Taylor Wessing ready to go Dutch

Managing partner Tim Eyles said having a Dutch office would complement the firm’s offices in France and Germany while ­improving its ability to serve US clients coming through London to do business in the Netherlands.

“Our aim would be to have something there in the next 12 months if we can find the right partner,” added Eyles. “We’d certainly like to be there. It’s a major economy. We’re exploring the territory. We’re just doing some due diligence.”

He added that he was “reviewing the market carefully” to find an “appropriate partner” that would look to be part of an international firm. Eyles is heading the ­project with assistance from London IP and advertising head Charles Lloyd.

A Dutch launch would be the latest step in a spate of moves to extend the firm’s global reach.

In August it signed an exclusive referral alliance with Singapore firm RHT Law, which it aims to merge with, and has expressed ambitions for full offices in Singapore and Hong Kong (The Lawyer, 8 August).

It has also set up a Brazil group run out of London and Hamburg to focus on dealflow between Brazil, Europe, China and India (The Lawyer, 5 September).