Practice area Health law
At Dirkzwager, we pay special attention to the healthcare sector. We work for clients in the healthcare sector locally, but also elsewhere. Our client base varies widely and includes (university) hospitals, individual medical specialists, national sector organisations, youth support, childcare, nursing homes and home care institutions, in addition to many other healthcare institutions. Lawyers from the various departments have been acting on behalf of a wide range of clients in the healthcare sector for decades. We therefore not only have extensive experience but also the required affinity with the sector. The pooling of our knowledge and experience means you can count on us for a comprehensive package of legal services in various areas of law.Healthcare
Over the years, the Healthcare department has built up a considerable reputation nationally. In addition to specific health law, we also focus on various sub-specialisms, which means we are up-to-date with all details and developments. We are pleased to assist you in your decisions relating to mergers, partnerships and governance issues. We are also well versed in medical liability issues and concern ourselves with all manner of matters relating to general contract law and procedural law in the healthcare sector. If there is a dispute with another healthcare institution or within your partnership, we are on hand to represent your interests.
Employment law in the health and welfare sector
A number of lawyers in our Employment Law department specialise in employment law in the health and welfare sector.
These are just some of areas in which we can provide you with guidance:
- Conditions of employment for management/management boards (WNT) and medical specialists (AMS),
- Individual dismissal issues,
- Restructures and redundancy packages,
- Co-determination, redundancy pay and pension (Health and Welfare, ABP pension fund).
Many issues can be prevented by properly arranging matters relating to employment law beforehand. It is therefore sensible to seek our input during the process at an early stage.
IP and IT law
Intellectual Property and IT law (IP/IT) are areas of law that the healthcare sector is increasingly concerned with. Our IP/IT lawyers are specialists in this field and closely follow every development in the sector. With respect to IP rights, we can assist you in cases relating to brand names, licence agreements and confidentiality agreements. In the IT field, we can advise you in drawing up and checking IT contracts, such as supply and implementation contracts for hardware and software. We can also guide you in relation to IT-related disputes, such as in the case of failed automation projects and software that functions poorly or not at all. We are also pleased to help you with any other IP/IT questions.
Competition Law
Among its other activities, the Competition law department is concerned with reporting concentrations in the healthcare sector (mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures) to the competent competition authorities. The lawyers in this department also focus on drawing up and assessing collaboration agreements (for integrated care, for instance) and purchasing agreements. The department advises on compliance with laws and regulations (compliance) and works closely with one of the Dutch sector organisations in the healthcare sector to draw up a ‘compliance handbook’. In that context, the lawyers of the department deliver presentations on competition law and compliance to the members of the relevant sector organisation.
Real estate and environmental, including notarial services
The Public Authorities and Property department consists of 16 lawyers. Our expertise covers the entire range of property and the parties operating therein, including planning and zoning law (zoning plans/building permits), environment, subsidies, procurement law and tenancy law. Lawyers from the department spend most of their time working for clients in the healthcare sector and have therefore gained a great deal of experience in the field of property (development) and (healthcare) financing. The group also has the necessary expertise in construction and procurement disputes, including litigation experience with the civil court and the Court of Arbitration for the Building Industry in the Netherlands (Raad van arbitrage voor de bouw). The department has also gained a wealth of experience in the area of property rights and rights in rem (lease of land/buildings) including apartment rights and the assessment of financing conditions in the healthcare sector.
Knowledge pooling
The close cooperation between the various departments has afforded us highly specialised knowledge of the healthcare sector. We compile a team of several lawyers for our larger clients. In all cases, you will always keep your fixed contact person. We also maintain a close relationship with the Faculty of Law at Tilburg University. One of our lawyers specialising in corporate and health law, Louis Houwen, is a Professor occupying an endowed chair in Public-Private Business Law.