If you wish to build bridges, aim higher

“Confidant, for custom-made contracts and a creative contribution to negotiations”

Barnsteen advocatuur

Mr. J. (Jan) van Duijvendijk, advocaat
Steijnlaan 1
3743 CH Baarn

Tel +31 6 53 623 821
E-mail info@barnsteen-advocatuur.nl

Who

In 1955, I, Jan van Duijvendijk, was born in The Hague. I am a specialist in project development law (project and area development), construction law, real estate in a broad sense, forms of collaboration, PPP structures and public procurement legislation. I have a wealth of in-depth knowledge of the wide range of contracts in this area.

I draw up all thinkable kinds of contracts and forms of collaboration referring to real estate or the development thereof.

MY CLIENTS AND MY WORKING PHILOSOPHY
My clients are located throughout the Netherlands. I work for professional real estate clients such as commercial project developers, housing corporations, investors, estate agents, care institutions and municipalities, and certainly also for parties who have an occasional real estate project. This may also refer to private individuals.

For my clients I enjoy drawing up custom-made contracts, not only for their particular needs, but also for their general situations. I often apply specially developed new clauses. In addition, I write model contracts and I take existing models and general terms and conditions to a higher level.

I am a legal counsel and a confidant in a classical sense of the concept lawyer. I also support and assist my clients during negotiations. If a dispute of a party has a reasonable chance of being resolved through creative negotiations, I will be happy and able to provide assistance. Barnsteen Advocatuur does not provide litigation services, however.

WORKING EXPERIENCE
Since September 2015, I run my own legal practice in Baarn under the name Barnsteen Advocatuur.

Previous positions:

Lawyer and partner with Lexence 2001 – 2015
Head of legal affairs with Strukton 1998 – 2001
Corporate legal officer with Hollandse Beton Groep 1988 – 1998
Corporate legal officer with NV Koninklijke Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek Fokker 1986 – 1988
Lawyer with Blackstone, Rueb and Van Boeschoten (today: De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek) 1983 - 1986

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
I am a Fellow in Project Development Law at the Amsterdam School of Real Estate (ASRE) and am a lecturer at the Project Development professional training institute of NEPROM (Association of Dutch Project Developers). Furthermore I am co-author of the Project Development Manual published by NEPROM. As Project Development Editor I am on the editing committee of the model book on real estate contracts ‘Vastgoedcontracten’ of Den Hollander publishers. I am a member of the Association of Construction Law Lawyers (VBR-A) and have a Master’s degree in Dutch law from Leiden University.

New construction, renovation and transformation

New construction is a relatively straightforward, technical and legal affair. How different is the renovation or transformation of an existing building that may contain hidden technical defects? Just think of the various uncertainties such as reinforcement, construction issues and pollution (soil contamination, asbestos). Where are the pipes located, what is the wear & tear status? Simple old-school contracting agreements will not suffice. What is needed, in addition to alert acting by the designing and executing parties, are integrated contracting forms.

Forearmed, staying out of court

Legal practice is mostly about proper preparation of a project beforehand - not litigation. This means that it is better to engage Barnsteen Advocatuur in the early stages of negotiations, when the impact of proper legal advice is instrumental and the payoff of a clear contract is the highest. It goes without saying that we will take a close look at case law and that we know the textbooks. In order to stay out of court, it is vital to draw up appropriate contracts for the commercial practice of parties who join forces.

Contract as a railway timetable

If everyone sticks to the arrangements that are made, does everything in the proper sequence, and in accordance with the agreed and well-considered planning, success is guaranteed. In most cases, there are several ways of taking up a matter. But if you jointly agree on a specific way to go forward, you cannot deviate from it at a later stage. As a matter of fact, a contract serves the same purpose as a construction drawing. It is like a railway timetable, enabling all parties involved to see at all times what to do under specific circumstances - and not to check what should have been done in retrospect after things have already gone wrong.

Lateral thinking and creativity

The legal world and the litigation practice, even the Judiciary, often talk about the wonders of ‘mediation’. But what is mediation really? Considering the individual interests of stakeholders with an open mind and arriving at a voluntary solution. That is a lot easier to do before the atmosphere turns sour. Well then, why not use these mediation techniques during the preparatory stages of a project? Lateral thinking and creativity, that is what matters.