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Squire Patton Boggs to open office in ‘Australia’s second-largest EU export market’
Global law firm Squire Patton Boggs is set to open its 16th European location with the launch of an office in Amsterdam, in a move to support the firm’s corporate and private equity expansion strategy in Australia and beyond.
Lauren Croft
The news follows the recent launch of a Dublin office, as well as the addition of practitioners in Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, and Paris.
A team will join Squire Patton Boggs from Dutch firm Van Doorne and a partner from fellow global law firm Taylor Wessing to form the new Amsterdam office, which the firm said is set open in the coming months, in autumn in Europe.
Jeroen Sombezki was formerly a corporate partner at Van Doorne and will serve as managing partner of the new Amsterdam location, working alongside Selma Baouch, joining from Taylor Wessing, where she served as corporate and M&A partner with a focus on investment-driven transactions. They will be joined by legal director Nina de Kwaasteniet and senior associate Vivan IJzerman, both also from Van Doorne.
Mr Sombezki advises businesses, founders, and investors on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, private placements and growth financing, joint ventures, and other strategic collaborations, as well as corporate governance and equity capital markets matters. Ms Baouch has extensive experience in corporate and M&A transactions, especially in the field of private equity transactions, with a focus on health tech, technology and life science sectors. She also currently serves as vice-president of the European American Chamber of Commerce (Netherlands).
Commenting on their move to the firm, Mr Sombezki and Ms Baouch said that “an established international presence is increasingly becoming a prerequisite in order to complete many M&A and private equity transactions”.
“Opening in a new market for a firm with Squire’s reach and integrated approach presents an exciting opportunity for us,” the pair added.
According to clients and strategy global managing partner Steve Mahon, the “Netherlands is a well-established commercial market with a rich culture that has continued to flourish post-Brexit”.
“Our Amsterdam office will open new opportunities for us to support our clients who are already doing business and planning investments across several key areas of our global practice, including private equity, tech, life sciences and industrials,” he said.
Further, EMEA managing partner Jonathan Jones confirmed that Squire Patton Boggs has made “strong progress” in terms of expanding their pan-European private equity practice.
“The Netherlands’ growing private equity scene and continued emergence as a foreign direct investment hub for global corporates and investors made this a logical step in our strategy,” he said.
“Jeroen and Selma are international practitioners who are well-connected into the Dutch market. We are delighted to welcome them to the global team.”
Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Squire Patton Boggs Perth office managing partner and head of the firm’s Australian corporate practice and Asia desk, Tony Chong, said the firm’s recent moves in Europe would have benefits for both Australian and international clients.
“As Australia’s second-largest EU export market, The Netherlands is an important economic partner and a dynamic market for Australian and international businesses,” he said.
“Our new office in Amsterdam gives us local transactional expertise in another key European jurisdiction, positioning the firm to assist clients as they explore business opportunities.”
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
