Renate Croes

Renate assists clients in the more complex criminal law procedures a range of issues, including:

• tax and financial fraud, such as VAT fraud, document forgery, investment fraud, suspicion of criminal activities by professionals such as lawyers and civil law notaries
• environmental offences, such as pollution, waste transports, infringements of the European Waste Shipment Regulation (EWSR), legionella infections
• various other economic offences, such as infringements of the Commodities Act, animal welfare, industrial accidents, Customs related offences
• the more criminal law dimensions of the Public Administration Probity Screening Act (BIBOB)

Renate provides guidance to clients from the moment a (possible) criminal investigation starts, she monitors the entire process and aims to prevent a case from going to a criminal court. Generally speaking her clients are companies, managers or employees from the financial sector, waste sector, transport sector and industry, especially the petrochemical industry. Renate also regularly provides guidance to witnesses and aggrieved parties and assists clients who want to report a violation. Renate's approach is professional, thorough, matter-of-fact and efficient. Together with the client she devises a strategy adapted to the client and the case. Renate is dedicated to her cases and readily available to reach for her clients, so that they know what they can expect. With this approach she has managed to secure the best possible outcome for a great number of cases. Renate regularly acts as a teacher or speaker in courses, workshops and lectures.

Renate has been a partner with Legaltree since October 2019. From 2004 to 2013, she worked at Simmons & Simmons in the Corporate Criminal Defence group. In 2013, she was co-founder of the law firm of Franken Zuur van Kampen Croes which focuses on large and complex criminal cases, involving general and corporate criminal law. Renate has considerable experience with extensive and publicity-sensitive criminal cases.

Renate is a long-standing lecturer in Criminal law and Criminal Procedural law at the Netherlands Bar Association (NOvA). From 2008 to 2020, she was a member of the Advisory Committee on Criminal Law with the Netherlands Bar Association. This committee advises on proposed laws and regulations concerning criminal law. From 2018 to 2022, Renate joined the board of the Dutch Association of Defence Counsel (NVSA), the specialists association for criminal defence lawyers in the Netherlands.

Renate studied law at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, where she graduated in 2003, specialising in Civil law and Criminal law. She successfully completed the specialist course for criminal defence lawyers.

Renate is editor of Thom – Themes of Environmental Law, an online publication with themed articles regarding legislation, case law and commentary. Renate edits the environmental criminal law section. Since 2022, Renate is also a member of the editorial board of the Milieu & Recht (Environment & Law) journal, where her environmental criminal law expertise is invaluable. Milieu & Recht, like Thom, is published by Wolters Kluwer.