Wilfred Groustra: lawyer with broad practical experience in the areas of real estate law (Grotius specialism) and employment law (Grotius specialism)
Wilfred Groustra has been a lawyer for more than twenty-five years and is one of the founders of Wintertaling Advocaten.
His practice focuses on advising and assisting entrepreneurs and companies in procedures.
From the background of a general practice in which Wilfred has also acted as a bankruptcy trustee, he has made the choice to graft a broad practical experience onto specialization training. To this end he followed the Grotius specialist course in real estate and recently the Grotius employment law course (Grotius is considered the toughest specialist course in legal practice). Wilfred also followed the VBR-A/IBR Specialisation course in Private Construction Law. Wilfred therefore frequently acts in typical real estate matters such as construction, purchase/sale and whatnot.
In addition to his real estate practice, Wilfred traditionally advises employment agencies (one of whose clients he has been a loyal member for almost 25 years).
This advice relates to numerous employment law issues (the WWZ, WAB but also the Waadi with respect to employment conditions but also, for example, the demarcation of employment contract and assignment).
In this context, Wilfred also deals specifically with matters relating to collective bargaining law (avv and dispensation issues).
At the same time, he still approaches practice with a broad outlook and not limited to specialisms. Such a broad view fits in with his vision of the reality that a legal dispute is often caused by a complex of factors and the solution/best approach is often not based on a unilateral focus from one specialism. Rather, the crux is often in the analysis of the whole, distinguishing the main issues from the side issues. This approach has proven to be effective. This approach also means that Wilfred can act successfully in cases that do not directly fall within his two Grotius specialisms. For example, Wilfred handled a major damages case for a group of horticulturalists under the Disaster Act. But Wilfred has also repeatedly acted in disputes within partnerships/MSB (medical specialist company) in the medical sector.
He has also recently brought a complex case against a bank to a conclusion concerning (unjustified) special management and damages from interest rate derivatives (within the framework of the Uniform Recovery Framework for SME Interest Rate Derivatives, or by creatively making that recovery framework non-determinative).
Wilfred as an entrepreneur likes to advise companies, and especially because of the preventive element in it: to create clarity in mutual relationships so that expectations are clear on both sides.
And with which disputes can be most effectively prevented.
As a litigator, Wilfred relies heavily on strengths/weaknesses analysis in order to properly assess litigation opportunities and to decide where or with which strategy the goals can be achieved. Thinking ‘out of the box’ is one of Wilfred’s strongest points.
In addition to his law practice, