have approved the merger, which is expected to become official in April 2017.
In September last year Dentons’ European arm made a capital call to raise an additional €6m to €7m in a move which Dabrowski called ‘good financial prudence’. European partners, excluding the UK which operates as a separate legal entity, have been asked to contribute up to €100,000 extra over a two-year period.
This expansion comes less than a month since the firm opened its first office in Jeddah in February, and another in Monterrey, as the firm’s second Mexico office, earlier in January.
Last month, Fieldfisher also opened in Amsterdam with a five-partner office, including a small group of partners from local TMT specialists Kennedy Van der Laan. Fieldfisher’s new office, which will focus on corporate and finance, will open on 1 May.
georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk
