Kees
van de Meent

Managing Partner Advocaat
Restructuring & Insolvency
Cross-border Asset Recovery

Contact

T +31 (0)20 30 35 968 M +31 (0)6 433 66 312 E kees.vandemeent@florent.nl LinkedIn vCard
Kees van de Meent

about Kees

Kees started his career in 1991 at a law firm in Amsterdam. He joined Florent in 2017 as one of its founding partners. He co-heads the Restructuring & Insolvency team and also heads Florent’s Cross-border Asset Recovery team. He has over 30 years’ experience as an insolvency practitioner in a number of high-profile and complex cross-border insolvencies. He also acts as an adviser to companies in financial difficulty. He has extensive experience in pre-insolvency (WHOA) restructurings, both as counsel to the company and as a court-appointed official.

Expertise

Full range of restructuring and insolvency work, including advising companies in financial difficulty and acting as restructuring expert, observer, administrator or bankruptcy trustee. He also focuses on cross-border asset recovery cases, fraud litigation (prosecuting civil fraud claims) for companies, financial institutions, (foreign) insolvency practitioners and high-net-worth individuals. 

What else
Kees speaks Dutch, English and Italian. He is frequently invited to lecture in the Netherlands and abroad on (cross border) restructuring and insolvency and international asset recovery. He is the exclusive Dutch member of ICC’s FraudNet. Kees is also an officer of the Asset Recovery Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of a sizeable family-owned company. He is a member of the Board of Delegates (College van Afgevaardigden) of the Netherlands Bar Association (NOvA) and a member of its Finance Committee. Finally, he is a member of INSOL International, INSOL Europe, INSOLAD and NVRII/NACIIL. Kees is ranked both in Chambers and Legal 500.

Track Record &
Recognition

“I appreciated Kees' fast learning curve in the domain, the speed of his 'case diagnosis' and the collaborative approach in finding creative solutions for the complexity at hand.” (2023)

“Kees van de Meent is a real expert in the field of cross-border insolvency cases.” (2023)

Acting as bankruptcy trustee in the bankruptcy of Sports Unlimited Retail B.V. (Perry Sport, Aktie Sport and Sprinter).

“Both Kees van de Meent and Hanneke De Coninck-Smolders are very knowledgeable and able to grasp the complete picture in a short period of time, providing support in those areas where attention is needed. They understand the challenges that management faces and are available at any point in time to provide support.” (2023)

Acting as court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in the bankruptcy of the famous Dutch department store chain V&D.

“Kees van de Meent is excellent in complex fraud cases. The team has an objective approach to the issues of the case and can bring efficient resolutions to the matter.” (2023)

Acting as court-appointed bankruptcy trustee of Exem Energy B.V., a company connected to the daughter of the former President of Angola, which allegedly participated in a corruption scheme to the benefit its UBO.

“Kees van de Meent has an unique quality to be both extremely knowledgeable and pragmatic.” (2023)

“He is a top-notch lawyer who always keeps an eye on the bigger picture.” (2023)

Acting as counsel to the Dutch subsidiaries of a large multinational fitness group.

Acting as observer in the WHOA proceedings of a Dutch tour operator.

Acting as bankruptcy trustee of La Place, a chain of more than 250 restaurants.

Acting as bankruptcy trustee of FNG (Miss Etam, Claudia Sträter, Expresso).

Acting as counsel to a large multinational e-bike manufacturer in the pre-insolvency stage.

Representing a high-net-worth Dutch individual who has become the victim of an ingenious robbery of precious metals.

Representing a US bankruptcy trustee in discovery proceedings in the Netherlands.

Representing a UK litigation funder to enforce a New York judgement in the Netherlands against a high-net-worth Dutch individual.

Representing a French litigation funder to enforce an arbitral award against a foreign State.

"Kees van de Meent is well-known as court appointed trustee and is absolutely the go-to for companies in financial difficulties with a great strategic approach. Daphne Beunk has a profound knowledge of the EU insolvency regulations. Jurgen van den Heuvel and Merijn Moeliker are both knowledgeable and extremely dedicated." (2024)

"Florents’ restructuring and insolvency practice is one of the outstanding practices in the Netherlands in this field. Kees van de Meent comes highly recommended and is one of the top practitioners in the field for the very larger complex restructuring and insolvency matters." (2024)

"Working with Kees van de Meent is a pleasure. He is knowledgeable, practical and always available to assist." (2024)

"Kees van de Meent is highly experienced and has contacts everywhere – the Dutch leader, even in the niche areas of asset tracing and recovery." (2024)

“Kees van de Meent is a leading specialist on cross-border matters. He is also strong on asset recovery and it is always a pleasure to work with him.”(2024)

"Hanneke De Coninck and Kees van de Meent are both extremely skilled, straight to the point and pleasant to work with." (2024)

"Kees van de Meent has a strong knowledge about complex asset recovery cases. He is a leading asset recovery specialist." (2024)

"Kees van de Meent offers a unique combination of insolvency law and cross-border asset recovery in corruption cases. His many years of experience in insolvency law and his membership of FraudNet make him eminently suited to advise parties prejudiced as a consequence of international commercial fraud. In addition, he represents companies, managing directors, supervisory directors and creditors in the area of international insolvency law." (2024)

"Kees van de Meent is outstanding. He is the person to go to for the strategy. Jurgen van de Heuvel also delivers really good work and is a great person." (2024)

Global Elite Thought Leader.

"Kees is focused and responsive." (2024)

"He is a top counsellor and dedicated advocate." (2024)