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Damiën Berkhout is a founding partner and the managing partner of the firm. He has extensive experience in coordinating and resolving complex litigation, with a focus on class actions, antitrust litigation, commercial disputes and mismanagement cases.

Damiën is counsel for a broad range of clients: foundations, corporates, institutional investors and (former) supervisory and management board members. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles on topics such as class actions, corporate law, European law and procedural law. Before starting the firm, Damiën worked at tier 1 litigation firms in the Netherlands and New York City. He helped to establish the litigation department of an international law firm and he founded and led the Dutch office of a leading international plaintiff litigation firm.

Damiën is ranked as a “Next Generation Partner” by Legal500 in the Dispute Resolutions: class actions category. Testimonials include:

‘Damiën Berkhout is in all likelihood the best litigator for plaintiffs in the Netherlands. Mass actions and cartel damages can be safely trusted to him. He goes straight to the core of the case and always delivers.’

‘Lindenbaum combines a wealth of legal knowledge with the skills to apply this knowledge in the best possible way for the client. They are lean, fast, flexible and will find the best solution for their clients. A true gem of a litigation firm in the Netherlands.’

 


Representative cases

Represented the Take Back Your Privacy Foundation in a class action claim against TikTok for infringement of privacy rights of Dutch children.

Represented eight multinational companies in a cartel damages claim against truck manufacturers, with a total damages claim in excess of EUR 1 billion.

Represented four utility companies in a cartel damages claim involving the worldwide power cables cartel.

Represented a corporate client in pursuing a cartel claim in connection with the cardboard cartel.

Represented the Consumer Competition Claims Foundation in an abuse of dominance case against Apple.

Represented the Supervisory Board of Akzo Nobel N.V. in the successful defence against a request for inquiry into the company affairs at the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam court of appeal.

Represented Mylan N.V. in its successful defence against Teva’s hostile bid for the company.

Represented the chairman of a listed company in a successful defence against a class action claim in excess of EUR 1 billion, with the court deciding that the chairman was the only board member not liable.

Represented ASR in inquiry proceedings involving Van der Moolen Holding N.V., resulting in a finding that mismanagement took place at Van der Moolen.

Represented a management board in a shareholder’s dispute, resulting in a EUR 12 million earn-out incentive package for the management board.

Represented the management board of a leasing company in financial litigation against its banks, resulting in a settlement in which the company was granted an additional credit of EUR 250 million.

Represented the majority shareholder in a post-M&A dispute, resulting in a negotiated settlement and a clawback of EUR 10 million of the purchase price for the client.

Represented KLM N.V. in a landmark case against airline pilots regarding supposed age discrimination in the collective bargaining agreement, resulting in a favourable decision for KLM at the Dutch Supreme Court.

Represented Albert Heijn B.V., Gall & Gall B.V and Etos B.V. in landmark litigation regarding the all-in pay of over 50,000 short part-time employees, resulting in favourable decisions in both summary as well as substantive proceedings.

Represented a major corporate client in a Dutch enforcement action of an arbitral award with a value in excess of EUR 130 million, successfully defending the client against enforcement of the arbitral award; and, in arbitration, obtaining an arbitral award finding the counter-party liable for damages estimated in the range of EUR 10-12 million.


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

– Litigation

Based on this registration, he/she 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.