Frank Zandee

Frank Zandee is a Managing Partner and lawyer at HVG Law, one of the leading independent business law firms in the Netherlands. The firm has been named Corporate Restructuring Law Firm of the Year in the Netherlands at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026, recognising its strength in advising organisations on reorganisation, restructuring and the complex legal challenges that accompany corporate change.

HVG Law: advising and litigating for Dutch and international business

HVG Law is a Dutch firm that brings together advocaten (attorneys) and civil-law notaries, allowing it to combine litigation and advisory work with the notarial expertise required for corporate and real estate transactions in the Netherlands. The firm characterises its approach as fast, pragmatic and decisive, summed up in the Dutch phrase “Snel, pragmatisch en doortastend”, and emphasises that it both advises and litigates — “Wij adviseren én procederen” — keeping organisations functioning through periods of transaction, dispute and change.

The firm has a strategic alliance with EY Belastingadviseurs and is part of the global EY Law network, giving it access to a worldwide platform of legal and tax professionals while retaining its independent Dutch identity. HVG Law operates from the Netherlands and the United States, and its practice spans more than 20 specialisations, including corporate M&A, corporate restructuring, insolvency and restructuring, commercial agreements, dispute resolution, labour and employment, digital, cyber and privacy, energy and utilities, finance, real estate, health and life sciences, and government and public law.

Corporate restructuring expertise

As a Managing Partner, Frank Zandee is part of the leadership of a firm whose award-winning strength lies in corporate restructuring — an area of practice that sits at the intersection of corporate law, insolvency and finance. Corporate restructuring work involves reshaping the legal and financial structure of a business, whether to respond to financial distress, to prepare for a transaction, to improve operational efficiency, or to implement group reorganisations across borders. It frequently requires close coordination between corporate lawyers, restructuring specialists, notaries and tax advisers, all of which HVG Law is able to draw upon.

The Netherlands is an important jurisdiction for restructuring in Europe. Dutch law offers sophisticated corporate and insolvency tools, including modern restructuring mechanisms designed to help viable businesses reach binding arrangements with their creditors and avoid unnecessary insolvency. The country’s position as a hub for holding companies and international structures also means that many cross-border reorganisations touch on Dutch entities. A firm with combined attorney and notarial capability, backed by a global network, is well suited to guiding clients through reorganisations, acquisitions, compliance requirements and the procedural steps that restructuring demands.

A pragmatic, business-minded approach

HVG Law’s self-described identity as fast, pragmatic and decisive reflects the commercial reality of restructuring work, where timing and certainty are often critical. Businesses undergoing restructuring need advisers who can move quickly, coordinate multiple workstreams, and translate legal complexity into workable solutions. Under leadership that includes Frank Zandee, the firm combines this practical orientation with the depth of a full-service business law practice and the reach of the EY Law network.

Restructuring mandates rarely sit within a single discipline. A group reorganisation may require corporate and notarial steps to move or merge entities; a distressed situation may call for negotiations with lenders and other creditors alongside advice on directors’ duties and potential insolvency; and a carve-out or acquisition of a distressed business will bring together corporate, employment, real estate and finance considerations. The ability to draw all of these strands together, with the added support of tax colleagues through the EY alliance, is precisely what makes a firm effective in this space. For international groups with Dutch operations or holding structures, the value of coordinated, cross-border advice is greater still, and it is here that a firm such as HVG Law, connected to a global legal network yet grounded in Dutch law and practice, is particularly well placed to serve its clients.

Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026

The Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026 — Corporate Restructuring Law Firm of the Year in the Netherlands recognises HVG Law and Managing Partner Frank Zandee for the firm’s contribution to corporate restructuring in the Dutch market. For companies facing reorganisation, financial restructuring or complex corporate change in the Netherlands, HVG Law offers an independent, internationally connected firm that combines legal advice, litigation capability and notarial expertise under one roof.