PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — HBN Law, one of the largest and oldest law firms in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, opened the doors of its new Dutch Caribbean Desk in Amsterdam, in perfect Caribbean style.
The colorful opening ceremony was held – quite appropriately – in the West-Indisch Huis in Amsterdam, the former headquarters of the Dutch West India Company.
Among the more than one hundred people who attended the event were numerous businesspeople, attorneys, notaries, and tax specialists the law firm regularly does business with. HBN Law, which has been active since 1938, currently has 32 attorneys spread over offices in Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and now also Amsterdam.
In addition, the firm provides its services in Surinam, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. Since 1993, HBN Law has been working together with Pels Rijcken & Drooglever Fortuijn, and since 2013, the firm has been part of the Meritas network, which boasts a worldwide membership of approximately 7,000 attorneys.
“Thanks in part to our international contacts and in-depth local knowledge in the Caribbean, over the past years we have seen a sharp increase in demand for specialist advice on Dutch Caribbean law in a wide sense,” says Managing Partner Eric de Vries.
“This is certainly enhanced by the fact that our firm consists of a multidisciplinary team of experienced lawyers, part of whom gained experience at various large international law firms like Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, and Baker & McKenzie.”
His Partner in the firm Chris van Amersfoort, who is heading the Dutch Caribbean Desk, adds that “Most of our activities consist of referral work from Dutch legal and tax advisers involved in various large transactions ranging from take-overs and joint ventures to financing operations structured via the Dutch Caribbean.”
Van Amersfoort continues, “We likewise provide regular assistance to companies running project development operations on the islands from the Netherlands. Such operations may include the construction of telecommunication networks, resort development, and the construction of wind turbines and waste management plants.”
Jeroen Eichhorn, Senior Partner at the firm and closely involved in the day-to-day operations of the Dutch Caribbean Desk, says, “With our Dutch Caribbean Desk we are meeting the wishes of our clients, in that there is no more time difference and we now have an office in Amsterdam where they can reach us.
” The HBN Law firm is located in the World Trade Center in the business district known as the Zuidas. ” The Zuidas was an obvious choice: that’s where most of our clients are and that’s where it all happens,” concludes Van Amersfoort.
For more information about the law firm, please visit www.hbnlaw.com
