Dutch litigation firm bureau Brandeis with support from The Netherlands Embassy in Washington DC, presents a practical primer on the opportunities the Netherlands has to offer to foreign lawyers and parties seeking effective solutions of international (financial) disputes.

Despite continuous harmonization efforts, the European Union is a patchwork of widely varying legal systems, with no clear ‘federal’ statute facilitating EU wide litigation solutions. The pending Brexit only increases the complexities of bringing suits against defendants throughout the EU. For plaintiffs and their lawyers, seeking efficient resolution of a dispute for which an EU country may offer jurisdiction, substantial hurdles may be perceived, even if the damage is substantial and the tort is clear.

Dutch litigation experts will set out the opportunities the Netherlands offers to US and other foreign law firms, to export their cases to the EU through the Netherlands, while keeping control of the case, by:

• Reproducing US class settlements throughout the EU, through follow-on proceedings before the Amsterdam Court of Appeals with universal effect in the EU;
• Bringing antitrust cases before a Dutch court, for the damage caused throughout the EU;
• Court proceedings carried out fully in English, on EU soil even post Brexit, with the introduction of the Netherlands Commercial Court as per January 1, 2017.

Program

5.00 pm: doors open

5.30 pm:

• Word of welcome from the Dutch Embassy in Washington DC
• “Introduction to EU litigation in the Netherlands”, President of the Dutch Bar, Bart van Tongeren
• EU Antitrust litigation after Brexit, Hans Bousie, bureau Brandeis
• The European answer to US class action settlements, Frank Peters, bureau Brandeis

6.30-7:30 pm: drinks

Organizer: bureau Brandeis – www.bureaubrandeis.com

Questions: Hans Bousie, hans.bousie@bureaubrandeis.com / +31 650270097