who I am

Barbara has been recognized as a “thought leader” in Who’s Who Legal: Restructuring and Insolvency (2020) and is one of only four Dutch experts in Legal500’s “Hall of Fame Restructuring and Insolvency 2023.” From 2022-2025, she was (co) dean of the Amsterdam Bar Association in which role she supervised the largest Dutch bar association (nearly 7000 lawyers).

Barbara has been involved in many high-profile proceedings. Some examples:

• Member of the core team that assisted Yukos and its group companies since 2005.
• Aspects of Dutch and Dutch Caribbean law in the bankruptcies of Slotervaart Hospital, Intertoys, PaperlinX, McGregor, Lehman Brothers, Estro (Smallsteps) and others.
• Various high-profile cases on arbitral awards and related proceedings in the Netherlands, including SCM/Raga, Yukos Capital/Rosneft, Cukurova/Sonera and Nelux/Nakash.
• Enforcement of investment arbitral awards, including Stati/Kazakhstan, team leader in proceedings for (among others) Frener & Reifer on enforcement of international arbitral awards in the Netherlands.
• Restructurings of Lebara, Airopack, Uni-Invest and Eurocommerce. Collaborated in several WHOA restructurings, including ADO Den Haag, ICH and McDermott. Team leader for the new owners in the restructurings of both Schoenenreus and Estro, the two largest “pre-pack” restructurings in the Netherlands to date.

Barbara has acted frequently as an expert on Dutch and Dutch Caribbean law, both in common law and civil law jurisdictions. One of her opinions was described by a New York judge as “considerably better put together and overall, more persuasive than what’s been said on the other side.”

Barbara is a member of INSOL Europe, Insolad and the Dutch Arbitration Association. Between 2012 and 2017, she was European Regional Director of the International Board of IWIRC (International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation), and she is part of IWIRC’s delegation to UNCITRAL’s Working Group II and V.

Barbara presents many courses and workshops, speaks regularly at international conferences and publishes in leading legal journals. She is co-author of the Practice Book on Insolvency Law (2013).

In her free time, Barbara prefers to go to her home in the Dordogne (together with her three daughters) or listen to classical music. She chairs the board of the record label Gutman Records and chamber music ensembles Camerata RCO and Alma Quartet.