Simmons & Simmons has hired Dutch arbitration partner Niek Peters from Amsterdam boutique Cleber Advocaten

Peters appears as counsel in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations, acts as an independent arbitrator and is a law professor at the University of Groningen.

Previous firms include Belgian international arbitration boutique Hanotiau & van den Berg and US lfirm Greenberg Traurig.

He joins Simmons following the departure of Rogier Schellaars in June 2019 to co-head the arbitration practice at Dutch firm Van Doorne.

His appointment is part of an ongoing drive by Simmons to grow its arbitration practice.

Last year it hired partner George Vlavianos and a team of four associates in Doha from Canadian firm Bennett Jones while in 2017 it secured Philippe Cavalieros from Winston & Strawn to lead its arbitration push in the key European centre of Paris.

Notable instructions include successfully defending the Indonesian government last year in a $580m Bilateral Investment Treaty dispute that was heard before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Stuart Dutson, head of Simmons’ international arbitration practice, said: “[Niek] has a strong domestic Dutch practice, as well as significant international arbitration experience, including in investment treaty claims, which is an area the firm has had recent success in.”

He added that the firm had a strong pipeline of claims by investors running into 2020.

Luc Cohen, head of dispute resolution at Simmons’ Amsterdam office, said: “The opportunity to hire somebody with Niek’s breadth of academic and practical experience [was] extremely rare."

Last year, Simmons’ Dutch arm collaborated with a local think tank to launch innovative dispute management protocols in the construction market.

In its LLP filing for the 2018/19 financial year, the firm highlighted its disputes resolution team as “a major strength” as it pointed to a strong performance across its network of continental European offices in comparison to London, where Brexit uncertainty had dampened demand.

Meanwhile, Dutch lawyers have been positioning The Netherlands as a leading centre for dispute resolution following the UK’s exit from the EU.

Last month, international claimant litigation firm Hausfeld announced the opening of an Amsterdam arm after absorbing niche claimant firm Zippro Meijer while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer boosted its European litigation practice with the hire of a three-lawyer team from White & Case in Belgium.