The interviews, Saul Margo versus Twan Kersten

MAGNA

CHARTA The 11 Questions edition

ISSUU 49 APRIL 2017

Saul Margo Barrister at Outer Temple Chambers

v e r s u s

Twan Kersten Lawyer at Van As Advocaten

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SMaarul go

Lawyer Barrister

meets

Twan Kersten

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Content

page 12 Who’s Saul Margo

page 16 Who’s Twan Kersten

page 21

11 QuestionS from Twan to Saul page

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Saul Margo Saul Margo specialises in pensions, employment and commercial work. He has been instructed in some of the highest profile pensions cases over the last couple of years including IBM v Dalgleish and the Lehman Brothers and GPG regulator y actions. He is recommended in Chambers & Par tners and Legal 500.

advocacy, and fearless.� As a result of his position on the Treasur y B-Panel he has represented a wide variety of government depar tments across the whole spectrum of employment, pensions, commercial and public law matters and regularly advises the Pensions Regulator on matters with a pensions / employment cross-over.

Recent employment work includes representing a large cohor t of claimants in Miller v Ministr y of Justice (concerning the entitlement of fee-paid judges to a pension and other elements of pay) as well as being instructed in numerous claims that are connected to this litigation, many of which have now reached either the EAT or the Cour t of Appeal. He is regularly instructed in complex and lengthy discrimination cases. He is described in Chambers & Par tners as “Brilliant in his oral

Recent commercial work includes acting (led by Nicolas Stallworthy QC) in a complex professional negligence claim, both advising and acting in cases involving the mis-selling of swaps and a claim brought in the High Court on behalf of 32 claimants alleging a contractual entitlement to a higher level pension contributions from their employer.

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Saul has a first class degree from Cambridge in Philosophy.v

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We provide bespoke legal services for solicitors, in-house counsel, professional clients and private individuals. Our success is built on sound legal advice and effective problem solving, focused wholly on the individual needs of our clients. Our success has been recognised in the legal trade directories.

Fostered by an open and diverse culture that makes us easy to work with, we have barristers spanning all levels of expertise. Many are highly respected leaders in their respective fields.

Three important qualities combine to make our Chambers greater than the sum of its individual parts: Service Quality We put you, our client, at the centre of everything we do. We never forget that it’s your case, or your client’s case. We take care to understand your precise needs and work with you to make the experience of taking legal action as painless and stress-free as possible.

Open Ethos We are a modern progressive chambers with a supportive, collegiate ethos. We aim to be open, friendly, and approachable and to treat everyone with tolerance and respect.

Forward Thinking Focusing on the future rather than relying on past reputation helps us to do the best for our clients. We constantly seek to build on our expertise, innovate, and embrace change in the legal world.

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Twan Kersten

Twan Kersten is een veelzijdig jurist. Naast zijn advocatenpraktijk, is hij mediator en treedt hij regelmatig op als docent voor diverse opleidingsinstellingen.

Na het voltooien van zijn studie in 1997, is hij enkele jaren werkzaam geweest als (gedetacheerd) jurist in de verzekeringsbranche. Vanuit die periode kent hij het klappen van de zweep binnen deze branche. In 2000 is hij advocaat geworden en heeft zich met name toegelegd op het arbeidsrecht en contractenrecht. Hij staat zowel de werkgever als werknemer graag bij. Vanaf 2004 doceer t

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hij privaatrecht, arbeidsrecht en mediation aan diverse opleidingsinstellingen.

Daarnaast heeft hij in de voorbije jaren een aantal boeken geschreven en enkele publicaties op zijn naam staan in het blad Overeenkomstenrecht voor de Rechtspraktijk.

Twan heeft een grote voorliefde voor het cabaret en is daarom betrokken bij de Cabaretfirma van Frank Verhallen: een toonaangevend instituut op het terrein van het Nederlandse cabaret. U kunt hem daarom menigmaal betrappen op grappen.

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Van As Advocaten is een onafhankelijk fullservice advocatenkantoor.

Sinds de start in 1976, is het door mr. Pieter van As opgerichte eenmanskantoor uitgegroeid tot een gerenommeerd middelgroot advocatenkantoor. Van As Advocaten is vanuit haar vestigingen in Nieuwegein, Den Bosch, Uden en Vianen actief in heel Nederland en door haar aansluiting bij het internationale MSI-netwerk zelfs ver daarbuiten.

