Securitizability.com

Ken Breken, a partner with Clifford Chance, will join Lovells as a partner in the Amsterdam office shortly, to lead the Dutch law side of the firm's banking and finance practice in the Netherlands. He is the second partner to join the international practice area this month: Russell DaSilva joined the New York office on the 1st November.

Ken read Civil Law at the University of Amsterdam and is a qualified Dutch lawyer. He worked for Credit Lyonnais and Nauta Dutilh before joining Clifford Chance in 1994, becoming a partner in 1998. Ken specialises in acquisition finance, asset finance and insolvency/restructurings and regularly acts for all the major Dutch banks as well as handling Dutch transactions for the major international banks.

Banking and finance work has been a growing area in Lovells' Amsterdam office following the merger between Lovells and Ekelmans den Hollander. The firm's Dutch law expertise has been complemented since May 2001 with the arrival in Amsterdam of English banking partner John Gilbert and senior assistant Peter Considine. The combined team has worked not only on the local aspects of multi-jurisdictional deals, but also on acquisition finance, asset finance and trade financing transactions as well as restructurings for clients such as ING and the Amsterdam branch of Bank of Scotland. Ken expects the extended team to grow rapidly.

Andrew Gamble, head of Lovells' international banking and finance practice, said:

"This is great news for our international banking & finance practice. Amsterdam is the home of many major world banks, but only a few international firms have a serious banking capability there. The combination of Ken (a highly regarded Dutch practitioner with banking, finance and securitisation expertise), John Gilbert (a distinguished English banking lawyer) and their Dutch and English colleagues in the finance practice in Amsterdam, will allow us to compete with the very best in the market."

"Ken's arrival gives us a Dutch law transactional banking & finance resource to complement our existing English law capability in Amsterdam. It is a most significant development for the firm, and, together with the launch of our tax practice this spring, indicates how serious we are about our ambitions in the Netherlands."

"My reading of the market is that the top international investment banks and financial institutions are looking for expertise from a joint English and Dutch banking practice which is well integrated with related practice areas as well as with finance colleagues in other jurisdictions. Lovells' collegiate approach gives the firm a real edge in this respect. I look forward to further developing a team in Amsterdam which does justice to the huge potential here."

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KEN BREKEN JOINS LOVELLS' INTERNATIONAL BANKING & FINANCE PRACTICE IN AMSTERDAM