Commercial law firm in the Netherlands

MAAK Advocaten is a commercial law firm in Amsterdam that advises international businesses on the full range of commercial matters arising under Dutch law: from day-to-day trading issues to cross-border transactions, supply chain arrangements, and the disputes that occasionally come with them. Our clients are manufacturers, importers, distributors, commercial agents and the companies that trade with them.

"Commercial law" is a broader label than "contract law" or "litigation". It covers the legal side of how a business actually runs: how a product gets to market, how suppliers and customers are held to their obligations, how risk is allocated along the chain, how margins are protected when things go wrong, and how a company keeps moving when a counterparty refuses to pay. For most of our international clients, the real question is not "do I need a contract lawyer or a litigator", it is "who can help me solve this commercial problem under Dutch law, quickly and without drama".

That is the role MAAK Advocaten plays. We are a boutique Dutch firm with a deliberate focus on commercial work for the manufacturing supply chain, and we are set up so that clients reach the specialist handling their file directly, in English, German or Dutch, without the layers, handoffs and timekeeping theatre of a full-service firm.

What commercial law covers at MAAK Advocaten

Commercial law at our firm sits around four recurring themes: commercial contracts, trading relationships along the supply chain, cash flow and debt recovery, and commercial disputes. In a given week our practice will typically touch all four.

On the contract side, we draft and review distribution, agency, franchise, supply, manufacturing, OEM, licensing and service agreements, and help clients put a workable set of general terms and conditions in place. These are the documents that determine who carries which risk along the chain, and getting them right is the single biggest lever a commercial business has over its legal exposure. ESG obligations are becoming a standard part of commercial contract work: EUDR compliance clauses, CSRD and CSDDD supply chain due diligence provisions, sustainability clauses, supplier codes of conduct and forced labour regulation requirements now flow through supply agreements and distribution contracts as a matter of course.

On the trading side, we advise on pre-contractual negotiations, letters of intent, Incoterms, the CISG (Vienna Sales Convention), choice-of-law and jurisdiction clauses, and the practical allocation of obligations between manufacturer, importer and distributor under EU law. Here we often work alongside our product compliance practice, because the legal rules governing how a product may be placed on the EU market shape how supply contracts need to look.

On the cash flow side, we handle commercial debt collection, pre-judgment attachments (conservatoir beslag), and the enforcement of Dutch and foreign judgments. The Netherlands offers creditors unusually strong tools, a conservatoir beslag can freeze a counterparty's bank account or other assets on short notice and without prior warning, and we use them regularly to resolve disputes before they ever reach full proceedings.

On the disputes side, we represent clients in commercial litigation before Dutch courts (including the Netherlands Commercial Court, where proceedings are conducted in English), in summary proceedings (kort geding) for urgent matters, and in domestic and international arbitration. Most commercial disputes settle; our job is to make sure they settle on terms the client can live with.

Who we work for in the Netherlands

Our client base is international and concentrated in B2B. Most of the companies we work with have an operational reason to be connected to the Netherlands: a Dutch customer, a Dutch supplier, a Dutch distributor, products placed on the EU market through a Dutch importer, or a Dutch counterparty on the other side of a dispute.

Typical MAAK Advocaten clients include:

Foreign manufacturers selling into the Netherlands and the wider EU, including on EU product compliance matters
Dutch and international distributors, importers and commercial agents
Producers and suppliers in the manufacturing supply chain
Technology and industrial companies contracting for hardware, software or services with Dutch counterparties
Foreign groups establishing a Dutch subsidiary or branch for their European operations
In-house legal teams that need local Dutch-law capacity for a specific matter or project

The companies we work with are often family-owned or mid-market, and value the kind of direct access and commercial pragmatism that large firms tend to structure out of their operating model. We also work regularly for listed groups and multinationals who come to us for Dutch-law expertise on specific matters and stay because the response times and the quality of advice make sense for them. Read more about MAAK Advocaten and our team.

How a commercial law firm creates value

The honest answer is: by reducing friction and protecting margin. Every commercial matter has an underlying business objective, closing a deal, stopping a loss, securing payment, preventing a recall, exiting a bad relationship cleanly, and the role of the law firm is to move that objective forward without introducing new problems along the way.

In practical terms, we try to do three things consistently. First, respond fast. International clients working across time zones cannot wait days for a first take on a matter that is moving now. When you call or email us, you reach the specialist directly, and a substantive first response usually goes out the same day. Second, stay commercial. We do not confuse "legally interesting" with "commercially useful", the advice we give is shaped by what the client is trying to achieve, not by how elegant the legal argument is. Third, be transparent about cost. Fees are agreed in advance, on a fixed-fee, hourly or hybrid basis, and we keep clients informed if a matter is developing in a way that affects the budget.

None of that is unusual in principle. In practice, it is the combination of specialist knowledge, direct access and straightforward fees that we hear clients cite as the reason they stay with us.

Working with MAAK Advocaten

We work in Dutch, English and German. Contracts, correspondence, calls, meetings and court submissions can all be handled in whichever language best serves the matter. For English-language proceedings we regularly appear before the Netherlands Commercial Court in Amsterdam. For German clients working with Dutch counterparties we handle the full workflow in German, including drafting and negotiation. For more about our English-speaking business lawyers, see the dedicated page.

Fees are agreed in advance on a fixed-fee, hourly or hybrid basis, as described on our lawyer fees page. An initial conversation about a new matter is at no charge. If you are considering Dutch law in a contract, setting up a trading relationship with a Dutch counterparty, facing a dispute that touches the Netherlands, or simply looking for a commercial law firm that can take a problem off your desk without a long onboarding process, we are happy to have that conversation today.

Related terms in our legal dictionary: breach of contract (wanprestatie), statutory interest, pre-judgment attachment, supply chain due diligence.

Call +31 20 210 31 38, email mail@maakadvocaten.nl, or visit our contact page. MAAK Advocaten is based at Kraanspoor 34, 1033 SE Amsterdam.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a commercial law firm and a contract law firm?

A contract law firm focuses on the drafting, negotiation and enforcement of agreements. A commercial law firm takes a broader view: it covers contracts, but also trading relationships along the supply chain, cash flow and debt recovery, compliance and risk, and commercial disputes. MAAK Advocaten operates as a commercial law firm, we solve whatever commercial problem a client brings, and contract work is one element of that, not the whole.

Can a commercial law firm in the Netherlands act for clients based abroad?

Yes, and it is a substantial part of our practice. Foreign clients typically engage us for Dutch-law matters that touch the Netherlands, a Dutch counterparty, a Dutch supplier or distributor, products placed on the EU market through the Netherlands, or enforcement against a Dutch-based defendant. Work can be fully handled in English or German, and physical presence in the Netherlands is not required to start or run a matter with us.

Do you work on a retainer, or only on individual matters?

Both. Many clients come to us with a specific matter and stay on that basis, we handle each new matter separately with its own scope and fee. For clients with ongoing commercial needs we also work on light retainers that give predictable access to commercial advice without a large monthly commitment. We will suggest whichever arrangement best fits the actual workflow.