Jacob-Jan Dijkman

Jacob-Jan Dijkman is a Partner and lawyer in the Dispute Resolution team at Köster Advocaten. He has been practising law since 2011 and focuses almost exclusively on dispute resolution. He appears before the courts on a daily basis and represents clients in a wide range of proceedings, including before the District Court, the civil courts, the Courts of Appeal, dispute resolution committees, arbitral tribunals and disciplinary tribunals. This extensive litigation experience enables him to determine the right strategy for every case: what works, when it works and – just as importantly – what does not.

He advises and litigates on disputes relating to the formation, interpretation, performance, termination and rescission of contracts, as well as liability matters, including directors’ liability.

Preliminary relief proceedings are a particular area of interest for Jacob-Jan. The pace of these proceedings requires swift analysis and clear judgement: mastering a case within a short timeframe, reducing it to its essence and presenting a compelling argument before the court.

He is just as often involved before a dispute arises. Directors and supervisory board members consult him while strategic options are still open: a business relationship under pressure, tensions within the management board or among shareholders, or an internal investigation in which their own conduct is under scrutiny. He advises on strategy, legal position and risk from the perspective of an experienced litigator who understands how a matter is likely to develop once it reaches the courtroom.

From 2018 to 2020, Jacob-Jan worked as Legal Counsel at Lidl and GrandVision. This experience gives him a strong understanding of the commercial considerations that drive decision-making within businesses and enables him to place legal issues firmly within their commercial context.

Jacob-Jan studied Dutch Law at the University of Amsterdam. In 2016, he completed the postgraduate specialisation programme in Insolvency Law for insolvency practitioners, followed in 2018 by the Grotius Academy postgraduate specialisation programme in National and International Contracting. He also regularly delivers training courses on civil litigation.