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Janet Meesters

Partner
She is a very experienced construction lawyer, and excelled in setting up the team. She's very calm and focused in negotiations, very strategic, and has a clear and structured approach, which made a difficult project very smooth."
— Chambers Europe, 2023
Amsterdam
About

Janet Meesters has vast experience in the field of procurement law and construction law. She advises both tenderers and contracting entities and both contractors and employers and she has extensive experience in civil court litigation.

In procurement matters, Janet provides strategic advice on the design of tender procedures and the different types of procedures, the tender documentation as well as the application and bid for tenders. In addition, she assists both bidders and contracting authorities in legal proceedings in relation to procurement procedures.

In the field of construction law, Janet advises and represents employers and contractors in complex law disputes in civil court and arbitration proceedings involving different types of contracts (including DB, DBFM and contracts based on the international FIDIC standards). She is also experienced in negotiating contracts in the field of construction, project development, and public-private partnerships (PPP/PPS). She understands technical language and is praised for her ability to translate complex technical issues into comprehensible legal advice or court documents.

Furthermore, Janet advises in matters relating to scarce (public) rights.

She advises a wide range of clients including Dutch and international companies in the field of construction, infrastructure, transport, (renewable) energy, waste management, technology, education and insurance and several (semi-)governmental bodies and universities.

Areas of FocusLitigation, Arbitration and InvestigationsConstruction and Engineering
Professional QualificationsAdvocaat admitted with the Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten

EXPERIENCE

  • Advising several (semi-)governmental institutions on the tender phase and execution of design & build projects.
  • Assisting several international companies in their preparations for and participation in European tender procedures initiated by Dutch contracting entities, based on the Classical as well as the Utilities Directive.
  • Assisting and representing a rail maintenance company in several procurement and contractual matters.
  • Advising and representing clients in several sectors in technically complex tenders and in relation to technically complex infrastructural and utility works (amongst which bridges, plants, malls and radar and air traffic technology).
  • Representing several waste management and recycling / renewable energy companies in court proceedings concerning European tender procedures.
  • Assisting and representing Dutch and international construction companies in construction matters in the Netherlands and abroad involving UAV, UAV-GC, DNR, FIDIC (Yellow Book, Green Book, Red Book), DBFM and custom-made contracts.
  • Assisting and representing an international dredging company in several dredging and construction related matters.
  • Assisting an international food company in the realization of a new plant in the Netherlands and drafting all contracts related thereto.
  • Assisting a University in the establishment of a cooperation with a Dutch investment fund for the development of a Science Park.
  • Representing an Austrian company in a dispute concerning the realization of the Botlek Bridge as part of the A15 Motorway DBFM project Maasvlakte-Vaanplein.
Languages
  • English
  • Dutch
Education
  • Utrecht University, Dutch Law, 2004
  • Grotius Academy, Grotius European and Dutch Procurement Law (cum laude), 2008

Awards and Recognitions

  • Recommended in Legal 500 EMEA - Construction, 2018-2020
  • “Janet Meesters is 'a good listener who easily translates incomprehensible jargon” Legal 500 EMEA 2018
  • “Meesters, who can 'bring parties together in negotiations and of course gives great practical advice' provides procurement and construction expertise to clients in the infrastructure, waste management, energy, and education sectors.” Legal 500 EMEA 2019

Insight Overview

Janet regularly publishes on matters relating to procurement law and construction law and recently also on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the Dutch construction sector. She speaks at conferences and gives lectures at the Instituut voor Bouwrecht (Institute for Construction Law) and the Public Procurement Research Centre of the Utrecht University. Janet is also one of the authors of the Tekst & Commentaar Aanbestedingsrecht and a regular annotator for the procurement case law journal Jurisprudentie Aanbestedingsrecht.

Publications

  • COVID-19 en bouwprojecten: the show must go on – maar wie betaalt de rekening? (VGR 2020-3, p. 88)
  • COVID-19 in de bouw: laveren tussen juridische risicoverdeling en praktische oplossingen (BB 2020/41)
  • Past performance – een evaluatie van de eerste uitspraken over deze uitsluitingsgrond (TA 2019/66; also published in JAAN 2019/121)
  • Annotation ECJ C-267/18 (JAAN 2019/179)
  • Annotation Court of East-Brabant 14 January 2019 (JAAN 2019/55)
  • Exploitatie WKO-systeem en aanbestedingsplicht; verkoop als legitieme escape? (JAAN 2018/902)
  • Tekst & Commentaar Aanbestedingsrecht (co-author, 2014-2018)

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Member of the Dutch Association for Procurement Law (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Aanbestedingsrecht - NVvA)
  • Member of the Dutch Construction Lawyers Association (Vereniging voor Bouwrecht-Advocaten - VBR-A)

My latest insights

Publication

Webinar: COP26 in conversation

17 November 2021 .1 minute read

Publication

ESG Talks - Willem Janssen and Janet Meesters on climate change and procurement

5 September 2021 .1 minute read

News

DLA Piper announces partnership promotions for 2020

29 April 2020 .5 minute read

Connect

Phone

+31 (0) 20 5419 248
(Work)
+31 (0)6 4314 2758
(Mobile)
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