DLA Dutch ally raids De Brauw to build tax practice

DLA's Dutch best friend SchutGrosheide has appoin-ted De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek corporate finance tax specialist Marc de Bruijn to head its tax department.

De Bruijn was approached by SchutGrosheide in the spring.

Following the approach, de Bruijn recruited fellow De Brauw tax partner Andre Jansen and senior associate Raymond Wanningen. The firm has also hired De Brauw senior tax consultant and advocate Boris Emmerig and junior assistant Francis Hover from Mazars Paardekooper Hoffman. Emmerig is also a deputy appeal judge.

Although de Bruijn was the first to be approached, he is the last to arrive at the firm because of an exit clause in his contract with De Brauw. He said he relished the challenge of building his own team. "I like to lead a young and enthusiastic team, and at 55 it's probably the last chance I'll have to build my own team."

The move is also prompted by De Brauw transferring its lawyers based in Rotterdam and The Hague to Amsterdam. De Bruijn will be based in SchutGrosheide's Rotterdam office. Jansen, Emmerig and Hover will be based in Amsterdam.

It is understood that, at this stage, a large proportion of the client base is made up of de Bruijn's longstanding clients, which tend to be entrepreneurs and medium-sized Dutch companies.