Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV

Willem Heemskerk

Willem Heemskerk has been with Pels Rijcken since 1992 and is one of the most experienced litigators in the Netherlands. He handles complex civil law disputes for mainly large national and international companies. His areas of expertise include liability, damage & insurance, professional liability, attachment, collection and enforcement, and media law. Willem acts as counsel both in adjudication as well as arbitral proceedings. He is regarded as a leading expert in Dutch civil procedural law; he has many publications to his name, was the Vice President of the Dutch State Advisory Committee on procedural law, and regularly serves as expert in foreign proceedings. For many years, Willem is ranked in Band 1 for Dispute Resolution in the Chambers Global and Europe Guide and in the Hall of Fame for Dispute Resolution: Commercial Litigation in The Legal 500 Guide. In late 2018, Willem was recognised as the “Best Litigator in the Netherlands” in an election organised by the VIA.

Hans van Wijk

Hans van Wijk has been with Pels Rijcken since 1990 and has more than 30 years of experience in the Supreme Court practice. He is a full-time Supreme Court litigator. Before joining the firm, Hans practised law in the Dutch Caribbean for a number of years. The cases he deals with cover a wide spectrum of civil law, particularly in the area of corporate law, insolvency law, government private law and liability law. He is also specialised in Caribbean affairs. Hans is often sought out as a lawyer’s lawyer, for example in appeal cases, especially in large and complex proceedings where much is at stake. He graduated cum laude from the University of Utrecht in 1990. He has long chaired Pels Rijcken’s Supreme Court department as well as the Association of Civil Supreme Court Lawyers (VCCA). Hans serves as a deputy justice at the 's Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal. He has several academic publications to his name, especially on corporate law. Hans has long been in Band 1 of Chambers.

Wemmeke Wisman

Wemmeke Wisman was admitted to the Dutch Bar in 1998. She specialises in conducting (complex) civil proceedings with public (international) law aspects. Her clients include listed companies, various ministries and other public authorities. Wemmeke provides judicial and extrajudicial advice to commercial entities in the field of liability law and contract law. Furthermore, she litigates on behalf of the tax authorities in civil cases and also deals with issues such as the immunity of foreign states and the restitution of stolen art. Wemmeke is a board member of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Procesrecht (NVVP, the Dutch Procedural Law Association) and regularly publishes in the field of civil procedural law.

Raimond Dufour

Senior associate