Herbert Smith ally Stibbe’s new shareholder activist group has got the firm terrifically excited. So much so that the other day it hosted a one-day symposium in Amsterdam to discuss the issues raised by the string of highprofile battles between major corporates and their shareholders.

It featured high-profile contributions from Patric Dewez of institutional shareholder activist Knight Vinke, David Blitzer of Blackstone, and Jan Michiel Hessels, formerly of Vendex. Stibbe even roped in the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Joop Wijn to give a keynote speech.

The title? ‘Barbarians at the dikes.’