Commercial & International Trade

The Kennedy Van der Laan practice fields 'one of the leading teams in the Netherlands'. Martine de Koning heads up the group and, alongside her EU competition expertise, she is considered 'one of the best franchise lawyers'. Associate partner Bart-Adriaan de Ruijter handles a range of transactions, contentious matters and Brexit-related issues for retail clients, while senior associate Jelle Blom focuses on commercial and international trade matters. Acting for household-name clients, the team handles domestic and cross-border matters including joint ventures, distribution and licence agreements, competition and anti-trust work, and real estate mandates alongside the related litigation and arbitration proceedings.

• Martine de Koning

• ‘The franchise and retail team of KvdL is one of the leading teams in the Netherlands. It is always a pleasure to work with them.’
• ‘Martine de Koning is one of the best franchise lawyers worldwide. She combines civil and consumer law, competition law and trade mark law in a unique and excellent way.’
• ‘The team is very successful in providing high level legal assessment together with a very good understanding of business environment.’
• ‘We have worked closely with Martine de Koning, Jelle Blom and Renske Sinke. Between them they share excellent knowledge of the legal issues that are relevant when working in retail and they know how to “translate” this knowledge to make it work on a practical level.’

Kennedy Van der Laan displays deep expertise in the banking and financial sector, regularly advising the three largest Dutch banks. A notable matter highlight involved practice head Annemieke van der Beek and Martijn van Bemmel advising Dutch Payments Association regarding a dawn raid and the following procedure. Martine de Koning is another key member of the team and leads cases on abuse of dominance, vertical restraints and transfer of technology. Clients praise the competition team for its 'high-quality work' and 'professional, knowledgeable and practical lawyers'.

• ‘The competition law team at Kennedy Van der Laan consists of professional, knowledgeable and practical lawyers, who are very effective in obtaining the required results. They are thorough and deliver high-quality work‘.
• ‘I have worked with Martijn on a complex matter of competition law relating to the Dutch lottery system. He has extensive knowledge of competition law and is a really clever and skillful lawyer. Martijn is a great professional, who is positive and efficient at getting deals done. I can highly recommend him to others who require high-quality and practical legal advice‘.
• ‘Annemieke van der Beek. Very nice to work with, a real professional with a sharp insight into the client’s business‘.

A notable list of clients turn to the team at Kennedy Van der Laan for assistance with commercial litigation. Work handled by the firm spans contract disputes, interim relief proceedings, and pre-trial actions. A team led by Martine de Koning is representing a global sports brand in cross-border litigation regarding online sales restrictions in its selective distribution policy. Also recommended are joint practice heads Christoph Jeloschek and Bart-Adriaan de Ruijter; the latter specialises particularly in matters concerning D&O liability.

Assists financial sector clients with competition matters, including obtaining approval for joint ventures. Also represents transport sector clients in cartel damages claims. Acts for retail sector clients on contentious distribution matters. Additionally has clients from the healthcare sector.

Clients underline the firm's knowledge in this area.

Annemieke van der Beek particularly assists clients from the banking industry. Her practice includes experience of follow-on cartel litigation, as well as handling complex abuse of dominance proceedings before the ACM.

Martine De Koning enters the rankings on the back of positive assessments from clients, who describe her as "very well connected" and "very strategic." She is particularly active for clients from the retail and fashion industries, advising on vertical restraints, as well as franchise and distribution agreements.

Martine de Koning is ranked global wide within Franchising.

"Martine de Koning is based in Amsterdam and is very active in the European franchise market. Clients say: "She is a very energetic and professional lawyer. She is very pragmatic and at the same time goes deep into legal issues." Other sources describe her as "very sharp, intelligent and very well informed.""

WWL says:
"Martine de Koning is a “very active” franchise lawyer with “exceptional legal knowledge”. She has extensive experience of structuring complex matters including joint ventures."

Read the full recommendation at Who' s Who Legal.

The Kennedy Van der Laan practice 'provides creative solutions, combining expertise in different areas such as IP, distribution, data protection and licensing and also stands out at managing complex projects' and it specifically benefits clients with 'significant expertise in the retail industry'. Martijn van Bemmel and Jelle Blom are 'outstanding' while Martine de Koning is viewed as 'a top lawyer who perfectly knows the retail industry'. Nike, Converse, VodafoneZiggo and Elecosoft UK are among its client list. Of late the team has handled matters including a complex distribution dispute, franchising, and online retailing issues. It also advised Panda Sporthallen Exploitatie in a Court of Appeal case in which it claimed compensation for the early termination of a fitness club franchise format. Counsel Bart-Adriaan de Ruijter and senior associate Isabel van Tuyll van Serooskerken are other team members of note.

Martine stands out for her “quick, professional and straightforward advice”. She has an excellent reputation among peers and clients who praise her technical legal knowledge.

"Best known for franchising, distribution and commercial contracts, Kennedy Van der Laan’s practice has cross-border capabilities, and is ‘particularly knowledgeable about e-commerce’. Group head Martine de Koning ‘combines great commercial, legal and competition law knowledge’. Ahold Delhaize is a client."

Monique van Diessen, Nike Europe

"We highly recommend Martine de Koning, first and foremost because of her knowledge and creativity in providing solutions and strategic thinking."

Bill Berner, General Counsel Nike EMEA

"Martine de Koning has been Nike’s Account Manager at Kennedy van der Laan since 2000. Over the years, Martine handled strategically important litigation for us such as international commercial disputes and competition law cases before the relevant authorities. She has a clear vision and takes the lead in a smart and assertive manner with an eye to effective communication with all stakeholders involved. Martine offers high service levels and quickly understands the business interests at stake. Martine handled in a pragmatic way many franchise, distribution, agency and procurement cases over the years. She became involved early on in the legal support of the Nike stores project, including localisation and implementation of contracts in the EMEA region. Martine was a key player in the creation of the Alliance for Nike, an innovative concept which allows Nike to work with selected firms in a number of European countries, under the leadership and coordination by Kennedy van der Laan, creating savings and efficiencies and driving convergence."

"Kennedy Van der Laan is a no-nonsense, value for money, reliable business partner. Their attorneys understand our industry, are very professional and a pleasure to work with. They look at the bigger picture and bring innovative and practical solutions. They quickly focus on the essence and are not overly theoretical in their approach. They are passionate about their profession and it shows."

The Alliance for Nike, under leadership of Kennedy Van der Laan, has now been in place in the wider European region for five years and it is a great success. In the first years the Alliance accelerated efficiencies, drove convergence and significantly improved spend predictability and insight. In more recent years, the emphasis was on intensive knowledge and best practices sharing, innovative (digital) communications, effective feedback processes, and central project coordination. The Alliance allows us to retain the firms that are the best fit to Nike’s needs in each jurisdiction, while still benefitting from centralized management by Kennedy Van der Laan. It is a true partnership, and the Alliance continues to thrive and expand both in legal fields and jurisdictions.”