Netherlands: Boels Zanders has a successful exchange with Ashfords as part of the ADVOC exchange scheme.

During the first week of April, I had the honor to take part in an exchange with Ashfords. The ADVOC exchange scheme is embraced by Boels Zanders to stimulate younger lawyers to strengthen their relationships with the ADVOC network.

So from Boels Zanders in Maastricht (the Netherlands) to Ashfords’ office in Exeter (UK). My first surprise when I arrived was the beauty of the landscape around Exeter. To be honest, I had no idea England has so much to offer south of London. I will most def return in the future.

It did feel a bit like starting a new job, but the warm welcome made me feel at ease right away. I expected that I would learn a lot from how lawyers at Ashfords work, but at the same time, I received a lot of questions about our profession in the Netherlands. In that sense my exchange was really about sharing experiences. I particularly enjoyed our visit to a start-up initiative, since Boels Zanders is also very active in this field. The further acquaintance with UK law and especially the huge differences between UK and Dutch employment law fascinated me.

I would like to thank Mark Lomas and Charles Pallot and their teams for the memorable time I had at Ashfords. I really got ‘the Advoc vibe’ and can’t wait to take part in future Advoc meetings. While Brexit might cause some disintegration between the UK and EU, I’m sure the relations within the Advoc network will only get stronger.    

Charles Pallot from Ashfords LLP comments:

“We were delighted to have hosted Stijn for a week in April.  He was an excellent and enthusiastic guest, who showed great interest in our work and in UK employment law generally.  We were particularly impressed by the fact that he volunteered to do a presentation on Dutch Employment Law to our team, and by the clear and engaging style of his presentation.  We look forward to working with Stijn again in the future, and to watching his career develop.”