Firm Profile > Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV > The Hague, Netherlands

‘The team I worked with was complementary: different expertise, capabilities and characters, needed in a complex legal case.’

‘Willem Heemskerk as a partner was able to oversee the case as a whole with all different legal and complex issues. He was also very helpful in explaining the main, most important topics in a comprehensive way to the board of directors and supervisory board. His social skills are excellent. Martijn Kloppenburg has excellent analytical skills. He easily dives into technical issues, necessary to understand the legal case. Ameer Mohammed is a lawyer you can rely on, solid in his legal opinion and very accessible as a person. ’

‘We worked together with Martijn Scheltema and Sikke Kingma on a cassation before the Supreme Court of The Hague. They are a top-notch team. Martijn and Sikke were very responsive. They have in-depth knowledge of the matter at hand. ’

‘The Pels’ commercial litigation practice is very reputable and especially excels in its Supreme Court litigation. Hans van Wijk has been a long-time partner for us, handling our Supreme Court litigation. We find him very skilled and very pleasant to work with.’

‘Pels Rijcken is unique in its great experience with litigation for central and local government in the Netherlands. They combine high quality legal plus excellent procedural knowledge with the right sensitivity in representing the central government and other public authorities. They have a set of excellent litigators. A stand-out partner is Karlijn Teuben. Over the years she has represented us in high-profile and sensitive liability and compensation procedures (e.g. military interventions and the colonial past). Karlijn is an expert in civil procedures and has high quality knowledge on past and present law, both in Dutch and in international law. She has an outstanding performance in court where she delivers the message with empathy.’

‘Unique knowledge of governmental issues. Reimer Veldhuis is making an outstanding name for himself and Elisabeth Pietermaat is always available for quality help and advice. ’

‘Exceptionally skilled, collaborative and efficient. I know partner Wemmeke Wisman as an excellent litigator with a deep knowledge of and vast experience in Dutch procedural law. She is both technically and strategically exceptionally strong, has an impressive appreciation and understanding of the issues at stake, is extremely sharp-minded, highly committed, flexible, responsive and collaborative, comes very well prepared, and is an absolute pleasure to work with.’

‘The litigation team at Pels is very, very strong – their advice is clear, considered and strategic. They are a pleasure to work with and we have been very impressed with their advice and how they have navigated complex, multi-party proceedings. Willem Heemskerk is clearly at the top of his game: clear, calm and effective. He inspires confidence. Raimond Dufour is a very impressive senior associate and one to watch for the future. He is clearly very bright, client-oriented and thinks strategically and commercially.’

‘Pels Rijcken’s energy team is made up of specialists working in the various sectors, including real estate, spatial planning and competition law’.

‘The team members share a special predilection for energy law within their field of expertise’.

‘The team is able to advise you promptly on the most complex energy law issues’.

‘The team is characterised by its accessible “no-nonsense” attitude’.

‘The energy team is up to date with the latest legislation and jurisprudence’.

‘Iman Brinkman, as team leader, is better equipped than anyone to understand the broad legal scope of the energy field’.

‘Iman Brinkman is an extremely strategic consultant’.

‘High quality service, very involved, personal and sympathetic’.

‘The Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn team displays strong ownership of their client’s problem and makes good use of every opportunity to solve it’.

‘Very strong in combining legal practice with technical content’.

‘Liesbeth Schippers never gives up, is full of energy and fights until the bitter end’.

‘Roelof Reinders is a strong lawyer, with wide knowledge of jurisprudence and is solid in court’.

‘Thorough knowledge of the law and a very good understanding of how it works within the government and the various ministries’.

‘Liesbeth Schippers is an excellent lawyer, she knows where there are weaknesses in the case’.

‘Daniëlle Roelands-Fransen is a very good lawyer with a broad spatial planning practice’.

‘The team has a lot of experience in cases where the government is involved’.

‘A very strong, fast-thinking and fast-acting team, they give great advice with a sharp eye for detail and possible political implications.’

‘Would recommend them to anyone.’

‘Broad knowledge and therefore full advice, but still one point of contact.’

‘The team is always searching for the long term solutions and relationships.’

‘The knowledge of the national government and the proper protection of its interests in and outside the courtroom makes this law firm unique.’

