Rob de Bruin

After graduating and earning a postgraduate degree in Business Law in 1988, he joined the La Gro Geelkerken attorneys law firm, where he became partner in 1996. In those years and the years that followed, he focused specifically on his specialist area of business law and bankruptcy law. His experience in business law also came in handy in his role of chairman of the board (2014-2018). During that period, he helped ensure a smooth merger with Leiden-based law firm Geelkerken & Linskens. After this period in the organisation’s leadership, Rob decided to specialise in another field of law that he had always been interested in, civil construction law, completing a specialisation programme in this field at IBR in 2019. This has meanwhile, partly thanks to his extensive litigation experience, led to several successful cases. Rob wants to build long-term relationships with his clients, based on mutual trust. For him, this also means always being there for his clients.

Expertise

• Business law
• Insolvency law
• Construction law

Background and other work

Training

• 1985, Erasmus University Rotterdam (major in Private Law and Business Law);
• Postgraduate Grotius Programme (Business Law);
• Civil Construction (course organised by Netherlands Institute for Construction Law).

Other work

• Chairman of the board of OndernemersFonds Gouda;
• Member of the Supervisory Board of De Goudse Schouwburg (theatre in Gouda);
• Confidential counsellor at Groene Hart hospital.

Recent cases

Business law

• Assisting in a management buy-out;
• Assisting in the creation of a holding company and sealing a shareholders’ agreement between two shareholders;
• Advising on and assisting in corporate takeovers;
• Mediating in a dispute between shareholders and termination of the partnership;
• Advising on and providing assistance in proceedings relating to liability of company directors;
• Conducting negotiations on and drawing up a procurement contract.

Insolvency law

• Advising a company in difficulty;
• Conducting proceedings in a case on directors’ and officers’ liability;
• Acting as receiver in bankruptcies declared by The Hague District Court and ensuring creditors were paid for the full 100%.

Construction law

• Representing a contractor in a construction dispute, which led to a sentence ordering the client to pay the full contract price, plus interest and legal costs.