Op dit moment werken er bij Van As Advocaten zo’n 20 advocaten, actief op diverse rechtsgebieden voor zowel bedrijven, particulieren als instellingen. Wij onderscheiden ons door onze bereikbaarheid en kwalitatief zeer goede, maar toch betaalbare advocatuur.

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QuestionS Twan Kersten asks Saul Margo 11 questions about being a Barrister.

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01

What did you want to do as a profession when you were a child?

A tennis player – and to win Wimbledon.

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Why you choose to become a barrister and not a sollicitor?

I wanted to be an advocate and to represent clients in court.

Can you explain us the most significant differences between a barrister and a sollicitor?

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If you have a bad cold you go to your doctor – if it is more serious he may recommend a specialist. Similarly we are the specialist advocates in law in our chosen subjects.

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You are a barrister with the Outer Temple Chambers in London.

In the Netherlands our judicial system does not distinguish between lawyers and barristers. I am a lawyer and barrister ‘in one’.

How does one become a barrister and later on, ‘silk’?

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Lawyer is a generic term for barrister/ solicitor. See the distinction above. Training for the Bar (as a barrister) is a different course from solicitor. We concentrate more on advocacy skills. When sufficiently senior (15 yrs call) and experienced you may apply to become a QC (you need 12 cases of importance and legal complexity together with 6 judicial references and 6 other legal references). You apply to become a Queen’s Counsel (will become King’s Counsel when Charles succeeds the throne) and then you have to go through a detailed assessment course and attend an interview.

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Your team has a longstanding and distinguished reputation in the field of health and safety. Do you remember your first case in that area and what was it about?

I represented a hairdresser who has been unfairly dismissed by the salon where she had worked for a number of years – one day she did something that annoyed her boss and for no apparent reason he told her to leave and not to come back. We won the case.

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What are the main qualities of a brilliant lawyer/barrister?

Hard work and the need to be articulate but above all judgement and an ability to connect with judges and juries plus the ability to keep an open mind about a case – and being tenacious.

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Is there a case with a special importance for you. For example because you were the barrister of a specific precedent was created?

I have been representing part-time judges who claim they are entitled to a pension. I recently represented a particular group of judges who adjudicate on how much (if any) compensation individuals should receive when they have been injured as a result of a criminal act. We established that all these part-time judges should receive a pension - which will of course transform their retirements.

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Is there a specific subject (an article or case law) in labour law / Health and safety which you would like to be changed?

My main concern is that, following Brexit, the UK keeps the employment law that we have adopted as a result of EU Directives and which protect workers rights.

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Are there important consequences regarding labour law / health law attached to the Brexit out of Europe?

Yes, many workers rights are dervied from EU law - including laws relating to working time and protection when the business you work for is sold or the servies taken over by another provider.

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Have you had any experiences with duth law or dutch attorneys at law?

If so, what was remarkable in those situations?What is the importance of MAGNA CARTA to you?

I have had no contact with Dutch law.

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If you could change one article regarding procedural law which article would you change and why?

I think Claimant’s should have more than 3 months after dimissal to bring a claim in the employment tribunal.

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Magna Charta magazine is een uitgave van: Academie voor de Rechtspraktijk Jaargang 3 Citeerwijze: MagnaCM, 2017-49 Redactie: Etienne van Bladel Sharon Olivier van Genderen Ontwerp en realisatie: Mark Pollema Manon van Roosmalen Melanie Hament Eline van Roosmalen Behoudens door de auteurswet gestelde uitzonderingen mag niets uit deze uitgave verveelvoudigd of openbaar gemaakt zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever.

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Contactgegevens: Academie voor de Rechtspraktijk Interne cursuslocatie Kasteel Waardenburg G.E.H. Tutein Noltheniuslaan 7 (navigatie: nr 1), 4181 AS WAARDENBURG T: 030-220 10 70 Traditionele cursussen T: 030-303 10 70 Webinar cursussen F: 030-220 53 27 E-mail: info@avdr.nl Advertenties: Etienne van Bladel ISBN: 9789462286375

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