More overview and a central appearance
At the municipality of Almere, a total of 22 lawyers work in a multitude of legal disciplines, from civil affairs to the social domain. "Many of them each worked in their own department and they hired external offices for specific questions," says Angelie Vrenken, team manager of Legal Advice and Control. "That way of working turned out to be too fragmented. We wanted to gain more insight into the questions that are so prevalent in all departments and what overlap there was in them." The Municipality of Almere therefore decided in late 2018 to set up a new department in which all legal specialties were concentrated. "Almost all of our lawyers now work in this department. They basically handle all the legal issues of our organization. For a procedural check or a double check of the facts, we still hire external expertise."
Stupid case study
In addition to the central legal department, the Municipality of Almere was looking for an in-house lawyer who could provide almost all of its external legal advice needs. Legal advisor and contract manager Louis Felten: "Bringing all our own lawyers together created more consistency. With an in-house lawyer, we also get a much better overview and grip on the legal issues that are placed externally. So we were looking for a solid firm with broad expertise so that it could advise us in various areas."
After the initial selection, the municipality invited a number of firms to do a case study. Unlike usual, this case was not sent, but the candidates were able to perform it on site. "Usually, when offices are invited to tender, they are sent a case and can think about it for quite some time.
Our candidates only got to see the case here at the office. It concerned the question of whether or not a coffee shop should be set up in Almere Buiten. This case had many snags and dealt with issues of zoning and commitments, among other things. Within an hour and a half, possibly in telephone consultation with their colleagues, the candidates had to draw up an opinion on how the college should deal with this. We opted for such a 'steam case', because in practice we also often want quick answers to pressing questions.
This was solved very nicely by Hanna Zeilmaker and Bart van Meer; they came up with rock-solid advice." Hanna Zeilmaker, government and real estate lawyer: "We handled the case with a Dirkzwager team in the background, which was thinking along with us in Arnhem and Nijmegen. In our final advice, we clearly showed that we can solve cases well legally, but also pay a lot of attention to the practical solution: what does the client himself want, what do politicians think about it and what exactly do they ask of us? Often it comes down to the question: what does my client want to do with this case tomorrow? We give practical advice on that within the legal context."
Experimenting
After the tender, Dirkzwager became the in-house lawyer for the municipality of Almere. In addition, the municipality selected four other firms through a tender process to hire for specific questions on area development, real estate and labor issues. "We have been working with the new set-up since the summer, with our legal department being supervised by the in-house lawyer," Angelie Vrenken says. "We have asked for external legal help on about ten files in those months. These included issues about the Floriade or the Oosterwold area, for example. As a relatively young municipality, we like to experiment with building, and in Oosterwold we allow people the freedom to carry out their own design. That is unique for the Netherlands, but it does raise the necessary legal questions."
Walk-in consultations
.The cooperation with Dirkzwager has been provisionally fixed for two years and is well liked in Almere. Louis Felten: "The distance from Almere to Arnhem or Nijmegen has never been an issue. Hanna Zeilmaker has a key function within the cooperation and is here at least one afternoon a month for a walk-in consultancy. We then also discuss ongoing legal matters. In between, our lawyers pass on questions to me so that I can discuss them with Hanna, who in turn passes them on to her colleagues. A very pleasant way of communicating where you can keep a good overview."
Account management
Hanna Zeilmaker indicates that Dirkzwager is placing increasing value on good account management, with one contact person knowing about all client files. "The way we entered into the relationship with the Municipality of Almere is new for us. We obviously work with secondment before, but we had not been literally present with the client as an account manager before. For the time being, we like the set-up with the walk-in consultancy hour. I at least have face-to-face contact with my regular contact persons. Municipal employees can also drop in for advice or just to get acquainted. That way the lines of communication are short, despite the physical distance. Any consultation or contact can take place digitally these days but you build, we think, a closer bond if you are also present at your client's office."
Starting meeting
After the tender, the municipality organized a kick-off meeting to meet in person. "We were there with our 'Almere team,' in which all our sections are represented," says Hanna Zeilmaker. "First we explained how we are shaping the cooperation. Then we divided ourselves into knowledge tables at which we exchanged substantive views with employees of the municipality on a variety of topics. It was very pleasant and useful to mark our new cooperation in this positive way." Angelie Vrenken: "We also notice after the first months of cooperation that the way of communicating with our new in-house lawyer is very positive: on people, direct and personal, so that you can really have a good conversation and get to the core quickly. Moreover, our contact persons respond quickly; we have already experienced once that we had a question on Monday morning and received a fully developed advice the very next morning."
Central appearance
.Thanks to the merger of most of the municipality's lawyers and the central management by the in-house lawyer, the municipality of Almere already has a better overview and a stronger central image to the outside world. Angelie Vrenken: "The municipal interest is more clearly put forward and that is above the departmental interest. In addition, our legal questions and risks are coming into clear focus. Thanks to the new structure, we can see where we should change our working methods, whether there are any gaps in our knowledge, and where we can hone our expertise even further. For example, by taking additional courses.
Also, Dirkzwager, as our in-house lawyer, has an important role to play here: the firm offers a number of courses every year. The advice we receive has a strong learning effect. That's how we can continue to grow."
