Syb is a senior associate at bureau Brandeis with almost 10 years of experience. He knows everything about intellectual property law and media & entertainment law. Syb is a specialist in trademark law and music rights (copyright and neighbouring/related rights). He also has extensive experience in, inter alia, advertising law, portrait/image rights and commercial contracts (such as licensing agreements and sponsorship agreements).

Characteristics and qualities

Syb is pragmatic. To the point if possible, detailed if necessary, but always with an eye for the bigger picture. He thinks primarily in terms of possibilities, rather than risks. Syb always strives for a practical solution, but if a conflict is unavoidable, he stands firmly behind his clients.

Clients Syb works for

Syb regularly works for brand owners in the tech, FMCG, fashion and media industries, among others. In addition, Syb is a respected entertainment lawyer with extensive knowledge of the music industry in particular.

Syb has worked for clients including Amp.Amsterdam, Barong Family, Beverly Hills Polo Club, bunq, CarNext.com, CIVC (Champagne), Dash Berlin, Moksi, Nike, Nivea (Beiersdorf), Pathé, PepsiCo, Roger Federer, Spinnin’ Records, Tiqets and Yellow Claw.

Clients and fellow lawyers about Syb

Internationally respected lawyer rankings, such as WTR 1000, Legal 500 and Managing IP, describe Syb as a “rising star” in trademark and copyright law and as a “key lawyer”, “excellent associate” and “recommended” for intellectual property rights.

Clients and fellow attorney’s say about Syb in these rankings, inter alia, the following:

• “has a very sharp mind”
• “grasps the most complex subjects”
• “goes to great lengths to understand what is best for his clients”
• “easily negotiates favourable settlements; but when it comes down to it, he is a fierce litigator”
• “represents some of the biggest names in the industry”
• “very intelligent, young talent with a great future ahead of him”
• “very smart and sharp and at the same time very approachable in his communication”

Before joining bureau Brandeis in 2018, Syb worked at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek for almost 5 years.

For some recent work of Syb in the field of IP (mainly trademark law and copyright law) and in the field of entertainment Click here

Jade Versteeg is an associate at bureau Brandeis. She specialises in competition law and sector-specific regulation.

Jade has extensive experience with all aspects of (European) competition law, including (second phase) merger notifications, cartels and abuse cases. In addition, Jade regularly advises on collaborations, information exchange and distribution systems, and has specific knowledge of geo-blocking and the application of competition law to e-commerce. Jade assists companies in both European and national administrative proceedings, as well as civil proceedings that deal with competition law and healthcare purchasing.

The activities of Jade focus to a large extent on regulated markets such as TMT, fintech, transport, agri and healthcare. In her work, Jade has a special interest in data-related issues in digital platform markets. Moreover, she has specific expertise in the field of (economic) regulation of payment traffic, mobility services, data portability and net neutrality. Jade frequently acts as a counsel’s counsel for competition law and regulatory matters, for example in the context of acquisitions and joint ventures.

Jade obtained her master’s degree in European Competition Law and Regulation at the University of Amsterdam (cum laude) in 2015. During and after her studies, she inter alia worked as an intern at a leading international law firm and at the Competition Department of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). Before joining bureau Brandeis, Jade worked as an associate at Maverick Advocaten.

Relevant experience:

• Assisting merging parties and third parties in complex (second phase) merger notification proceedings at the European Commission and the ACM such as PostNL / Sandd, Sanoma / Iddink, T-Mobile / Tele2, Ziggo / Liberty Global and Vodafone / Ziggo.
• Representing various companies active in the telecom, media and postal sector in relation to market analysis decisions of the ACM and the Belgian Institute for Postal services and Telecommunication (BIPT) and appeal procedures at the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb).
• Assisting Eredivisie Media & Marketing (Fox Sports) as a third party in an appeal procedure launched by KPN and CAIW following a decision of the ACM concerning the exploitation of the broadcasting rights for Dutch premier league football matches.
• Providing assistance to several fintech companies in relation to European competition law, PSD II and interchange fee regulations.
• Representing multiple public transport and mobility service providers in various proceedings, for instance following ACM’s public consultation of its advice on public transport payment services.

Fransje is a senior lawyer at bureau Brandeis with over 10 years of experience. She works in the team media, telecom and gaming.

Fransje first worked as a lawyer in Curaçao from 2013 to 2017. In her first years as a lawyer, she gained broad experience in both civil and administrative law. In various areas of law, among which liability law and contract law, Fransje advised and litigated for clients from among others the Caribbean, Europe, America and Asia.

Later, the focus shifted to administrative procedural law. Before the courts of Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten and Aruba, Fransje often litigated on behalf of the government and regulators on a variety of issues; from the construction of spatial projects to licensing in the financial sector and the interpretation of (then still) relatively new legislation on the level of the Dutch Kingdom.

