Steef M. Bartman
Steef M. Bartman (1952) studied Law at the University of Amsterdam. In 1989, he was awarded his doctorate with a thesis on piercing the corporate veil, comparing Dutch and German statutory law and case law. Steef has written numerous articles on corporate law. He is the initiator and co-author of a widely used book, titled Van het concern (in English: About the Corporate Group), which contains an elaborate survey of group company law in the Netherlands. Steef is considered an expert on veil piercing, group finance matters (inter alia parent guarantees – 403-statements -, ultra vires, conflicts of interest) and related directors liability. In 1992 he started working as an attorney in Amsterdam. In September 2003 he was appointed professor of Company Law at Leiden University (www.universiteitleiden.nl). He is the initiator and main editor of a bimonthly legal journal titled European Company Law (ECL) and of a related book series. These are published by Kluwer Law International under the aegis of the Centre for European Company Law (www.cecl.nl), an academic partnership of the Law Schools of Leiden, Utrecht and Maastricht, for which Steef acts as coordinating director. He frequently lectures on recent developments in Dutch corporate law, not just for Leiden law students but also for practising lawyers and judges in training. He is a well-known commentator of judicial awards published in several leading Dutch periodicals, such as JOR, Ondernemingsrecht and Ars Aequi. As of 1 February 2010 Steef practices as of counsel at the law firm of DLA Piper in Amsterdam (steef.bartman@dlapiper.com). He specialises in corporate disputes, such as squeeze-out and inquiry proceedings, directors liability, bankruptcy scenarios and takeover disputes. Steef is frequently asked to opine by means of an expert letter or affidavit in – often foreign – legal proceedings on his field of expertise. He is married with three children and lives near Loenersloot, a small village to the south of Amsterdam.