De Clercq

What De Clercq does

De Clercq Advocaten Notariaat is a privately held Dutch law firm and notary practice founded in 1851, operating from offices in Leiden (headquarters) and Den Haag (WTC The Hague). The firm is structured as five specialized boutiques under one roof: Arbeid, Medezeggenschap & Mediation (employment law, works council advisory, mediation); IT, Privacy & Cybersecurity (cloud transactions, NIS2/DORA/AI Act compliance, incident response, data protection); Notariaat (notarial services for business and private clients); Ondernemingsrecht (corporate law, M&A, governance); and Vastgoed & Overheid (real estate, planning law, government advisory). Client engagement is delivered exclusively through direct, relationship-driven advisory work by partners and senior attorneys on an appointment basis, with no self-serve or product-led motion. The firm holds B Corp certification, is consecutively recognized by Legal 500 EMEA for Employment and IT practices, and ranks in the Top 5 of the ORnet Partner of Choice research among 330+ Dutch works councils.

The technology footprint is intentionally lean: a proprietary WOR mobile application (iOS/Android) that packages Dutch Works Councils Act legislation, a terminology glossary, and knowledge blogs for works council members, plus a co-branded 24/7 Incident Response Retainer delivered with cybersecurity firm Secura (renaming to Bureau Veritas Cybersecurity). Revenue is generated through professional legal and notary service fees, likely hourly or fixed-fee per engagement, with no publicly disclosed pricing. The firm serves a diversified enterprise and public-sector client base spanning banking (De Nederlandsche Bank), FMCG (Unilever), travel (TUI), pharmaceuticals (Hoffmann-La Roche, Galapagos), logistics (ORTEC), healthcare (EllesZorg Groep, Naturalis Biodiversity Center), education/culture (Bibliotheek Rotterdam, Rijksmuseum De Lakenhal), and global cloud providers (Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud), alongside Dutch government ministries.

Marketing and demand generation run on a content-and-credibility engine: a knowledge blog covering AI Act, NIS2, DORA, and employment-law developments; email newsletters; free webinars; in-person seminars and roundtables (including healthcare and AI sessions); an annual presence at the OR Live Congress; authorship in professional journals (HR Rendement, ArbeidsRecht, Loonzaken, OR Magazine, TAP); and sustained Legal 500 rankings. Recent strategic signals include the June 2025 Incident Response Retainer launch, the launch of NIS2/DORA/AI in-company training products, two partner additions (Renée Huijsmans-Zwijnenburg in January 2025, Tim de Vries in January 2026), and B Corp certification, indicating measured investment in productized compliance advisory alongside the core hourly practice.

Name

De Clercq

Legal name

De Clercq Advocaten Notariaat

Website

https://declercq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1851

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

De Clercq is a 175-year-old Dutch law firm and notary practice operating from Leiden and Den Haag across five boutiques (Employment/Works Councils, IT/Privacy/Cybersecurity, Notary, Corporate, Real Estate/Government), serving enterprise, public-sector, and individual clients via direct advisory engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leiden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Legal and Notary Advisory Services: Revenue is generated through professional legal and notary service fees charged to corporate and individual clients. Services span five boutiques: Arbeid/Medezeggenschap/Mediation, IT/Privacy/Cybersecurity, Notariaat, Ondernemingsrecht, and Vastgoed/Overheid. Fee structures are likely hourly or fixed-fee per engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

De Clercq Advocaten Notariaat is a Dutch law firm and notary practice operating five specialized legal boutiques under one roof: Arbeid/Medezeggenschap/Mediation, IT/Privacy/Cybersecurity, Notariaat, Ondernemingsrecht, and Vastgoed/Overheid. The firm delivers legal advisory, litigation, mediation, and notary services to corporate clients, government bodies, works councils, and private individuals. Supplementary offerings include training programs (DORA, NIS2, AI), an Incident Response Retainer service co-delivered with Secura, and the proprietary WOR mobile application for works councils.

