WILLEMSTAD, Curacao:--- Dutch Caribbean Legal Portal's annual Top 25 Law Firms Curaçao shows that the largest law firms on Curaçao got even bigger in 2013. The legal website bases its ranking on the number of active attorneys at law per island. Rankings are published per jurisdiction, accumulating in a total Dutch Caribbean list.
The three largest firms on Curaçao – respectively VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne, HBN Law and Spigt Dutch Caribbean – all grew with one attorney at law on Curaçao in the past year. Number four, Soliana Bonapart & Aardenburg III, lost one attorney on Curaçao and number five, SMS Attorneys at Law, remained steady with nine attorneys. The numbers three (Spigt Dutch Caribbean) and four (Soliana Bonapart & Aardenburg) swapped positions on the list.
The largest firm on Curaçao remains VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne with 24 lawyers on Curaçao and
37 in total. Number two on the list is HBN Law with 16 on Curaçao and 30 attorneys
in the region. Number three in size is Spigt Dutch Caribbean with 12 attorneys at law on Curaçao (and two tax lawyers).
Remarkable this year is a name change for growing Bokkes Falkena, formerly BokkesFontein. This is the result of the retirement of Mr. Fontein and the scheduled arrival of former Spigthoff associate
Mr. Falkena on Bonaire shortly.
New on the list are Inderson Advocaten with four lawyers and DC Law, Diaz Advocaten , Law office Simon, Moenir Alam, Pieter & Wilsoe Advocaten , Roque Koeijers and Romer & Partners, all with two lawyers.
Most of the law firms in the top 25 have remained steady in terms of number of lawyers. Six firms show an increase in number of lawyers and three firms show a decline.
At the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, approximately 350 lawyers are officially registered. Of these lawyers, 185 are working at law firms on Curaçao (ca. 55 %). These 185 lawyers are working at approximately 90 law firms.
|
Position |
Last year |
Climber/ descender |
Law firm |
Number of lawyers (in Curacao office) |
Number of lawyers last year |
Total number of lawyers in Dutch Caribbean |
|
1 |
(1) |
- |
VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne |
24 |
23 |
35 |
|
2 |
(2) |
- |
HBN Law |
16 |
15 |
30 |
|
3 |
(4) |
↑ |
Spigt Dutch Caribbean |
12 |
11 |
12 |
|
4 |
(3) |
↓ |
Soliana, Bonapart & Aardenburg |
11 |
12 |
15 |
|
5 |
(5) |
- |
SMS Attorneys at law |
9 |
9 |
9 |
|
6 |
(6) |
- |
Sulvaran & Peterson |
5 |
4 |
5 |
|
7 |
(-) |
↑ |
BBV Legal |
4 |
- |
4 |
|
7 |
(7) |
- |
Bokkes Falkena |
4 |
3 |
5 |
|
7 |
(-) |
↑ |
Inderson Advocaten |
4 |
2 |
4 |
|
7 |
(6) |
↓ |
Van de Laarschot & Associates |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
8 |
(6) |
↓ |
Advocatenpraktijk Martina |
3 |
4 |
3 |
|
8 |
(7) |
↓ |
FCW Legal |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
8 |
(6) |
↓ |
Henriquez & Knoppel |
3 |
4 |
3 |
|
9 |
(8) |
↓ |
Asjes Carrega |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
9 |
(8) |
↓ |
Advocatenkantoor Braam & Pols |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
9 |
(8) |
↓ |
Burgers Advocaten |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
9 |
(7) |
↓ |
David Kock Legal |
2 |
2 |
12 |
|
9 |
(-) |
↑ |
DC Law |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
9 |
(-) |
↑ |
Diaz Advocaten |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
9 |
(8) |
↓ |
Huizing en Huizing Advocaten |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
9 |
(-) |
↑ |
Law office Limon |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
9 |
(-) |
↑ |
Advocatenkantoor Moenir Alam |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
9 |
(-) |
↑ |
Pieter & Wilsoe Advocaten |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
9 |
(-) |
↑ |
Advocatenkantoor Roque Koeijers |
2 |
- |
2 |
|
9 |
(-) |
↑ |
Advocatenkantoor Romer & Partners |
2 |
- |
2 |
Note: this list is based on information provided by the law firms concerned (a.o. websites) and on official information from the Bar Association. Tax lawyers and notarial lawyers are not included.
Source: legal website Dutch Caribbean Legal Portal (www.dutchcaribbeanlegalportal.com)