Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh

Managing Partner: Irene Tax

Number of partners: 11

Number of lawyers: 28

Languages: Dutch, English, German 

Firm Overview 

Based in Rotterdam, Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh fields some of the most experienced and talented lawyers in the Netherlands. With renowned restructuring and dispute resolution capabilities, the firm’s superb M&A, employment and IP offerings are augmented by leading expertise in niche areas such as pharmaceutical parallel imports to the EU.

The firm regularly acts against or alongside the leading firms in the Netherlands. Indeed, several of the firm’s partners and lawyers have spent significant portions of their careers at top-band firms, making Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh, as a Corporate niche player, a natural choice for taking a role in the highly complex, high-stakes mandates handled by the very best Dutch law firms. In keeping with this top-tier culture and ethos, the firm’s client base includes some of the main heavy lifting, construction, IT, payrolling and parallel import players operating in the Netherlands, its work for whom is described in more detail below.

Main Areas of Practice 

Restructuring & insolvency 

Co-led by one of the leading Dutch restructuring lawyers of recent decades in Marcel Windt and equally adept acting for creditors and debtors or appointed as administrator or bankruptcy trustee, Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh offers genuinely market-leading Dutch restructuring expertise.

The department’s credentials include acting for a group of lenders with a €750m interest in the €7bn restructuring of retail giant Steinhoff International; acting as bankruptcy trustee of KPNQwest in what was, at the time, the largest ever Dutch insolvency; and acting as liquidator of the last of the myriad Dutch Enron entities in the fallout from what was arguably the highest profile insolvency in recent history. Alongside the leading restructuring boutiques and accountants, Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh’s lawyers have won some of the first high end mandates of applying the new Dutch Scheme (the Act on Confirmation of Extrajudicial Restructuring Plans).

Dispute Resolution 

Co-led by Bart Gerretsen, arguably the leading Dutch disputes lawyer of his generation, Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh’s disputes practice offers clients profound pedigree and gravitas. A recognised leader in corporate and commercial litigation, it also has market-leading insolvency-related, shareholder and post-transaction disputes expertise. Its lawyers have extensive experience before both the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce and the highest civil courts.

The department’s caseload includes defending two former directors of the Macedonian subsidiary of Cunico Group in claims related to the €100m Cunico v. Macedonia case; acting for one of the founders the of EasyHotel Benelux in a €150m dispute with a UK investor; and representing a restructuring specialist financial consultancy in a major company-wide dispute under distressed circumstances.

Corporate/M&A 

Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh's Corporate and M&A lawyers bring their experience gained at leading Dutch and international corporate practices such as Houthoff, NautaDutilh, Linklaters and Norton Rose Fulbright. The dynamic team is led by Ep Hannema and advises major corporate clients on a diverse range of matters including domestic and international M&A transactions, joint ventures and business strategy. The department’s track record includes advising US private equity-backed digital payroll player People 2.0 on its acquisition of Dutch company WePayPeople; and assisting dynamic Dutch IT company ATS Global on the purchase of a minority stake by Rabobank Corporate Investments.

Banking & Finance - Financial restructuring 

Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh has deep expertise in the filing and structuring of financing transactions, both within the context of a restructuring exercise and not. Acting for both financiers and borrowers, the team has extensive experience in shareholder loans, corporate finance, acquisition finance, real estate finance and project finance. Its lawyers regularly litigate in financing and securities disputes, priding themselves on their accessible and client-oriented approach.

Employment law & reorganisation 

Co-led by the deeply experienced Peter De Waal, who co-founded Ploum and spent a substantial portion of his career at NautaDutilh, employment is one of the firm’s fastest-growing departments evidenced by continuing new client wins and evermore diverse, sophisticated instructions from leading Dutch and international companies.

With a track record which includes advising one of the largest German banks on a range of matters arising from the sale of a number of business units, and acting for Arcus Group in one of the highest profile, highest value Dutch dismissal cases of recent years, Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh has helped its clients achieve multiple successes at court in leading dismissal, works councils and remuneration cases. Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh lawyers, with a combination of passion, professionalism and experience, will guide you through restructuring exercises, staff redeployment, transfer of business activities and employee participation issues.

Commercial contracts:

Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh fields a large team of specialists in international contract law which acts for medium and large international companies throughout the duration of a commercial contract. Equally capable handling contentious and non-contentious work, the firm’s lawyers have extensive experience in contractual disputes litigated before the court and in arbitral proceedings - their thorough knowledge of civil procedure law guiding clients at every step.

IP & Pharma 

Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh’s team has market-leading Dutch IP expertise in matters at the nexus of IP and EU law through the vast experience in this field of team co-head Gerard Van der Wal. In partnership with fellow co-head Timme Geerlof, the department also offers its clients go-to expertise in trademarks (with particularly strong experience in cases involving the exhaustion of IP rights), designs, copyright law, unfair competition and advertising. The team’s calibre is demonstrated by cases such as obtaining a landmark favourable judgement at the Court of Appeal in The Hague in a case against RPM/Philip Morris, and defending the world’s largest parallel trading group in complex cross-border proceedings initiated in the USA by a subsidiary of pharma giant Abbott. The firm’s IP lawyers also have extensive expertise in seizures of evidence and summary proceedings.

EU, state aid & competition law / Competition / European Law 

Led by one of the most experienced Dutch EU law practitioners, Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh’s EU and Competition team is a natural choice for highly complex, cross-border mandates involving complicated issues of state aid, free movement of goods and issues at the nexus of IP and EU law. Department head Gerard van der Wal is a lawyer of more than three decades’ experience and recognised as one of the leading Dutch competition law practitioners. Previously the resident Brussels lawyer at leading Dutch competition firm Houthoff, where he also co-led the practice, his leadership provides the deep gravitas and pedigree which is reflected in the team’s clients and mandates. These mandates include submitting observations to the European Commission regarding its Vertical Block Exemption Regulation on behalf of the franchisee association for Holland’s largest supermarket chain; representing a Danish company in a case with huge importance to the scope and limits of exceptions to the free movement of goods between Eastern Europe and the EU; and acting for one of the world’s largest parallel trading companies in major litigation related to the free movement of goods.