Anne Marie Verschurr is one of the best-known patent lawyers in the Netherlands and will join De Brauw as a partner from NautaDutilh. She is not only active in the patent litigation field but also advises in the life sciences and tech sectors. Thus, her move ensures clients will continue to receive IP advice as the practice continues to develop and prepare for upcoming matters at the Unified Patent Court.

Currently, there is no precise date for her move and she will not bring any associates from her previous firm.

Renowned for patent litigation

Verschuur started her career at NautaDutilh in 2003 and was appointed partner in 2013. She previously co-headed the firm’s IP practice and was also part of the life sciences team.

In addition, Verschurr is nationally and internationally recognised for patent disputes. Recently she represented Longi before the Dutch patent court in a preliminary injunction case against Hanwha Q-Cells over solar technology. In the tech field she was the lead counsel for Wiko against Sisvel over mobile communication patents.

Verschurr now joins a 17-strong IP team at De Brauw. Her move comes at a time of great upheaval for her new firm. De Brauw is currently undergoing a major restructuring. Many observers recently saw the IP team come under particular pressure.

The move of Gertjan Kuipers to Hogan Lovells was especially significant for De Brauw. Kuipers is a leading patent litigator in the Netherlands. He has been involved in many well-known disputes before the Dutch patent court and had long been considered the key figure in De Brauw’s patent team. Following his departure some questioned the future of patent litigation at the Dutch firm.

Surprising coup

The news of Verschurr’s move to De Brauw therefore surprised many competitors. Her addition to the IP team fits well with the growth of the practice, as a De Brauw spokesperson told JUVE Patent, “Together with two counsel appointments, De Brauw guarantees robust IP and tech expertise in complex and multidisciplinary matters. It will further strengthen the practice and prepare De Brauw for the UPC.”

De Brauw’s head of the IP/tech practice, Tobias Cohen Jehoram, emphasises the value that Verschurr’s arrival brings to the firm’s multidisciplinary approach. “Tech aspects play a significant role in the matters we handle for our clients, both in litigation and corporate practice. With the opening of the UPC, our playing field will expand even further, requiring broad partner involvement from our IP expertise,” he says.

Of Verschurr he says, “We hold Anne Marie’s expertise and impressive performance for her clients in high regard, and we are confident that her joining our firm will enable us to continue to provide clients with high-quality counsel in the most complex aspects of their matters.”

Dutch market in flux

Verschurr’s move is the latest in a series of changes at Dutch IP firms. In April 2022, Hogan Lovells lost its most senior patent litigator Klaas Bisschop to the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam. As a result, Hogan Lovells had to rebuild at partner level and in April 2023 hired Gertjan Kuipers, who had previously spent 27 years at De Brauw building up the firm’s patent practice.

In 2020, De Brauw lost young lawyer Oscar Lamme to the IP team of Simmons & Simmons, as well as Tjibbe Douma, who in 2019 moved for a stint at Dentons. He left the firm two years later, joining Bird & Bird in early 2021.

Another national full-service firm in the Netherlands also recently experienced a change. In February 2023, Marleen van den Horst, one of the Netherlands’ most established patent litigators, moved from BarentsKrans to a partner position at La Gro Geelkerken Advocaten to build up the firm’s patent practice. She previously spent 33 years at BarentsKrans, including 27 as partner.

Challenge for national firms

Verschurr’s departure means NauthaDutilh is losing its best-known IP lawyer. In line with the full-service law firm’s position in Benelux, the IP team is also present in Belgium and Luxembourg in addition to the Netherlands. In total, more than 20 IP lawyers work at NautaDutilh. Around eight of these are active in patent law in the Netherlands. Just last year, the firm appointed Jeroen Boelens as its second patent partner alongside Verschurr. Boelens now heads the Dutch team.

A spokesperson for NautaDutilh says, “Our patent practice has been a cornerstone of our firm for more than five decades and remains key in our international strategy, also going forward.”

With IP teams in Luxembourg, Brussels and The Hague, NautaDutilh is present in key UPC locations. However, in order to be active at the important UPC locations in Paris, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Munich and Mannheim, it must enter into closer collaborations with patent firms from Germany and France. The same applies to the UPC locations in Scandinavia.

De Brauw is also present at two important UPC locations with offices in Brussels and Amsterdam. But like NautaDutilh, it must enter into closer cooperation with similar full-service firms in other UPC countries in order to be able to serve its clients for the UPC here. In contrast to IP boutiques, the IP teams of national full-service firms are faced with the challenge that they must always coordinate with the other practice groups in their own firm when entering into cooperations.

IP boutiques are considered more flexible in this respect. In the fall of 2022, for example, the IP firm Brinkhof in Amsterdam and the German firm Vossius & Partner announced the formation of their own brand. As Vossius Brinkhof UPC Litigators, the two firms intend to jointly handle UPC proceedings in the future.