The five partner firm will be structured as a Swiss Verein and will operate from May 1, 2017. 

The office will be led by Marcel Willems, and all patners join from Kennedy Van der Laan (KVdL).  Mr Willems cofounded KVdL more than 25 years.

He is joined by Jan Schouten, Marinus de Waal, Frans-Jozef Crousen and Louis Bouchez.  Mr Schouten, Mr Crousen and Mr Bouchez have more than 20 years' experience in the corporate transactions practice. 

Practice focus

The practice will initially focus on corporate, finance and insolvency, business structuring (including inward investment), commercial contracts, compliance and governance and corporate litigation.

However, the firm said that it would be seeking to recruit experience IP and IT lawyers in the coming year.

Expansion plans

Fieldfisher revealed last June that the Netherlands would play a key role in the firm's international expansion plans.

This is the latest expansion move for Fieldfisher. In November 2016 the firm launched a new Swiss Verein in China with a Beijing office. 

This month, the China arm opened another office in Shanghai.

In the same month as the new China Verein was established, the firm merged with commercial firm Hill Hofstetter. 

And in July last year the firm joined with SASPI, which has four offices across Italy, through a Swiss Verein structure.