DLA Piper boosts Dutch tax team

DLA Piper has bolstered its Amsterdam tax practice with a raid on Ernst & Young, continuing its European hiring spree.

The firm has hired partner Paulus Merks to work with regional tax head Roderik Bouwman. His practice focuses on the domestic and international tax aspects of M&A deals, public offerings, and structured finance transactions.

Merks said: “DLA Piper is one of the few worldwide legal service organisations with a highly developed tax practice. The organisation’s international orientation and ambition very much match my own.”

Merks is the latest lateral hire for DLA Piper, which has brought on a stream of new partners this month. In Italy the firm scooped a corporate team from Hammonds Rossotto this month and Ripa di Meana LC & Associati employment partner Aldo Calza joined in July. Meanwhile in the Middle East, DLA Piper has committed to opening new offices in Abu Dhabi and Qatar next year.