Barbara Rumora - Scheltema

Portrait of Barbara
Barbara Rumora-Scheltema specialises in corporate and commercial litigation and insolvency law as well as international arbitration, advising and litigating for both national and international clients.
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She is a recognised thought leader in Who's Who legal on Insolvency and Restructuring and one of only four Dutch experts in Legal500's Hall of Fame 2023 Restructuring and Insolvency. In addition to her Litigation practice, Barbara is (co) dean (president) of the Amsterdam Bar.

  • Work highlights

    Barbara has been involved in many high profile litigation cases, often leading to ground-breaking decisions by the Dutch and European courts.

    • She is a member of the core team that represented Yukos and its subsidiaries since 2005.
    • She has advised and litigated on aspects of Dutch and Dutch Caribbean law in relation to the insolvencies of Slotervaart Hospital, Intertoys, PaperlinX, McGregor, Lehman Brothers, Estro (Small steps) and others.
    • Barbara was involved in many high profile cases involving arbitral awards and related litigation in the Netherlands, including SCM/Raga, Yukos Capital/Rosneft, Cukurova/Sonera and Nelux/Nakash. Several of these cases resulted in ground-breaking Supreme Court decisions.
    • She worked on several enforcement cases involving state-investor arbitral awards, including Stati/Kazachstan, and led the teams litigating for, among others, Frener & Reifer, regarding enforcement of international arbitral awards in the Netherlands.
    • Other cases that she has been involved in include the restructurings of Lebara, Airopack, Uni-Invest and Eurocommerce. Barbara led the teams acting 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 frequently acted as an expert on Dutch and Dutch Caribbean law issues for foreign courts, both in common law as well as civil law jurisdictions, one of her opinions having been described by a New York District Court judge as "considerably better put together and overall more persuasive than what's been said on the other side".
  • What others say
    • 'Barbara Rumora-Scheltema is excellent at taking complex legal issues and getting to the heart of the matter quickly and efficiently.'
      Chambers Europe 2022
    • 'Strong leader who is knowledgeable and offers good strategic oversight.'
      Chambers Europe 2021
    • 'In my view Barbara Rumora-Scheltema is an exceptionally good lawyer combining under-standing of the legal technicalities with tactical appreciation of the position of the other par-ties and was the architect of a satisfactory complicated technical legal outcome.'
      The Legal 500 2020
    • Barbara Rumora is an excellent lawyer with an extra eye for human interaction. She can make the difference.'
      The Legal 500 2020
    • 'Combination of detailed understanding of Dutch insolvency law and very clear communication skills"
      Chambers Europe 2020
    • 'very good negotiating skills'
      Chambers Europe 2020
    • 'She is experienced, open and direct; she challenges us when necessary and encourages us to see different scenarios.'
      Chambers Europe 2020
  • Ancillary functions

    Barbara is a member of INSOL Europe, of the Dutch Association of Insolvency Lawyers (Insolad), of the Dutch Arbitration Association, and of the Dutch Corporate Litigation Association (Vereniging Corporate Litigation). Between 2012 and 2017, she was the European Regional Director on the International Board of IWIRC, the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation and she is a member of the group attending UNCITRAL’s Working Group V sessions on IWIRC’s behalf.

    As (co) dean of the Amsterdam Bar, she also acts as regulator and president overseeing the largest Dutch bar (approx 6500 lawyers).

    Barbara regularly presents internal and external courses and workshops, is a frequent speaker at international conferences and publishes in leading legal magazines. She is co-author of the Dutch practice guide for insolvency law (Praktijkboek Insolventierecht).

  • Qualifications

    Barbara is a graduate of the law faculty of the University of Amsterdam and joined NautaDutilh in 2001. Barbara is a member of the NautaDutilh Benelux Restructuring & Insolvency and Arbitration teams. Barbara is (co) dean (president) of the Amsterdam Bar Association.

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