The undisputed market leader in litigation

...in the Netherlands, and in national and international litigation arenas.

Unrivalled litigation practice

Unrivalled in breadth, scope, size, the blue chip nature of our client base, and the sheer number of high profile cases, our strong focus on dispute and risk management and our full-service litigation practice serves the vast majority of the largest 100 companies headquartered in the Netherlands. With extraordinary value at stake, and unprecedented scale and/or complexity, our clients' matters often attract public interest and a high degree of political sensitivity. They always concern unprecedented situations and questions of law: the law that is, of any and often several jurisdictions, anywhere in the world.

Successful litigation strategy

Multidisciplinary and critical minds underpin our integral vision on how we manage our clients' legal exposure. Harnessing the expertise of leading experts both across and outside of the firm, we assess our clients' legal and compliance risks to develop a practical strategy in mitigation. Pragmatic expert advice at the outset of a matter provides transparency around costs, assists clients collect and conserve evidence, and forges the most efficient response to a dispute. A successful litigation strategy requires that we do not shy away from asking the hard questions, with an open and critical mind.

Recent Matters

3 February 2022

De Brauw advises DAF Trucks as lead counsel in extensive EU antitrust follow-on damages litigation in 19 jurisdictions

On 19 July 2016, the European Commission imposed fines totaling EUR 2.93 billion on five truck manufacturers, including DAF Trucks. De Brauw represented DAF Trucks throughout the Commission’s investigation. Thereafter, massive follow-on litigation ensued with thousands of legal proceedings in multiple European and non-European jurisdictions as a result. The cases vary from damages for a few trucks to collective proceedings in which hundreds of millions are claimed. DAF Trucks and PACCAR have appointed De Brauw to act as lead counsel in all of the 19 jurisdictions that are involved. This mass claim is of unprecedented scale, arguably the most complex and extensive ever in Europe, and requires close oversight to align strategy in all these different legal systems, including common and civil law systems. De Brauw developed its own 'mass claim platform' for this case, creating one central data, document, proceedings and compliance portal for all of those working on the connected proceedings, all over the world. This is a prime example of the international nature of De Brauw's practice.
3 February 2022

De Brauw assists and represents Ageas in settlement ruling by Amsterdam Court of Appeal

On 13 July 2018, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal declared the collective settlement agreement between Ageas (Fortis' legal successor) and several commercial and non-profit claimant organisations acting on behalf of former shareholders of Fortis (that is, Vereniging van Effectenbezitters, Deminor, Stichting Investor Claims Against Fortis and Stichting FortisEffect), binding in accordance with the Dutch Act on Collective Settlement of Mass Claims ("WCAM"). As a result, the settlement became binding on all investors who purchased or held Fortis shares in the period between 28 February 2007 and 14 October 2008, except for those who actively opted-out of the settlement before 31 December 2018.
5 November 2021

Supreme Court confirms Tribunal's jurisdiction in Yukos case

On 5 November 2021, the Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in the setting-aside proceedings against the Yukos Awards. Siding with the former majority shareholders of Yukos, the Supreme Court rejected all the Russian Federation's complaints regarding the Tribunal's and the Hague Court of Appeal's interpretation and application of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), thereby confirming the Tribunal's jurisdiction. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal to further assess the Russian Federation's allegations of fraud in the arbitration, which the Hague Court of Appeal had dismissed on procedural grounds.

Their performance is world-class in this line of work.

Chambers Europe, 2021

Insights

23 February 2023

Dutch bill on responsible and sustainable international business conduct – what it means

On 2 November 2022, a revised bill on responsible and sustainable international business conduct – the RSIBC bill – was submitted to the Dutch House of Representatives by coalition parties ChristenUnie and D66, and the SP, PvdA, GL and Volt. The original bill, published in March 2021, was amended after criticism expressed by the Dutch Council of State in its advice on the bill.
28 October 2022

Supreme Court: provisions on early repayment of fixed-interest mortgages valid and binding

In following the Advocate General's advisory opinion, the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed several appellate court judgments stemming from cases brought by bank customers in relation to provisions in the banks' general terms and conditions that require customers to compensate banks for the early repayment of their fixed-interest mortgages. The Supreme Court clarified that the transparency of the provisions is a relevant factor, but not a decisive one when assessing the validity of these provisions.
27 June 2022

Dutch Supreme Court: courts of appeal free to set and enforce page limits

In 2021, the four courts of appeal in the Netherlands set page limits for civil matter legal briefs - 25 pages for statements of appeal and defence, and 15 pages for other briefs. In complex and high-stake cases, parties can ask for more pages. Following a legal challenge by a group of lawyers, the matter was referred to the Supreme Court for a preliminary ruling.