{"id":69222,"date":"2017-04-06T12:53:47","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T10:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=69222\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:41","slug":"ik-heb-altijd-gelijk-maar-ik-krijg-het-niet-altijd-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/04\/06\/ik-heb-altijd-gelijk-maar-ik-krijg-het-niet-altijd-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m always right, but not everyone agrees with me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Where do students from Erasmus University end up? In this section, graduates talk about their careers and their lives: what have they learned? They also provide tips on what you should and shouldn\u2019t do to plan your career path.<\/p>\n\t

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Study: <\/strong>Law (1992-2002)<\/p>\n

Current job:<\/strong> One of the partners of the legal firm Libertas Lawyers. The firm combines Verloop\u2019s specialism in environmental criminal law with financial, tax and corporate law, as well as compliance, monitoring and disciplinary jurisdiction. \u2018We didn\u2019t want to be forced into the legal straitjacket of other firms, but create our own.\u2019<\/p>\n

Career path:<\/strong> After graduating, he continued working in the criminal law department as director of the Erasmus Centre for Penal Studies, the third flow of funds institute. He taught students, as well as judges, public prosecutors and lawyers wanting to update their knowledge. He then spent many years working as a lawyer and was one of the editors of the Jaarboek Compliance<\/em> and SR Updates<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

\u2018When I put on my gown, I\u2019m conscious of my role during the hearing: getting the best result for my client. That\u2019s never a problem for me, because I\u2019m only defending the accused and not the deed. However reprehensible it may be. I haven\u2019t yet found a case I wasn\u2019t willing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conflicts in court<\/strong>
\n\u2018I\u2019m always right, but not everyone agrees with me. Even if I totally disagree with the judge\u2019s ruling or the public prosecutor\u2019s opinion, we can always have a chat over a coffee afterwards. There are many judges and prosecutors with whom I can have serious disagreements in court, but get on well with outside.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Adrenaline<\/strong>
\n\u2018Addressing the court is what I love best about my profession. That\u2019s why all law students should aim to join the bar \u2013 that should be their ultimate goal. The great thing about a hearing is that it\u2019s where all your preparation comes together. I feel a healthy stress and adrenaline when I start arguing my case, because that\u2019s what it all comes down to. Incidentally, I\u2019m not known for being brief. A plea can last hours, because I want to be comprehensive.\u2019<\/p>\n

Paradox<\/strong>
\n\u2018Although addressing the court is the highlight of our work, we try very hard to keep clients out of court. My clients are organisations that are accused of fraud or of violating environmental regulations. If, despite all our efforts, it comes to a public hearing, this could damage reputations. Actually my work is paradoxical: I try to prevent what is also the best part.\u2019<\/p>\n

Why criminal law?<\/strong>
\n\u2018Call me a geek. Criminal law is the most exciting part of jurisprudence, because it\u2019s about people and their emotions. Anyone involved in criminal law is tense, because no one wants to be accused of anything. Unlike other legal fields, where it\u2019s mainly about money: who owes what? My love for criminal law wasn\u2019t immediate. After doing Japanese Studies for two years, I switched to Law, because that was the only course left after I\u2019d dismissed the others.\u2019<\/p>\n

Student debt<\/strong>
\n\u2018My sizable student debt to DUO proves that I enjoyed a long student life. I took my time over my studies, because being an active member of student association SSR was just as fun. And equally educational too, because I made plans, carried them out and made new contacts to get things organised. By living independently and doing all kinds of things, I learned to organise my life.\u2019<\/p>\n

Read also in careers<\/h2>