AMSTERDAM – Nov. 19, 2020 – One of the few firms which has avoided any across-the-board layoffs and compensation reductions for its lawyers and staff at all levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has nonetheless found important opportunities in change, is Greenberg Traurig, LLP. The 2,200-lawyer global giant has 40 offices: 30 across the United States, where it has the largest number of American lawyers, and 10 outside the United States, including approximately 350 lawyers in five key offices across Europe.
Today, the firm continues one if its core global and European strategies by announcing the imminent addition of David van Dijk and his team in Amsterdam and London. Van Dijk leads a Dutch Tier 1 Real Estate team and has been the head of the International Real Estate Practice and member of the Supervisory Board of the NautaDutilh firm based in Amsterdam, where he has led a robust practice for many years, in both transactional real estate and disputes involving the asset class.
"We have always sought opportunity in crisis and change for more than 50 years, provided we preserve and enhance our excellence; our value proposition; our uniquely unified, respectful, collaborative, and merit-based culture; and our financial discipline," said Richard A. Rosenbaum, Greenberg Traurig’s Executive Chairman, who has led the firm’s European expansion for almost 20 years as well as its New York office and a number of others in the US, and all of its non-US locations over his 35 years at the firm.
“I am particularly pleased that we have protected the health and wellbeing of our lawyers and staff during this unprecedented period while also improving our financial position and greatly enhancing our platform in our core markets and practices. In Europe, this has meant adding 16 shareholders across virtually all of our five locations over the last 17 months, improving our financial performance and enhancing our key real estate, private equity, M&A, finance, and tax practices while greatly expanding our presence in the disputes and restructuring arenas, so critical at this time,” Rosenbaum said. “David and his team will add top tier excellence, reputation, work ethic, and further diversity in Amsterdam, our very first office opened outside the United States in 2003. This move builds on earlier additions there of Bas Vletter, Herald Jongen, Sabine Schoute, and others in the corporate, private equity, and finance areas and we expect David and team to thrive on our platform.”
Van Dijk said, “Over the past decade, real estate as an asset class and hedging tool has become increasingly important for institutional investors. The real estate industry has matured and become global, with sophisticated institutional players. Transactions typically span multiple jurisdictions and require an integrated approach across countries and various specializations. This creates the need for a truly integrated global approach. There are only a limited number of firms who can offer that. Historically, Greenberg Traurig has long been the leading firm in the international real estate industry. This makes the move a logical choice for our team.”
Thomas van der Vliet, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Amsterdam office, added, “We could not be more pleased to welcome David and his team to our Amsterdam office. Our positive momentum in multiple practice areas is very timely at this crucial moment of disruptive change in the world, Europe, and in Amsterdam itself, where clients are increasingly seeking new answers and nimble, service and solution-oriented, collaborative, and empowered top tier lawyers, unified across key global markets, as well as real value.”
Van Dijk is ranked in tier 1 by Chambers in the category “Real Estate - The Netherlands” and "highly recommended" for transactional work. He specializes in commercial real estate, with emphasis on investments, investment funds, project development, asset management, property finance, as well as real estate related litigation.
He holds a master's degree in Real Estate Investments (MRE). He is also a member of the President's Panel of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Dispute Resolution Services.
About Greenberg Traurig's Real Estate Practice: The Greenberg Traurig Real Estate Practice is a cornerstone of the firm and recognized leader in the industry. The firm’s real estate attorneys deliver diversified and comprehensive counsel for property acquisition and investment, development, management and leasing, financing, restructuring, and disposition of all asset classes of real estate. The team draws upon the knowledge and experience of more than 400 real estate lawyers from around the world, serving clients from key markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The group’s clientele includes a broad range of property developers, lenders, investment managers, private equity funds, REITs, and private owners. The firm’s real estate team advises clients on a variety of matters across a broad spectrum of commercial, recreational, and residential real estate, including structured equity and debt and the hybrids.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT), has approximately 2200 attorneys in 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified. Web: www.gtlaw.com