Employees tell
What our employees say
The enthusiastic, committed colleagues and a beautiful work location make me feel completely at home and I enjoy going to the office every day. I also find that every specialist in the office has excellent knowledge and professional skills. This combination was the reason why I switched to LVH Advocaten almost two years ago.
From my office on the 27th floor I have a beautiful view of the Erasmus Bridge and almost every day a cruise ship docks below me. This sometimes provides visual distraction when I’m racking my brain over a complex case. LVH’s office has allure and provides a nice sign for clients and prospects, who are happy to drop by as a result.
The Rotterdam mentality of working hard and maintaining focus, without losing sight of the human dimension, makes for a pleasant working atmosphere. Overtime may occur, but is certainly not the norm. There is plenty of room for private time, sports (or a conversation about them) and relaxation. Every Friday afternoon we end the week with drinks and we regularly go out to dinner with colleagues. LVH lawyers love to work hard and relax. That is the ideal balance and keeps everyone healthy and driven in the long run.
Our lawyers are strong litigators and do so when functional and necessary. Through my extensive experience, I know that my office colleagues’ professional knowledge and skills are excellent in this regard. By remaining self-critical and providing colleagues with positive feedback, we keep service levels high. As a result, our lawyers experience a high degree of independence and freedom, and their curiosity means they never stop learning.
All this explains why many entrepreneurs have been and remain LVH Advocaten clients for years and there is little turnover among colleagues. They feel heard, helped and at home. And so do I.
Since my start as an attorney, which was February 2022, I have been working at LVH. Before that, during my master’s, I got to know the firm as a legal assistant. LVH made a good first impression on me back then and actually still lives up to that. I immediately became acquainted with all of LVH: the partners, the attorneys and practice assistants. My first day at LVH – the office was then still on the Veerhaven – I took a lunch walk with office colleagues Ben van Nieuwaal, Hans Rijntjes and Lisa Kloot. The inappropriate footwear notwithstanding – my heels and I were only counting on “a walk around the block” – I was glad I came along. I immediately felt welcome.
In terms of content, LVH knows how to challenge me well. As a novice lawyer, I don’t work exclusively for one of the office colleagues or my pattern, but many of the lawyers know how to find me to take on a case together. Ideal, since I was not yet immediately sure of my desired specialization. They also didn’t shy away from taking me through the more complex files early on here or letting me figure things out on my own. In doing so, especially in the early years, I was really given the time to tackle cases qualitatively and substantively well, without the pressure that all the time spent would necessarily be passed on to the client. And, more importantly, if at any point there was a lack of time or guidance, there was enough freedom and approachability at LVH to indicate that.
This culture, I have found, continues the more independent you become as a lawyer. The size of the team makes it easy to keep short lines of communication with everyone and usually a colleague’s door is open for substantive – or less substantive – consultation. Meanwhile, I have a four-day work week due to my social and musical activities, and that, as soon as I expressed that need, was responded to positively and given space. Although it is possible to work from home at LVH, I would say that there is not really a “work-at-home culture. I myself ride my office bike easily to the office daily, and I can count on all my colleagues to meet me there regularly. I have also gotten to know them in other ways in recent years, including during dinners, a boat trip on the Rottemeren, a painting course and a champagne trip in beautiful Rheims. Only good as far as I’m concerned, because that makes it extra fun to then work together for a cause.
Before joining LVH Advocaten, I gained experience as an intern at one of the largest law firms in the Netherlands. Although I learned a lot there, I missed the direct, personal contact with clients.
My background is not from the legal world. I come from an entrepreneurial family and that has strongly shaped my view of the profession. From an early age, I have been familiar with the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs face on a daily basis. This, combined with my business education, enables me to not only give legal advice, but also to think along with the company’s strategy. I speak the language of the entrepreneur and understand the situations in which my clients find themselves, which helps me to give advice that is not only legally correct, but also directly applicable in practice.
It was exactly this combination of personal commitment and strategic insight that led me to LVH Lawyers. Here I found a firm that is not only legally strong, but one that really thinks along with the entrepreneur. Since my first day, I have been working closely with entrepreneurs, which gives me the opportunity to think along with them in all areas of their business. This allows me to assist them even better legally.
At LVH Advocaten, I can always fall back on the many colleagues with their own specializations, from labor law to contract law. This cooperation makes my advice more complete and effective. The quality of the advice here is always paramount. At LVH Advocaten, I can take the time necessary to provide the best advice, without having to worry about the cost to my client. I know that when billing, critical consideration is always given to whether the time worked is reasonable and justified. This allows my focus to be on solutions that really work for the business, and not on the clock.
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