Evelyn Tjon-En-Fa

Co-managing partner of our offices in the Netherlands and co-head of Bird & Bird's International Dispute Resolution practice group. I am a specialist in managing complex disputes in our sectors of focus, including all claims and insurance matters.

With my team I aim to be the best disputes adviser, from the initial piece of advice via the negotiation table to, if needs be, the Supreme Court. I am Co-Head of Bird & Bird's international Dispute Resolution group and I am Head of our International Insurance group.

My team and I are passionate about providing a tailor-made approach. We don't work with standardised solutions, as every client and every case is unique. It's all about strategic pre-trial advice, negotiation skills and knowledge about which formal and informal buttons to push in legal proceedings. As one of the few qualified Supreme Court litigators in the Netherlands, I have the required granular knowledge of the law on civil procedures, cross-border litigation and enforcement. As a Supreme Court litigator I know very well how 'lower' judges work, to which extent they are restricted by formalities and what their methods are on, for example, interpretational issues. This insight helps from the very first stages of any dispute and litigation advice.

Our cases are often defined by the fact that they require extensive fact-finding and insight in the relevant technology. The way in which we work has no boundaries in sectors, but we have a particular knack for Insurance, Tech & Comms, Construction & Infrastructure, Energy, Life Sciences and Industry. Insurance and claims work, whether based on contract or on tort, and whether about an infrastructural project or about a violation of sector-specific regulation, requires ample experience in cases with complex causation and damage assessment issues. I have that type of experience.

Dispute resolution is, more often than not, in fact dispute management - balancing all the issues at stake, at the right time. Teamwork with the client is essential, and it's the part of the work I enjoy most, the clients are the true specialists on the subject matter. I have managed large internal compliance investigations and other projects requiring legal crisis management skills. As I combine a busy law practice with quite a number of managerial tasks within the firm, including management of a group of 45, I bring people skills and pragmatism to the table (board room) as well.

I am the co-founder and co-head of our Dutch knowledge portal, BirdBuzz (birdbuzz.nl). I enjoy publishing and talking about the latest developments in my fields of expertise.

Alongside my career as a lawyer, I still give concerts and recitals as a professional violinist (to the extent work permits, of course!) I am convinced that this also boosts a creative and collaborative side which I use in my work as a lawyer.

• I am the lead lawyer in a cross-border team representing major construction companies in various legal and technical disputes with commissioning parties and subcontractors in relation to civil construction and infrastructure projects. In these and many other cases, my team focuses on all aspects of liability and insurance.
• I am the lead lawyer in major internal investigations for a global player in one of our core sectors. Our work includes advising the client on compliance matters and acting on their behalf in parallel investigations initiated by the relevant European authority.
• My team and a team from our London office are involved in insurance claims pertaining to earthquakes in the Netherlands as a result of gas winning in the Groningen area, with a maximum potential risk of more than 150 million euros.
• I have acted as the lead civil lawyer in numerous private enforcement claims, acting on behalf of both claimants and defendants, with a total value of more than one billion euros, making use of sophisticated collaboration agreements and special purpose foundations.
• I have acted as a Supreme Court lawyer for biopharmaceutical company Ablynx in proceedings against Unilever, concerning a number of patents regarding 'Nanobody'-technology, and the demarcation line of the license agreements given to Ablynx and Unilever with regard to the use of this technology. I worked in close cooperation with IP partner Wouter Pors, who represented Ablynx in the proceedings in the first instance and in the subsequent proceedings at the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Ablynx.