Martine de Koning

Fashion & Retail / Brexit / Distributie, franchise en agentuur / Nederlands en Europees mededingingsrecht / Commerciële Procesvoering & Arbitrage / Commerciële contracten / Internationale handelsverdragen / Misbruik van machtspositie / Verticale overeenkomsten, exclusieve en selectieve distributie / Consumentenrecht / Omnichannel & Geoblocking / Licenties en technologieoverdracht / Internet sales(platform) restricties / Loyalty programma’s / Logistiek, transport en opslag / Productconformiteit en etikettering / Follow-on litigation / Export & Import regelgeving / Handelsgeschillen / Arbitration / Mededingingsrechtelijke procedures / Mediation.

Martine combineert diepgaande kennis van Europees recht en mededingingsrecht met een grondige kennis van commercie en handel. Ze wordt geprezen om haar ‘scherpe strategische inzicht, kennis en creativiteit in het bieden van oplossingen’. Zij behandelt procesvoering op een ‘slimme, assertieve en effectieve’ manier.

Martine leidt zaken die betrekking hebben op misbruik van machtsposities, verticale afspraken en technologieoverdracht. Martine adviseert en behandelt geschillen over koppelverkoop, prijsstelling, kortingen, merk- en octrooilicenties en knowhow. Met haar levenslange focus op de fashion- en retailsector treedt zij op voor haar klanten op het gebied van beperkingen internetverkoop, beperkingen platforms van derden, geoblocking, dynamic pricing, omnichannel (seamless marketplace), e-commerce, inventory sharing, duale distributie, horizontal and vertical data sharing, loyaliteitsprogramma's en big data.

Martine structureert complexe internationale samenwerkingsverbanden zoals joint ventures, outsourcing en verticale (distributie-)overeenkomsten. Martine heeft ‘uitmuntende kennis van zaken en autoriteit op het gebied van strategisch mededingingsrecht met betrekking tot franchising. Ze vertegenwoordigt binnenlandse franchisegevers bij hun internationale expansieplannen en assisteert ook buitenlandse cliënten bij het vestigen van een vestiging in Europa, het Midden-Oosten en Afrika’. Martine is 'een bedreven opsteller en onderhandelaar van contracten'. Zij houdt zich bezig met verkoop, productie, aanbesteding, logistiek, transport, opslag en andere nationale en internationale commerciële contracten en aanverwante geschillen. Tot de interesses van Martine behoren internationale vakbonden en verdragen (EU, WTO, ASEAN, APEC, NAFTA, Caricom) en exportregelgeving en sancties.

Vooral Noord-Amerikaanse cliënten weten haar te vinden vanwege haar ervaring in het behandelen van grensoverschrijdende transacties en geschillen. Zij werkt zowel voor multinationals als voor sterke Nederlandse spelers met een internationaal bedrijf of met internationale ambitie

Martine treedt veelvuldig op in procedures en (internationale) arbitrage. Zij verdedigt cliënten voor de Europese Commissie, nationale autoriteiten, nationale en internationale gerechten en arbitrage-instituten.

Martine treedt op voor cliënten uit de private sector op de markten Retail, fashion, voedsel, vrije tijd, horeca, reizen, farmacie, technologie en gezondheidszorg.

Chambers Global 2021 Franchising - Global Market Leaders

Martine de Koning advises the Dutch subsidiaries of globally-recognised brands on their international expansion, particularly across Europe. She also handles various franchise-related disputes, as well as providing distribution law advice. Sources praise the Utrecht-based lawyer for her "high technical level, client orientation and pragmatism."

Who’s Who Legal: Franchise 2020

WWL says: Martine de Koning is described by sources as “an excellent lawyer, who knows a great deal about distribution-related competition law aspects”.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2020 - Industry Focus: Retail - Tier 1

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.

Leading individuals

Martine de Koning

Testimonials
‘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.’

‘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.’

The Legal 500 EMEA 2020 - EU & Competition

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 Legal 500 EMEA 2020 - Dispute Resolution: Commercial Litigation

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.

Chambers Global 2020 - Franchising - Global Wide

"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.""

