Olivier Schotel co-heads the dispute resolution team. He acts for a variety of private and listed companies, (supervisory) directors, investors, and public interest groups, mostly in contentious matters. Olivier joined De Roos Advocaten in 2021. Previously, he was a senior associate in the Corporate Litigation department of Stibbe in Amsterdam.

Prior experience
Corporate governance disputes

• Acted in a wide variety of shareholder disputes within joint ventures, start-ups, scale-ups, and family businesses, deploying litigation before, e.g., the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal and the regular state courts as well as alternative dispute resolution tools, e.g. arbitration (NAI, ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules as well as ad hoc arbitration ) and mediation
• Acted for the majority shareholder of a private logistics company based in the Rotterdam port in a dispute with the company’s (former) directors in proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber 

• Acted for an Israeli listed advertising technology company in proceedings before the Enterprise Chamber initiated by a minority shareholder 

(Post-)M&A transaction disputes

• Regularly acts in warranty and indemnity claims (buy-side and sell-side), both in litigation and arbitration
• Acted for the seller in a dispute leading to the first Covid-related M&A judgment in the Netherlands 
• Acted for the purchaser in another Covid-related M&A dispute 
• Acted for the founders of a Dutch super market group with sustainable and locally sourced products in a highly publicised case against the envisaged sale of the company by the investors

Liability of (supervisory) directors and officers

• Regularly advises directors, supervisory directors, and higher management on their duties, within the context of, e.g., dividend payments to shareholders, financial distress, debt restructuring, upcoming insolvency, M&A transactions, and structuring of groups of companies
• Acted for start-up founders who were held liable as directors by an external creditor
• Assisted a (former) board member of a listed company during the interviews of an inquiry ordered by the Enterprise Chamber

Liability of financial institutions, online platforms and other professional service providers in (mass) damages claims

• Acted for various financial institutions on tort and contractual claims initiated by professional customers as well as consumers
• Acted for various online platforms regarding claims from consumers and against competitors.
• Acted for a crypto exchange in a consumer law fraud case
• Acted for a UK listed company in a securities class action, including preliminary questions to the European Court of Justice on international jurisdiction 
• Acted for a Dutch telecommunication company in a large consumer law case, the so-called mobile handset litigation 

Cross border litigation, international enforcement, and asset recovery

• Acted in a civil fraud case that required asset tracing, freezing, and recovery in multiple jurisdictions
• Acted for a US-based investment fund to enforce a Dutch judgment in multiple foreign jurisdictions
• Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and judgments in the Netherlands

Public interest litigation and advice

• Acted for Milieudefensie in a case brought against it in the Dutch Advertising Code Commission
• Advised on a public interest class action to protect the rights of children
• Regularly advises non-profits on a pro bono basis. He focusses on sustainable food and agriculture as well as human rights

Academic interest
Olivier has a warm academic interest corporate law, especially corporate disputes, private international law, and (European) civil procedural law. He regularly publishes and teaches on these topics.

Moreover, he is a member of the editorial board of the Maandblad voor Ondernemingsrecht, a Dutch academic journal specialised in corporate law which appears monthly.

In the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas (rechtsgebiedenregister) Olivier has registered the following principal (and secondary) legal practice areas: 

• Corporate Law (Ondernemingsrecht)
  

Based on this registration, he is required to obtain ten training credits per calendar year in each registered principal legal practice area in accordance with the standards set by the Netherlands Bar.

Practice areas:
Olivier has registered corporate law as his legal practice area in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas (rechtsgebiedenregister), which requires one to obtain ten training credits annually in the registered legal practice area, in accordance with the standards set by the Netherlands Bar.