In 2002, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the Dutch giant at the head of the Netherlands legal market, made headlines with its announcement that it was to resist a merger with long-term ally Linklaters in favour of going it alone.
After the dramatic split up of the two firms’ alliance, De Brauw declared its intention to returning to full independence, while Linklaters declared it was to set up an Amsterdam practice of its own. Two years later, while De Brauw has retained its enormous blue-chip client base and is widely recognised as being at the top of the market, Linklaters has only just hired its first Amsterdam partner, Pim Horsten, from Allen & Overy (A&O).
