Pels Rijcken will appoint six new partners with effect from 1 January 2023, namely Marte van Graafeiland, Lonneke de Graaf, Irene van der Heijden, Marleen Botman, Raimond Dufour and Jeroen Naves. They all transfer to the partner group from the firm’s own organisation. The appointment of six new partners stems from the increasing demand for Pels Rijcken's expertise.
Chair of the board Sandra Heukelom-Verhage: ‘I’m very proud that we have been able to appoint six new partners from our own firm. In doing so, Pels Rijcken underscores the importance of training legal talent in house and encouraging promotion. This new generation of partners contributes to providing our clients with excellent services on social, technological and financial issues.'
Pels Rijcken specialises in providing legal services to the public sector and the private sector.
New partners in detail
Marte van Graafeiland has been working as a lawyer at Pels Rijcken since 2010. She is specialised in privacy law. Marte frequently advises on the privacy law aspects of (new) technologies, the permissibility of the exchange of (personal) data between parties and on internal privacy compliance.
Van Graafeiland: ‘In my new role as a partner, I'd like to contribute to the further growth of the Innovation, Privacy & Technology department and maintaining the quality we provide to our clients. I also want to ensure that we, as a firm, remain an attractive employer for future generations of lawyers.'
Jeroen Naves has been working as a lawyer at Pels Rijcken since 2011 and, like Van Graafeiland, is one of the founders of the Innovation, Privacy & Technology department. Jeroen is a specialist in the field of technology and law. Together with his team, Jeroen assists with complex contracting processes and supports our clients with IT disputes. He is also closely involved in innovations at clients.
Naves: ‘Technology is an essential part of many of our clients' organisations and services. I am therefore proud that we, as a team, have been able to assist them with advice and action in recent years. I'm looking forward to continuing to do that in a role as a partner and in so doing, building on the further developments of our technology and privacy practice.'
Lonneke de Graaf joined Pels Rijcken in 2006 and specialises in procurement law. She frequently litigates and advises on the most diverse (complex) procurement law and construction law issues. She also assists clients with setting up tenders and tender documents.
De Graaf: ‘As a partner, I'm proud to be part of Pels Rijcken's procurement practice. A practice that occupies a unique position in the Netherlands and takes the lead in the area of procurement law.'
Irene van der Heijden has been a lawyer since 2011 and joined Pels Rijcken in 2015. She is an expert in the General Administrative Law Act and teaches that subject, among others, at the Grotius Academy. Irene also has extensive experience in subsidy and damage cases and regularly litigates and advises on the application of the Bibob Act.
Van der Heijden: 'I look forward to being able to strengthen Pels Rijcken's unique administrative law practice as a partner. In that role, I would like to contribute to the quality of our services to our special clients and to the personal growth of colleagues.'
Marleen Botman is a specialist in the field of European law and its elaboration in national legal practice. She is an authority on the European Services Directive 2006/123/EC and the allocation of scarce rights. In her practice, she advises ministries, regulatory authorities and local authorities, and represents them in both civil and administrative proceedings. Marleen obtained her PhD in 2015 and is a researcher at the Research Centre 'Centre for Public Contract Law & Governance' at VU University Amsterdam.
Botman: ‘In my new role as partner, I hope, together with the strong team of European law and competition, to further develop the European practice and contribute to the development of the firm. Provide the client with the best possible assistance, that's my goal.'
Raimond Dufour is a member of the Litigation & Arbitration department. Raimond’s particular field of expertise is private international law. He focuses on complex cross-border disputes, including class actions, cartel damages proceedings and commercial arbitration proceedings. Raimond litigates on a wide range of matters, including diesel engine emissions, securities, international interest rate benchmarks (such as LIBOR) and the G10 foreign exchange.
Dufour: 'I am very pleased with this appointment and look forward to further expanding the firm's international litigation practice in this new role.'