Events

For each Master Class we will inform you well in advance if the Master Class will be held online or, Covid-19 permitting, at our Amsterdam office. We will limit attendance to create interaction during these Master Classes, allowing everyone to share experiences and interact with fellow participants as well as speakers. The Master Classes will be in English. All sessions are held on Thursday and Friday mornings, from 8:30 to 10:00 online or, Covid-19 permitting, from 08:30 - 10:30 at our Amsterdam office.

After the SPAC IPO boom last year, the hunt on target companies has started. In this Master Class Gaby Smeenk, Reinier Kleipool, Wiebe Dijkstra, Casper Nagtegaal will discuss how SPACs are structured and what to consider when being approached by a SPAC or when you are yourself exploring a business combination with a SPAC. They will discuss both a combination with a Dutch SPAC as well as obtaining a US listing though a combination with a US SPAC.

2021 was full of interesting pension case law. During this pension session, Eva Schram and Esther Huijzer will discuss recent pension case law on a wide range of subjects.

During the Master Class Klaas de Vries and Lennard Keijzer will look back at the buoyant 2021 M&A market and what this has meant for M&A transactions, share various lessons learned, and look ahead to what 2022 may hold for M&A transactions.

Over the past two weeks, we have all watched the developments in Ukraine with grave concern. Our thoughts are with all those personally affected first and foremost.At the same time, we are aware that the developments affect our clients' businesses as well, including their employees and business partners in Ukraine and Russia. This gives rise to many questions about the recently imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus and what measures can be taken to mitigate any related risks. We therefore have decided to amend the program for our 10 and 11 March 2022 Master Class on International Trade, Economic Sanctions & Export Controls and dedicate it to this topic in full.

This Master Class is an introduction to the law in relation to ESG. It is intended for anyone who appreciates an introduction to this field of law, or wants to refresh knowledge of the interplay of the wide range of legislation on point. This session lays the foundation for five further Master Class sessions that will follow this year. In this session, Dennis Horeman, Casper Nagtegaal and Davine Roessingh will explain the system of the law as is stands in relation to ESG. A good understanding of the theme begins with understanding the mosaic legislation that plays a role. They will explain the interplay between specific parts of existing legislation such as the EU reporting regulations and the EU Taxonomy, as well as specific legislation on ESG related themes such as environmental protection and equal treatment. They will then turn to the interplay between such specific legislation and general rules of Dutch law, such as the stakeholder model in corporate governance and the open standard of unwritten law in Dutch tort law. The Master Class will close with looking at future legislation expected, including the EU and Dutch initiatives to legislate on sustainable corporate governance.

During this Master Class, Stefan Sagel and Mirjam Kerkhof will discuss recent developments in Dutch employment law. They will focus on "hot topics" such as case law on #metoo in the workplace, what defines an employment contract (employee or self-employed), as well as recent Supreme Court rulings on dismissal.

Companies are facing involvement in criminal investigations with increasing frequency. This is a trend that is likely to continue and grow over the next several years. In this Master Class Roan Lamp and Roel de Jong will provide an overview of the criminal investigation process: from launch to resolution. They will discuss concrete aspects that are relevant in the various investigation stages, including how to deal with document requests, interviews and interrogations, how to conduct internal fact finding, and how to approach law enforcement authorities. Roan and Roel will also discuss engagement with the various potential stakeholders and other third parties involved.

Ferdinand Hengst, Reinier Kleipool and Davine Roessingh have modified their Master Class to address a topic that is very current with many of our clients: Navigating the knock-on effects of sanctions, supply chain and gas price disruption and unprecedented volatility in capital markets.

The programme for the CassatieCorrespiondentendag 2022 starts with an overview of the most important developments in the field of civil procedural law. This will be followed by three parallel sessions, in which we will pay attention to (I) employment law, (II) commercial and corporate litigation and (III) intellectual property law. The day will be closed with drinks.

This second ESG Master Class in 2022 Dennis Horeman and Davine Roessingh will focus on requirements to report about environmental, social and governance matters. European legislation on non-financial, corporate sustainability and sustainable finance disclosure has increased - and will further increase – transparency. Voluntary initiatives such as the Science Based Targets initiative further contribute to this greater openness. During the Master Class, we take a close look at what ESG reporting requires, and we put the requirements into perspective by considering their long-term impact. How precisely does disclosure help the market to compare companies on ESG performance and to act against gaps between what a company says it should do and what it does in reality?

This Master Class is the third of our series on ESG. After previously discussing the ESG framework, and the enforcement of ESG through mandatory disclosures, Dennis Horeman and Davine Roessingh will now turn to substantive obligations in relation to ESG.From the perspective of sustainable business, Dennis and Davine focus on due diligence obligations, preventing and ending adverse impacts, and remediation mechanisms. These will be discussed both on the basis of the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDD), and preceding soft law instruments. Compliance mechanisms such as contractual cascading are discussed, including their limitations. Finally, Dennis and Davine will discuss in some detail the meaning of the proposed obligation to adopt a plan to ensure that the business model and strategy of the company are compatible with the transition to a sustainable economy and with the limiting of global warming to 1.5 °C in line with the Paris Agreement, envisaged in the CSDD.