Fransje joined bureau Brandeis on 1 July 2019. She now uses the knowledge and experience she has gained in the meantime in her work for among others various parties in regulated markets.

A large part of Fransje’s current work, following the recent legislative changes and thus new legislation in this regard, is advising and litigating on behalf of online gambling operators, both from the Netherlands as from other jurisdictions. Here, Fransje’s particular interest is in sports-related issues in this field, such as sponsorship to and other forms of advertising in relation to sports organisations and match-fixing. On these subjects she has also gives presentations regularly, including at the Royal Dutch Football Bond, the KNVB.

Fransje also advises startups on various kinds of contract law issues.

In her free time, Fransje enjoys travelling and can be found on the beach and in the sea for kitesurfing and wave surfing. She also enjoys doing yoga, in which she completed a teacher training in May 2022.

If you have a specific question or would like to have coffee with Fransje sometime, feel free to contact her.

Casper Rooijakkers is an associate at bureau Brandeis. He specializes in financial litigation. Clients appreciate Casper’s flexibility and his ability to quickly understand their business.

Casper acts for financial and other companies, in case of disputes and enforcement measures from regulators. He also advises on financial supervisory law (inter alia FSA, PSD2, AML).

Before joining bureau Brandeis, Casper was an attorney at Eversheds Sutherland in Amsterdam. He also went on secondment at an international payment services provider. Casper studied at Leiden University and Universitat de Barcelona.

Sophie van Everdingen is a senior lawyer at bureau Brandeis with more than 10 years of experience. Sophie litigates and advises in commercial disputes, including cartel damages cases and media and intellectual property cases, with a particular interest in cross-border cases.

Sophie is at her best in large and complex matters. She is sharp, thorough, and keeps a clear overview in all her cases. Sophie communicates quickly and tackles problems proactively and diligently.

Sophie is currently involved in the largest cartel damages cases in the Netherlands, assisting the Truck Cartel Recovery Foundation and three other groups of parties in damages actions against six international truck manufacturers that were part of the Europe-wide truck cartel. She is also involved, among others, in a damages action against Google concerning abuse of dominance. Sophie has also been involved in witness hearings and seizures in Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, China and Russia.

To give you an idea of Sophie’s practice, below are some cases and other matters that Sophie recently handled for her clients:

• Advice to the largest book publishing group VBK with the creation of a platform within the book industry;
• Assisting a major distributor in trademark infringement proceedings against hair product manufacturer Keune;
• Assisting the founder of a music platform in a dispute with its partners;
• Regular advisor to Pathé in advising on contracts with suppliers, influencers and other marketing parties;
• Assisting several book publishers in proceedings and advice around the right to publish work, copyright infringement, contracts with authors;
• Assisting a former Council politician in an integrity case;
• Assisting Unga in its fight to protect its loyalty programme.

Sophie is an editorial board member of Cartel Damages Quarterly, the European quarterly on cartel damages law. Sophie also completed a post-graduate specialisation course in intellectual property law and litigation at the Mr S.K. Martens Academy in 2021, further bolstering her competence in IP litigation.

Before joining bureau Brandeis, Sophie worked as an attorney-at-law at Houthoff within the dispute resolution sections in Amsterdam and European and competition law in Brussels.

Stefan Campmans is an attorney who assists entrepreneurs and businesses in complex, legal issues and long-term disputes. Stefan has been an attorney since 2011 and he has worked at Brandeis firm since 2016.

Stefan litigates about business and contractual disputes, liability and complex issues, such as bankruptcies, fraud and international disputes. In his work, he acts for companies and for directors, shareholders or certificate holders in internal disputes. Stefan likes to think strategically about solutions.

Stefan has a special interest in family businesses because of the high degree of involvement, special dynamics and history. Stefan grew up within a family business and he still fulfills a secondary function within it.

Stefan obtained his Masters in Dutch Law from the University of Groningen in 2011 with specializations in Private Law and Corporate Law. Stefan also studied International (Corporate) Law at Uppsala University in Sweden for a semester. In 2019, Stefan completed the Grotius Academy’s Business & Liability specialization course.

As an attorney, Stefan is distinguished by his analytical approach, commitment and solution orientation.

Silvia van Schaik is an attorney at bureau Brandeis, specialising in information law, in particular e-commerce, platform regulation, copyright and other intellectual property rights and privacy.

Silvia is an all-round technology lawyer. Her work is at the intersection of litigation and compliance. Silvia enjoys collaborating with her clients and considering their perspectives to arrive at a solution that is legally sound and pragmatic. She assists large international companies and smaller organisations or individuals. Her work often involves innovative products in the digital economy that challenge the establishment. Silvia’s experience in both advisory and litigation practice enables her to (proactively) advise and assist clients in proceedings.

