Simmons & Simmons has merged its Dutch operations and moved to a new premises in Amsterdam following the City law firm's decision to close its Rotterdam base last year.

The new office holds 80 lawyers from the combined arms of the former Rotterdam and Amsterdam offices, 17 of whom are partners. The outfit went live on 11 October.

Prior to the announcement of its closure in January 2009 the Rotterdam practice housed 75 lawyers. Over the past two years, 25 of these lawyers, including four partners, have left the office.

Meanwhile, five of the remaining 50 relocated to Amsterdam ahead of the move alongside a further five hires, bringing the total number of lawyers in the office to 35.

Netherlands managing partner Jean-Pierre van Leeuwe said: "From this new location we will continue to apply our energies to serving the high-end market with Amsterdam as our home base.

"The majority of our clients are based in the Amsterdam region and many of our cases are handled in the Amsterdam courts. It is good to be close to our peers and we will be looking to expand quite considerably over the coming months."

The firm is aiming to expand its Dutch practice to a critical mass of 100 lawyers, focusing on life sciences, financial institutions, TMT and energy and infrastructure.

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