Greenberg Traurig has expanded its labour and employment practice capability in Amsterdam, hiring partner Thomas Timmermans from Norton Rose Fulbright.

Timmermans, who is set to join the firm on August 1, represents local and international clients on complex employment law-related matters including dismissals, restructurings, cross-border corporate law-related employment matters, and union and works council relationships.

"We are delighted to welcome Thomas to our Amsterdam office," Cees van Oevelen and Thomas van der Vliet, managing partners of the firm's Amsterdam office, said in a joint statement. "The addition underscores our ambition to strategically grow our office in Amsterdam and across the firm to meet the needs of our clients."

Timmermans told Law.com that expertise in employment law has become essential to successful dealmaking, with failure to follow correct procedures leading to delays in transactions or companies facing unexpected pension liabilities.

"You need early involvement of an employment lawyer because the consultation procedures are becoming more and more complex," he said.

In addition, in the EU, companies are obliged to consult with and inform works councils – bodies made up of trade union representatives – about layoffs and takeover plans. Timmermans said that works councils' members are trained in employment law and often have their own legal advisers.

Only 15 or 16 partners specialising in employment law currently work in international law firms in Amsterdam, Timmermans said. Greenberg Traurig was looking for someone for its international practice, and Timmermans saw it as a good opportunity – a place he could build an employment and pensions team and enhance the firm's full-service offerings. Greenberg Traurig is planning to further expand its Amsterdam office, Timmermans said.

He noted that business opportunities in Amsterdam are growing for several reasons. Brexit has prompted financial institutions to consider moving operations to the city, for example, while Amsterdam has also been offering corporations tax and investment incentives to move there.

Other firms also have been expanding in Amsterdam. Dentons' Amsterdam office has doubled in size since it merged with the Dutch firm Boekel in 2017. Eversheds, which last year merged with a Dutch firm it had been affiliated with for a decade, hired three additional partners in Amsterdam last week. Baker McKenzie, in its most recent promotions round last month, added two partners in Amsterdam. And Scott+Scott, which has offices in New York, Connecticut, California and London, launched an Amsterdam office in June.

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