Product overview

De Clercq Advocaten en Notariaat operates as a single unified law firm and notary office (not a platform) offering five specialized legal boutiques under one roof: (1) Arbeid, Medezeggenschap & Mediation for labor law and works council matters; (2) IT, Privacy & Cybersecurity for technology law and data protection; (3) Notariaat for notary services; (4) Ondernemingsrecht for corporate law; and (5) Vastgoed & Overheid for real estate and government law. Beyond traditional legal services, the firm provides supplementary offerings including training programs (DORA, NIS2, AI), an Incident Response Retainer service for cybersecurity incidents, a digital WOR App for works councils, and mediation services. These products and services are integrated within the firm's boutique structure, each operated by specialized legal teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IT, Privacy & Cybersecurity Legal advisory and litigation services covering IT law (including cloud services SaaS/PaaS/IaaS, ERP implementations, agile software development), privacy compliance, software development disputes, IT licensing and outsourcing, and cybersecurity regulation. The team advises both suppliers and clients on IT transactions and assists with data breaches.
• Arbeid, Medezeggenschap & Mediation
• Notariaat (Notary Services)
• Ondernemingsrecht (Corporate Law)
• Vastgoed & Overheid (Real Estate & Government)
• Incident Response Retainer A 24/7 combined legal and technical incident response service provided in partnership with Secura (cybersecurity specialist), offering rapid assistance during cyber incidents including ransomware attacks and CEO fraud.
• DORA Boardroom Training
• NIS2 Boardroom Training
• AI In-Company Training
• WOR App
• Mediation Services
• DPIA & DTIA Services

Named customers19 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SecuracoreTechnology or Integration · 3 June 2025De Clercq and cybersecurity specialist Secura (renaming to Bureau Veritas Cybersecurity from July 1) launched a combined 'Incident Response Retainer Dienst': a 24/7 service providing organisations with both legal and technical support during cyber incidents. The partnership combines De Clercq's legal incident response expertise with Secura's forensic cybersecurity capabilities. The service is designed to provide rapid response in the critical first 24 hours after a cyber incident, covering legal obligations, contract review, regulatory notification, and technical investigation.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AKD: Dutch full-service firm combining legal, notarial, and tax advisory practices. Structurally similar to De Clercq with both legal and notary offerings, though materially larger and serving a broader client base including large multinationals.
• Dirkzwager: Dutch firm combining legal and notarial services across corporate, real estate, and employment, similar to De Clercq's integrated advocaten/notariaat model. Comparable mid-market positioning in the Netherlands with similar boutique scale.
• Bird & Bird (Netherlands): International law firm with a strong Amsterdam-based tech, data, and IT/privacy practice. Comparable to De Clercq's IT, Privacy & Cybersecurity boutique on cloud, NIS2/DORA, and data protection mandates, though at materially larger scale and with international reach.
• Brinkhof: Amsterdam-based specialist tech, media, and IP/IT law firm of comparable boutique scale. Directly comparable to De Clercq on technology-sector legal advisory, IT disputes, and regulatory matters, though with a narrower focus on tech/IP rather than employment.
• Kennedy Van der Linde: Dutch boutique law firm specializing in employment, corporate, and commercial law with a similar multi-boutique structure and Dutch-mid-market client focus. Closely comparable scale and positioning to De Clercq's Arbeid and Ondernemingsrecht practices.

Broad incumbents

• NautaDutilh: Leading Dutch law firm with deep expertise in corporate, employment, and technology law. Comparable to De Clercq on practice mix but at materially larger scale serving larger enterprise clients.
• Stibbe: Leading Amsterdam-based full-service Dutch law firm. Competes with De Clercq across corporate, employment, and IT/privacy mandates, but at significantly larger scale with international office presence and broader practice coverage.
• Loyens & Loeff: Benelux-rooted law and tax firm with strong Dutch presence. Overlaps with De Clercq on corporate, employment, and real estate matters but with a tax-integrated model and international footprint.
• CMS (Netherlands): International law firm with a significant Dutch office covering corporate, employment, and technology law. Competes with De Clercq on cross-border mandates and IT/privacy work, particularly for multinational clients.
• Houthoff: Major Dutch full-service law firm with strong employment, corporate, and tech practices. Overlaps with De Clercq across most boutiques but operates at substantially greater scale with international capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/de_clercq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about De Clercq