Simmons Trenité plunders KPMG's Steins Bisschop

A property and construction team of six fee-earners led by ex-Steins Bisschop partner Jos van de Vijver has just joined Simmons, which officially merged with Nolst Trenité on 1 May.
Only seven of the original 21 Steins Bisschop partners joined KPMG's new legal capability. Steins Bisschop was officially declared bankrupt last month after KPMG pulled the plug on loans of millions of euros to the practice (The Lawyer, 8 April).
Simmons & Simmons Trenité has also hired Clifford Chance partner Severin de Wit, who will build the intellectual property (IP) capability, which the firm lost when it split from its Amsterdam arm. De Wit was head of IP at the Amsterdam office of Clifford Chance.
London IP partner Kevin Mooney said the strategic hire was part of the firm's plan to strengthen its IP practice throughout Europe.
"I've known Severin for about 20 years, and he's one of the best patent litigators in Holland," commented Mooney. "We already have a good reputation in London and elsewhere for IP. Rotterdam didn't really have an IP group. Severin will build that up for us."