Legal 500: Ranking Employment & Benefits 2019
Legal 500 has published its rankings for 2019. We are very proud of our Employment & Benefits team being ranked tier 2 in the Legal 500 EMEA 2019 in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

We are also proud that Klaas Wiersma is ranked as Leading Individual and Kris De Schutter is ranked as Next Generation Lawyer. We thank our entire Employment & Benefits team for their hard work and, of course, our clients for their trust and feedback.
What clients and peers say about us
The Netherlands
The 'hands-on and solution-driven' team at Loyens & Loeff 'has a can-do mentality' and 'excellent litigator' Klaas Wiersma is considered to be 'the engine behind his smoothly running team'. Other team members include senior associates Jim Margry – 'a real thoroughbred and an aggressive yet fair negotiator, with a lot M&A experience' and the 'responsive' Maureen te Poel.
Hermine Voûte, who co-heads the team with Wiersma, advised the central works council of Jumbo Distributiecentrum on its negotiations with the company on an agreement regarding the employment conditions for around 3,000 supply chain employees. The practice's expertise includes tax in addition to the full range of employment, pension, and labour relations matters, especially arising from mergers and reorganisations.
Belgium
'Proven specialist in the field' Filip Saelens heads Loyens & Loeff's 'proactive' employment team, which recently assisted BNP Paribas Fortis with implementing a flexible renumeration scheme for over 14,000 employees via a bitcoin system. The group also includes Kris De Schutter, who has 'excellent communication skills'.
Legal 500
The Legal 500 rankings are based on feedback from 250,000 in-house peers and their access to law firms deals and confidential matters, which are independently assessed by the Legal 500 researchers.
Klaas Wiersma
Partner Attorney at lawKlaas Wiersma, attorney at law, is a member of the Employment & Benefits practice group. He has over 19 years’ all-round experience in employment law, with a particular focus on the employment aspects of, mostly international, M&A-deals, co-determination procedures, restructurings and collective dismissals, and cross-border employment.
T: +31 20 578 59 60 E: klaas.wiersma@loyensloeff.comJim Margry
Senior Associate Attorney at lawJim Margry, attorney at law (senior associate), is a member of the Employment & Benefits Practice Group. He has all-round experience in employment law, with a particular focus on the employment law aspects of M&A-deals, restructurings and collective dismissals, co-determination procedures, cross-border labour and employee participation structures.
T: +31 20 578 56 31 M: +31 6 22 09 52 11 E: jim.margry@loyensloeff.comMaureen te Poel
Counsel Attorney at lawMaureen te Poel, attorney at law, is a member of the Employment & Benefits practice group. She has over 21 years of experience as a lawyer, of which 8 years in the M&A department. The last 13 years she has been focusing on all-round employment law, with a particular focus on the employment aspects of M&A-deals and restructurings, co-determination procedures, remuneration structures and sector-specific regulations on remuneration.
T: +31 20 578 54 64 E: maureen.te.poel@loyensloeff.comHermine Voûte
Partner Attorney at lawP. Hermine E. Voûte, attorney at law, is chairwoman of the Employment & Benefits practice group. She has over 31 years’ all-round experience in employment law, with a particular focus on high-profile dismissals, restructurings and collective dismissals, and co-determination procedures.
T: +31 20 578 59 75 E: hermine.voute@loyensloeff.comFilip Saelens
Partner Attorney at LawFilip Saelens is a local partner in our office in Brussels. Filip heads the Loyens & Loeff Employment & Benefits Practice Group in Belgium. He has extensive experience in collective and individual employment law.
T: +32 2 773 23 29 E: filip.saelens@loyensloeff.comKris De Schutter
Partner Attorney at lawKris De Schutter is a partner in our office in Brussels and member of Loyens & Loeff’s Employment & Benefits Practice Group. He has extensive experience in alternative (flexible) remuneration, restructuring and change processes.
T: +32 2 700 10 13 E: kris.de.schutter@loyensloeff.com