Dutch leader De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek has suffered two senior losses with corporate partner Arie Schaberg and real estate specialist Maarten Schepel both quitting the firm this month.

Schaberg and Schepel, respectively partners since 1995 and 1994, left De Brauw's 200-lawyer Amsterdam arm last week but are "still thinking out their options", according to one partner at the firm.

The departures bring the number of partners to have quit De Brauw over the past six months to five .

However, De Brauw's Hague-based managing partner, Jaap de Keijzer, denied claims from rivals that the firm was re-assessing its strategy and streamlining the practice to boost profits.

The 74-partner Dutch leader lost tax partner Peter Flipsen to Simmons & Simmons' Rotterdam arm in July, while fellow De Brauw tax partner Rene van Eldonk left the firm in May amid reports of unease in the tax practice.

A third tax partner, Hans Bol, left the firm in April, choosing to leave the law to take up academic study.

Dutch lawyers claim that the departures of three tax partners within a couple of months were related to De Brauw's hiring of former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partners Dick Hofland and Paul Sleurink.

Sleurink and Hofland, former partners at legacy firm Loyens & Volkmaars, joined De Brauw's Amsterdam arm in March and April respectively to bolster its tax practice.

The departures from the firm are being watched closely by Dutch rivals. The firm, which two years ago split from its formal alliance with London-based Linklaters to pursue a strategy of independence, is regarded as The Netherlands' leading corporate adviser.