Bert van Schaick

'As a professor, I'm mostly focused on education and research in the area of civil procedure. This field of law governs the proceedings before a Dutch court: the goal is to ensure the fair treatment and settling of legal disputes. Civil procedure is very much focused on the legal practice. That's why my work at the university fits perfectly with my other job as a (cassation) attorney and counsellor at the court of Amsterdam. But as a lawyer or a judge, I work on one case that by its very nature always concerns a dispute that arose in the past. When I give lectures at the university, work on an article or book, or discuss our profession with colleagues, it mostly involves new and broader developments in civil law. I find the different perspectives of my work both instructive and inspiring.'