Geert Wilts

Practice

Geert Wilts joined OSK’s civil litigation practice in April 2018. He previously worked at Eversheds Sutherland in Amsterdam. Geert studied at the University of Groningen. He holds a master’s degree in Dutch Law, with specialisations in Private Law and Company Law, as well as a master’s degree in Notarial Law. Geert represents domestic and foreign companies in proceedings before the courts and in arbitration, including in the service sector, aviation and oil and gas. Geert frequently writes articles about court proceedings in relation to international commercial arbitrations. Geert is a member of the Corporate Litigation Association.

Expertise

Geert Wilts has registered the following principal (and secondary) legal practice areas in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas (rechtsgebiedenregister):

• Civil procedural law
• Arbitration
• Attachment and enforcement law
• Litigation

Based on this registration, he is required to obtain ten training credits per calendar year in each registered principal legal practice area in accordance with the standards set by the Netherlands Bar.

Experience 

• defending the former owner of a major Russian bank in proceedings for the recognition in the Netherlands of Russian court judgments of more than RUB 40 billion and USD 505 million
• representing a Canadian department store chain in disputes with the Dutch lessors over competition law violations and damage claims in excess of EUR 250 million
• representing a number of Gazprom group entities in three urgent relief proceedings against the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz and relating to pre-judgment attachments to enforce a Swedish SCC arbitral award with an interest in excess of USD 2.6 billion
• representing a Caribbean trading company against a Dutch shipbuilding company in a multimillion euro arbitration abroad
• representing a Russian bank on the enforcement of a EUR 65 million LCIA arbitral award against the former owner of a Croatian supermarket chain
• representing a Scandinavian maritime transport company against a Belgian construction firm in an arbitration concerning the subsidence of a site for the storage and cleaning of chemical containers in Moerdijk

Acknowledgements

Geert is recommended by Legal500 (2024).