A fighting spirit and a goal-minded approach: the image of a top-class advocate. On the other hand, hard competition, a 12-hour working day, tight deadlines. Our visit to the law firm 'Stibbe' showed us both sides of the coin.
This international law firm, which is of Dutch origin, is generally recognised as a provider of high-quality legal service on everything a corporate client might have to deal with. So the arena of European Law also belongs to the practice area of 'Stibbe'.
If you think about European law, the first things you think about are public law, intergovernmental institutions and civil servants. The visit to 'Stibbe' gave us a new insight. Two attorneys explained, through cases they have conducted, how European law can be applied to civil practice: for example, avoiding troublesome contract obligations by using regulations of the European Commission.
The difference between the front (representative) office and the back (legal) office of ‘Stibbe’ is the same as the difference between the image and the content of advocacy itself. Hendrik Viaene told us about the price which has to be paid for being a top-class advocate: time, effort, a diminished private life and less time for pursuing other interests. Of course, there is always scope for some variety, but if you want to go to the seaside during a sunny (working) day, for example, you then have to work through the evening.
I'm not a native Dutch speaker, but am thinking about going into legal practice in the Netherlands. That's why the particular experience of Stibbe's lawyer Maria Mollica, who specialises in European Union Competition and Market Regulation, and comes from Italy, was really encouraging for me. Her advice concerning study planning, finding a niche on the legal market, and improving future job prospects was really useful.
In my opinion, the visit to Stibbe was highly valuable during the RIO-trip, because it gave us another perspective on European policy and law. We were able to get an impression of how European Law works in the private sector.
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