‘The employees have extensive knowledge and expertise.’

‘René Kiers is a giant among some very formidable international colleagues’.

‘The individuals I have worked with are outstanding in putting things in perspective and helping to make the context clear’.

‘The team is a close-knit group. Their strength lies in their ability to listen and, of course, their legal knowledge. They are very pleasant to work with and know their business. What also sets them apart from other firms is that I have never, not once, seen arrogance in their behaviour.’

‘Jeroen Naves is very competent, quick, nice colleague to work with. The difference between Jeroen and other lawyers is his understanding of risk and business value. Where most lawyers focus solely on the law itself, Jeroen understands the balance between Legal, Risk and Business very well.’

‘We have a great relationship with Gerrit-Jan Zwenne as partner who supports us in many of our complex privacy related matters.’

‘They are very pleasant to work with and know their business’.

‘Jeroen Naves is very competent, quick, and a nice colleague to work with’.

‘Personal approach, friendly, and with a good knowledge of the market’.

‘Up-to-date legal knowledge’.

‘Jeroen Navesis recommended for hard work, a personal approach, quick responses and good time management’.

‘Pels Rijcken is academically very sound’.

‘Good practicable advice, with a clear intention to find a balance between the legal merits of a case and the broader relationship between contracting partners’.

‘Understands the need to reduce costs and to manage litigation’.

‘Very high level of knowledge of project finance and PFI. They have the ability to make this knowledge understandable and practically applicable. They explain not only the letter of the law but also the spirit of the law if necessary’

‘Mark Birnage is practical and understandable for an engineer.  He also gives very good and honest advice about our legal position.’

‘Highly informed and capable team’.

‘The lawyers offer very good support to employers dealing with personnel issues’.

‘Erika Wies’ combination of business savviness and personal interest is highly appreciated’.

‘Erika Wies is down to earth, does not spill time but also takes enough time to really understand the case as well as the underlying circumstances’.

‘Excellent legal advice, great communication skills and always ready to deliver on time’.

‘Ruben van Arkel is a great legal mind and superb strategic thinker’.

‘Erika Wies is fast, with great communication skills and works very hard’.

‘Excellent communication skills’.

‘The team is capable of acquiring the necessary knowledge within a short period of time by combining the existing knowledge of different members in the team’.

‘Wemmeke Wisman is very pleasant in the way she communicates, she has thorough knowledge about the case concerned, but doesn’t lose sight on the bigger picture of it’.

Wemmeke Wisman’s analyses are sharp and a perfect combination of the relevant legal and political aspects’.

‘The practice has a broad and deep understanding and experience with the central government and our way of thinking’.

‘They are sharp debaters and quick minds, they understand our needs and cut to the chase’.

‘The team is very professional and committed’.

‘It surprises me every time how quickly they comprehend the cases we present and place the legal problem in the right context’.

‘The legal knowledge is outstanding and so is the service provided’.

‘We often work with Sikke Kingma for cassation proceedings in the field of copyright. He is a very strong lawyer, a very smart person, and very pleasant to work with.’

‘The team is able to make a very sharp analysis of complex legal issues. They combine their legal expertise with good insight into the technical background of the online environment. What makes the team different is that they are able to take into account the specific positions of organizations with a public/governmental responsibility.’

‘Very sharp analysis in written documents and during oral proceedings. Strong focus on defending the case. ’

‘The consultants are passionate and dedicated to carry out the work carefully, quickly and to a high quality’.

‘Compared with other firms, the ratio of quality and costs is very good’.

‘The practitioners are experts and take the burden off our office in handling cases’.

‘Driven team, with good people who really get to work on the job’.

‘Maryse Mesu-Abbekerk is a passionate lawyer who works energetically and has read the documents carefully when she enters meetings’.

‘Maryse Mesu-Abbekerk has a lot of experience and is also very practical’.             

‘The commercial, corporate and M&A practice is hands on, very practically orientated, very flexible and a good partner for collaboration between independent law firms in different countries, certainly for mid-size matters.’

‘Very practice and solution-oriented.’

‘The team has a solution-oriented mindset and an impeccable availability which brings value to our projects.’