Lucky for some: the thirteen TOP BENELUX MOVES 2000

BRUSSELS

Axel Haelterman joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Der-inger in Brussels.

A leading international tax lawyer, Haelterman joined Freshfields in February 2000 from Loeff Claeys Verbeke, where he had been head of tax. A tremendous boost to Freshfields' Belgian office, the hire was also part of an ongoing strategy to develop a pan-European tax practice, much assisted by last year's Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Lober merger. Freshfields now has a 44-partner global tax team.



Howard Liebman joined Jones Day in Brussels.

An international tax and corporate restructuring specialist, Liebman left his position as Brussels managing partner of Morgan Lewis & Bockius in October 2000. He took assistant Peter Parmentier with him to Jones Day, where they joined the only existing tax lawyer in the office, associate Francois-Xavier Jeanmart.



Julian Joshua joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Brussels.

Something of a celebrity in his own right, cartel-buster Joshua when he left the European Commission for private practice in the shape of the US firm's Brussels office. (see profile, page 37)



Christopher Norall joined Morrison & Foerster in Brussels.

Norall's departure from White & Case in November was a double blow to the US firm's European expansion strategy, as it came at the same time as the collapse of merger talks with French firm Jeantet & Associés. As a New York-qualified competition and trade specialist, Norall cofounded the Brussels boutique practice Forrester Norall & Sutton, which merged with White & Case in 1998. According to one local lawyer, dissatisfaction in Brussels was fuelled by White & Case's compensation system, which favoured billing partners over other partners and led to lawyers fighting for work.



John Temple Lang joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Brussels.

The European Commission's loss was Cleary Gottlieb's gain. After 25 years at the commission, Irish lawyer Temple Lang resigned in protest over delays in reforming merger proceedings to give companies a fairer hearing. He resigned in September 2000 and joined Cleary Gottlieb three months later as special counsel. His move coincided with mounting criticism of the commission's merger regulations.



AMSTERDAM

Tom de Waard and Hector de Beaufort joined Clifford Chance in Amsterdam.

The departure of highly-rated De Waard and De Beaufort was a double whammy for Stibbe and sent yet more shockwaves through the local Dutch legal community. Both M&A specialists, they were voted in as partners at Clifford Chance in February 2000. The hires were proof that Clifford Chance could compete with new arrivals Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy (A&O) as they cherry-picked their way around the top Dutch firms.



Winfred Knibbeler joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Amsterdam.

When Freshfields' Greenfield Dutch office turned its attention to competition law, Nauta Dutilh partner Knibbeler was the first to succumb. A specialist in European Union (EU) competition law, he was hired in March to set up a support practice for Freshfields' corporate and tax groups.



Onno Brouwer joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Amsterdam.

One of Europe's most senior competition lawyers, Brouwer was responsible for setting up Stibbe's EU practice. He was the fourth Stibbe partner to join Freshfields since its launch in Amsterdam in early 1999, when it raided three of the Dutch firm's lawyers. Brouwer joined Freshfields in August.



Peter Riemer joined Allen & Overy in Amsterdam.

A corporate specialist with clients mostly in the technology sector, Riemer left Trenité van Doorne for A&O just weeks after the Dutch firm announced its Amsterdam-Rotterdam split last October. After four years as Trenité's resident London partner, Riemer said he wanted to move to an international firm.



Ton Nederveen joined Clifford Chance in Amsterdam.

A highly-regarded securities lawyer, Nederveen joined Clifford Chance from Andersen Legal member Wouters Advocaten & Notarrisen in November 2000.



Sven Klos joined Allen & Overy in Amsterdam.

One of The Netherlands' most prominent intellectual property (IP) lawyers, Klos joined A&O from Nauta Dutilh in November 2000, the latest in a string of departures from the Dutch firm. As a Nauta Dutilh partner since 1996, Klos focused on litigation in respect of patents, copyright, trademarks, advertising and media.



Marc Walheimer joined Lovells in Amsterdam.

The hire of IP specialist Walheimer from Trenité in December 2000 came just a week after the merger between Lovells and Dutch firm Ekelmans den Hollander was announced. With particular expertise in trademark law and pharmaceutical work, Walheimer was keen to make his practice more international.



Jeroen Thijssen joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Amsterdam.

One of The Netherlands' most senior corporate finance lawyers, Thijssen left Nauta Dutilh for Freshfields in January 2001. His hire was the continuation of a ramraiding strategy which has seen Freshfields grow a 14-partner Amsterdam practice from scratch since May 1999.