The 2012 edition of the two main international rankings for lawyers have been released, Legal 500 and Chambers. Here are the comments about the media team of Kennedy Van der Laan.
Legal 500 in the category ‘media and entertainment’ on Kennedy Van der Laan:
‘A very accessible firm, which is informal but has very experienced lawyers’, Kennedy Van der Laan is noted for its freedom of press work. Jens van den Brink is ‘an outstanding lawyer in the field of media law and defamation; very experienced and up to date’. Machteld Robichon-Lindenkamp provides ‘know-how in media cases and special knowledge of broadcasting matters’. Robinchon acted for TV Oranje regarding alleged regulatory breaches by broadcaster TROS, and the team successfully represented artist Nadia Plesner in proceedings brought by Louis Vuitton.
In the category ‘intellectual property’ Legal 500 writes:
Kennedy Van der Laan gives ‘practical, business-friendly and innovative advice’ to media and consumer goods clients. It advises on general IP issues and has a strong focus on trade marks, particularly in the technology, fashion and internet fields.
In Chambers:
This firm’s technology team is one of the most highly regarded in the Netherlands. It remains at the forefront of developments, often working on cutting-edge projects. The lawyers advised the Dutch national railway on a virtual network for matching international train information, and also handled IT contracts and software licensing agreements. On the media side, it attracts work in both the print and online sectors, most notably representing news blog GeenStijl and newspaper Spits in litigation. It further handled contentious work for De Persgroep newspapers. Its strength in the fields of free speech and defamation has resulted in some interesting work, such as a case over broadcaster VARA’s right to use satire. The team upholds its reputation for telecoms work, with clients including a major mobile operator and various fixed telecoms providers.
On intellectual property Chambers mentions:
This team attracts clients from the fashion, media and technology sectors. It wins warm praise for its pragmatic advice and approachable lawyers.
Sources say: “A strong, broad practice with reputable partners.”, “Founding fathers of the IT scene.” & “Their strength lies in their ability to gather know-how and then explain it to a judge in a way he or she can absorb it.”
KEY INDIVIDUALS: Jens van den Brink earns much praise for his work on defamation and privacy matters. Clients pick out his up-to-date knowledge of new and social media as a particular strength. Hester De Vries remains one of the market’s most highly respected specialists for data protection and privacy work. Managing partner Joost Linnemann is well regarded for his work in IT, and specialises in e-commerce and complex technology projects and transactions. Patrick Wit works on the intersection between IT, media and telecoms. A source comments: “He does a great job for his clients.” Senior associate Reindert van der Zaal impressed sources with his media work, which often has an IP flavour. Clients note his calm demeanour and strong performance in court.