Silvia graduated from Leiden University in 2009. During her studies, she studied in San Francisco for six months and became infected with the “techlaw” virus. In 2015, she successfully completed the postgraduate specialisation course in IT law at the Grotius Academy.

Before joining bureau Brandeis, Silvia worked at international law firms for many years, in the IP/TMT teams of CMS and BakerMcKenzie. In addition, Silvia is active within the international association for young lawyers AIJA (www.aija.org), previously as President of the IP/TMT Commission and currently as Co-Chair of the Human Rights Committee. As a result, she has a large international network. She is also active within various networks and information law associations in the Netherlands.

Recent work of Silvia van Schaik

• Assisting The Privacy Collective in the first class action for privacy violations under the WAMCA (against Oracle and Salesforce);
• Assisting an e-commerce platform in disputes with vendors;
• Advising a publisher on copyright infringement and comparative advertising.

Anita is senior associate at bureau Brandeis. She specializes in corporate law and dispute resolution and focusses in particular on the inquiry proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam.

Anita graduated from the University of Amsterdam in 2002. After graduating, she worked (amongst others) 10 years as Secretary of the Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam. As Secretary, Anita participated in hundreds of court hearings and drafted many of the decisions made by the Enterprise Chamber. In addition, she reviewed thousands of case files. As Secretary she also acted as first port of call for researchers and administrators appointed by the Enterprise Chamber in inquiry proceedings.

Since joining bureau Brandeis in 2016, Anita has regularly assisted directors and shareholders in inquiry proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber. She is also regularly consulted by other lawyers to advise them on inquiry proceedings. In addition, Anita advises clients on corporate governance matters and acts on behalf of clients in contractual and commercial disputes. Anita regularly publishes on the right of inquiry (recht van enquête, please see the list on the Dutch version of this website).

Recent work

• Litigation regarding the dismissal of the directors of a foundation on the basis of Article 2:298 of the Dutch Civil Code.
• Representing Greenpeace in summary proceedings against the Dutch State with regard to the financial support to KLM.
• Initiating an inquiry procedure before the Enterprise Chamber on behalf of a group of shareholders in connection with accounting irregularities at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.
• Litigation regarding the breaking off of negotiations against a private equity fund.
• Representing applicants or defendants in various inquiry proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber.
• Assisting shareholders and /or directors in various in-company disputes, negotiating settlements and drafting settlement documentation.
• Advising on Dutch law with regard to corporate board decisions for foreign proceedings.
• Advising on the Dutch squeeze-out procedure.
• Advising on the correct decision-making in, among others, private companies and foundations.

Michelle Krekels is a lawyer (2009) at bureau Brandeis. She is specialised in dispute resolution. She analyses risks, manages disputes and reaches commercial solutions in the interest of her clients.

Michelle advises and litigates on mass damage cases, (international) commercial contracts, financial disputes and (product) liability. She also advises shareholders, directors and supervisory directors on governance issues and liability risks.

Michelle assists clients in complex matters. Michelle’s clients include national and international corporations, institutions and insurers. She often works together with other (foreign) law firms and funders. They appreciate her sharp analyses, critical insights and client focus (Recommendations: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-krekels)

Michelle regularly acts as a panel member or moderator during (international) conferences.

Some recent work:

• Representing shareholders in a Dutch procedure following the reported accounting irregularities at Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.
• Regularly assists green energy suppliers by reviewing commercial contracts and resolving disputes relating to wind and solar energy projects.
• Involved in various collective actions. For example, she represents The PrivacyCollective in the collective action against the software companies Oracle and Salesforce.
• Represented a corporate client of Van Lanschot Bankiers N.V. regarding a dispute regarding the transfer of corporate real estate loans to non-banks. See, amongst others, the judgments of the District Court of Amsterdam of 7 August 2019 and of 29 May 2019.
• Represent Nigerian and Lebanese companies in NAI arbitration following the termination of an agreement for the transit of grain for the brewing of beer.
• Involved in NAI arbitration between international parties active in the online gaming industry.
• Advising parties on mass claims against banks following the Libor fraud.
• Assisting various parties in proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, including the Taiwanese financial conglomerate FUBON in the context of a rights issue by Delta Lloyd.
• Representing a Dutch company in liability proceedings against its former director.
• Assisting an investor in immovable property in interim relief proceedings relating to a dispute concerning the performance of a loan agreement.
• Provide legal assistance to hedge funds around their investments in Dutch stock exchange funds in situations that have not become public.
• Involved in the judicial liquidation of a company and related proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal.