This is the 45ste years that I have been practicing as a lawyer. It gets a little dizzy when I look at that number, but the enjoyment of work has only increased over the years. What also makes it more and more enjoyable is that, as an experienced lawyer, you can contribute to the education and support of younger colleagues and also that of students.
Development of young, legal talent
Since 2014, the Bear Impulse Foundation which was established by the shareholders of the firm Beer advocaten N.V. One of the objectives of the foundation is to support the development of young talent in the field of liability law and personal injury. In this regard, guest lectures and master classes have been given at various universities in recent years. In addition, every year, and also this year, a thesis prize awarded for which various departments submit their theses. Unfortunately, last year the usually very festive award ceremony had to give way to a digital version, but hopefully this year it can return to normal.
These days, my colleague Mildred Brun and I as part of the activities of Bear Impulse contributed to an educational program at the University of Amsterdam. For me special and very nice to return in this way to the university where I was educated.
Introduction to the legal profession
It concerns the educational program under the name ‘Amsterdam Law Firm’ which is led by the professor Peter Rijpkema. In it, the goal is to introduce students to the practice of law. This year, a large portion of the students in that program have chosen the legal profession that deals with liability and personal injury. That portion Mildred and I are taking on.
It is rightly considered important to provide students with some exposure to practice during their studies and to the personal choices they will have to make at the start of their careers. A significant proportion of students hold out the possibility that they will become lawyers, but that does not make it clear what kind of lawyer they want to become. It is nice to be able to play a role in those kinds of choices.
The first meeting, partly digital and partly in person, involved an introduction to the field and the relevant issues and developments that have taken place over the last few decades. Very nice to notice that the students who chose this part of the program showed their active interest and interacted with us. At the end of that meeting, all students received an email in which a patient held a hospital liable for damages due to a deficiency.
The students were divided into groups acting for either the injured party or the hospital. Based on the case, they wrote opinions over the following three weeks, either for the injured party or for the hospital.
Mimicked interaction between client and lawyer
The second meeting consisted of presenting the recommendations to the clients. So that was Mildred and me. Nice to see how much work the students had put into it. Without much acting talent, every now and then we asked a question that hopefully sufficiently showed how interaction between a lawyer and his client can take place and what is or is not important to clients. Our questions and subsequent explanations will be incorporated into a trial paper in the next three weeks.
The last, third meeting will be arguing before the court - that is, us. Again, I am very much looking forward to it.
Amsterdam, May 13, 2021
If you have questions about this blog, please contact John Beer, the author of this blog.