About Thomas de Leeuwe
After graduating from the University of Amsterdam, Thomas was sworn in as a lawyer in 2010. He worked at several large law firms and took the in-depth course in Civil Construction Law at the Netherlands Institute for Construction Law in 2014. He then joined Rozemond Advocaten in 2016. Here, Thomas has specialised in civil construction law; a legal area which is close to his heart and in which he has since gained extensive experience.
Thomas litigates extensively in civil courts and at the Arbitration Board for the Building Industry in particular. His typical construction law proceedings include commissioning works, latent and other defects, discussions about contract variations and building contracts which are terminated prematurely. He is particularly fascinated by premature contract termination, and then especially the special termination arrangements in various terms and conditions such as in UAV 2012 par. 14 and UAV-GC 2005 par. 16; he has written several publications on the topic. Naturally, Thomas endeavours to avoid proceedings in his clients’ best interest, so they can settle their dispute out of court. In addition, Thomas also assists his clients with other matters, such as when drawing up building contracts.
Thomas has thorough knowledge of the various terms and conditions used in national and international construction, including the UAV, UAV-GC, AVA and the various FIDIC contract models. He also regularly publishes in professional journals and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Netherlands Journal for construction law [Tijdschrift voor Bouwrecht (TBR)]
Since 2019, Thomas has been a regular contributor to the Rozemond Podcast. Together with other Rozemond colleagues they discusses current hot topics in construction law.
Why construction law?
There are several reasons for that. First of all, my father was a building contractor. As a child, I was often allowed to accompany him to project sites and these excursions made a lasting impression on my young mind. Perhaps that is where the first seed was planted.
However, in my early years in the legal profession, I didn’t work for contractors, but for the larger commissioning bodies. As I became more exposed to construction law and began to work more closely with contractors, my interest in this field grew. Perhaps that was also due to the more relaxed interaction, but it’s probably due to the enthusiasm that many contractors show when discussing their works.
And lastly, I really enjoy mastering the sometimes complex technical topics – from geotechnical problems to structural issues – that often play a crucial role in construction disputes.
Registrations
Pertaining to article 35b, paragraph 1, of the Dutch Legal Profession regulations. Thomas de Leeuwe 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.