Chambers Europe 2020 - EU and Competition Law

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.

Who's Who Legal - Thought Leaders Global Elite 2020 - Franchise

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.

Who’s Who Legal – Hospitality - 2020

"Martine de Koning is held in high esteem for her impressive counsel to clients in the hospitality sector, and her in-depth insights in the European competition legal framework."

Who’s Who Legal – Thought Leaders Global Elite 2019 - Franchise

Legal Who’s Who previous stated: "The 'outstanding' Martine de Koning is an exceptionally knowledgeable authority on strategic competition law relating to franchising. She represents domestic franchisors in their international expansion plans and also assists foreign clients with establishing a presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa."

Who’s Who Legal – Thought Leaders Global Elite 2019 - Franchise

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.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2019 - EU and Competition

Kennedy Van der Laan 's team 'works efficiently and is focused on the bigger picture'. It has notable strength handling competition matters in the banking and finance, retail and healthcare sectors. Martine de Koning, who is 'very dynamic', and senior associate Martijn van Bemmel are names to note.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2019 - Industry focus: Retail

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.

Who's Who Legal 2018

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

The Legal 500 EMEA 2018 - Retail

"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."

The Legal 500 EMEA 2018 - EU and Competition - Ranked

"Martine de Koning is a name to note."

The Legal 500 EMEA 2017 - Retail - Ranked

"Commercial and competition specialist Martine de Koning leads Kennedy Van der Laan’s practice; she is particularly strong in cross-border franchising, distribution, procurement and commercial contracts. Recent work includes representing Albert Heijn in proceedings against Pollemans regarding the latter’s desired implementation of an age-verification system. The department advised Nike Europe on various contentious and non-contentious matters."

Who's Who Legal 2017 - Franchise

"Kennedy Van der Laan is home to the "outstanding" Martine de Koning, an exceptionally knowledgeable authority on strategic competition law relating to franchising. She represents domestic franchisers in their international expansion plans and also assists foreign clients in establishing a presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Who's Who Legal 2015 - Franchise

"At Kennedy Van der Laan, Martine de Koning ranks highly in the Netherlands. She is described as "a very professional hands-on lawyer with shrewd understanding of franchise agreements", according to peers."

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."

• Leidt een wereldwijde alliantie van onafhankelijke advocatenkantoren in verschillende rechtsgebieden, waaronder voor een denim merk, een transportbedrijf en een sportmerk;
• Vertegenwoordigt een sportmerk in toonaangevende mededingingsprocedures bij de Europese Commissie en bij de Nederlandse rechter tegen o.a. Italiaanse en Duitse retailers over licentiegedrag, internet- en platformrestricties;
• Ontwikkelt een internationale processtrategie voor de EMEA regio en coördineert de procedures in diverse landen over de beëindiging van selectieve distributiecontracten;
• Adviseert producenten van consumentengoederen over douane, invoer – en sanctieproblematiek, etikettering en productveiligheid;
• Ontwikkelt een selectief distributiesysteem met bijbehorende contracten en handhavingsinstrumenten voor een producent van luxe artikelen;
• Past voor een internationaal platform in- en verkoopcontracten aan i.v.m. Brexit;
• Adviseert een dominante producent van levensmiddelen over prijsstrategie, samenwerking in platformen, data sharing, geoblocking en internetstrategie;
• Ontwikkelt een strategie voor de herziening van het portfolio van franchisenemers in Europa, en wikkelt de beëindiging van bestaande franchiseovereenkomsten en daaruit voortvloeiende geschillen af;
• Implementeert een outsourcing van alle drafting, onderhandeling en digitale sluiting van commerciële contracten naar KVdL
• Onderhandelt over goodwillvergoeding bij de beëindiging van agentuurovereenkomsten;
• Zet een joint venture op voor een producent van (medische) apparatuur met een concurrent;
• Adviseert een uitvinder over de afdwingbaarheid van licentieafspraken, technologieoverdracht en royalties met het oog op het mededingingsrecht;
• Procedeert voor een voedselproducent over abrupte opschorting van diensten door een dienstverlener van logistiek, opslag en transport.