About Michiel van Stigt Thans
Michiel van Stigt Thans behandelt civiele bouwzaken en staat daarbij (hoofd-)aannemers en adviseurs bij. Zijn cliënten zijn actief op het gebied van utiliteit- en woningbouw, grond- weg- en waterbouw en spoorbouw.
Can disputes be avoided?
Good legal advice at the start of the construction process has the most added value. I’m therefore often involved in the contract drafting phase with the commissioning party, contractors and subcontractors as well as consultants and suppliers. I conduct negotiations with these parties together with my client to arrive at a clear and workable contract. We use past experience to make the contract shorter rather than longer, written in language that is understood by the project manager and the construction team who actually have to work with the contract.
Disputes about the time and costs allocated for construction arise in almost every construction project once the contract has been agreed. I help to limit the differences and efficiently settle these disputes. If necessary, we initiate proceedings before the Arbitration Board for the Building Industry, the NAI or in the civil courts, but if possible, we seek a solution via mediation or a binding opinion.
Why construction law?
When I was young, my parents had a house built. My friends and I were allowed to help demolish the old single-brick walled house, where a family with 11 children had lived. They must have been very cold in the winters, when the rivers still froze over in the Netherlands. I was fascinated by the design and construction process with the architect and contractor. Since then I wanted to be an architect, until that dream faded due to a distinct lack of talent science subjects. Thankfully, my specialisation in construction law has given me the work in the construction world I longed for. I love to visit construction sites, even though the reason is often a dispute that the parties haven’t been able to resolve themselves.
I really enjoyed studying Dutch Law at VU Amsterdam and I was sworn in as a lawyer in Amsterdam in November 2001. In 2006, I completed the Grotius specialisation course in Dutch immovable property law; and in 2009, I completed the IBR specialisation course in civil construction law.
I’ve been working at Rozemond Advocaten since January 2009 and I’m a member of the Construction Law Association and the Association for Construction Law Lawyers. I give in-house courses to clients on drawing up contracts and resolving performance disputes. It’s fun to give and useful because when I do this, I always hear some very interesting questions and actual problems they experience.
Registrations
Pertaining to article 35b, paragraph 1, of the Dutch Legal Profession regulations. Michiel van Stigt Thans has registered the following areas of law in Netherlands Bar Association register:
- Construction law
In accordance with the Netherlands Bar Association standards, this registration requires me to obtain ten training credits for each area of law registered.
What clients say about Michiel
‘He’s a good guy, he understands and responds quickly. He can resolve small issues expertly and win big cases. He understands how things work in construction and knows exactly how to put this in legal terms so it goes the right way and follows the strategy. Construction can be full of legal jargon, but Michiel knows how to explain it in layman’s terms.’