1 October 2011 – Leading international law firm, Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) is delighted to announce the recruitment of Partners Folkert Graafsma and Matthew Parish, who join the firm’s Brussels and Geneva offices respectively, effective 1 October 2011.
Folkert specialises in international trade law, general EC and WTO law and customs law. He is particularly well regarded in the area of anti-dumping having successfully represented clients in over 150 anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings, including landmark EU and US cases involving both industrial and consumer goods. He was counsel to India in the historic WTO anti-dumping dispute EC – Bed Linen, where the question of “zeroing” was settled. Folkert is a recognised author on international trade topics and speaks regularly at industry conferences. He clerked with the European Commission and is a member of the Brussels Bar (A-list). Prior to Joining HFW, he was a co-founder (1996) and named Partner with the leading Brussels trade law firm Vermulst Verhaeghe Graafsma & Bronckers.
Matthew specialises in international dispute resolution, including cross-border litigation, commercial arbitration and enforcement, international trade, foreign investment, including investment treaty arbitrations, emerging markets and public international law. He has represented clients across the full spectrum of international courts and tribunals, including under the internationally applied ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL rules. His practice involves a number of industry sectors, including banking, insurance, financial services, energy and infrastructure, international trade and shipping and he has built up significant experience of international trade issues affecting emerging markets, in particular the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Commenting on Folkert’s appointment, Konstantinos Adamantopoulos, World Trade Regulatory Partner, said: “I am delighted that Folkert has chosen to join our Competition and Regulatory team here at HFW. He has an outstanding reputation in the Brussels and broader international markets and his skills and experience will further enhance what is an already burgeoning international practice at the firm.”
Damian Honey, head of the firm’s Commercial, Banking and Disputes practice said of Matthew’s recruitment: “Matthew joins the firm at an exciting time, when we continue to invest in the international expansion in our core capabilities. His significant arbitration experience will serve to give us a stronger foothold in one of the key international arbitration centres, Geneva, and means that internationally we now have a presence in virtually all of the main disputes centres.”
