Simmons shuts Rotterdam, focuses on Amsterdam

27 January 2009

Simmons & Simmons has decided to close its Rotterdam office and move all its Dutch lawyers to Amsterdam.

The announcement comes after a two-month consultation on the fate of the office.

Rotterdam had been the larger of the firm’s two Dutch branches, with 27 partners and 78 fee earners compared to seven partners and 12 fee earners in Amsterdam.

The future of the Rotterdam office had been in doubt since Simmons opened in Amsterdam in 2006, moving its finance practice to the Dutch capital.

A source close to the situation told The Lawyer: “There’s no reason to have two offices in a small country like Holland.”

It is understood that a number of partners had left the Rotterdam office in the employment and environmental law groups.

Simmons managing partner Mark Dawkins had insisted that all options remained open before the decision was made to close the branch this week.

He said: “The new office will become an even stronger part of the firm’s international network. The concentration of our resources in Amsterdam will help to boost our cross-border work.”

Jean-Pierre van Leeuwe, a member of the firm’s Dutch executive committee, said: “Clients need us to be at the heart of Dutch corporate and finance work, which is Amsterdam. This move will allow us to strengthen our ties with our core clients.”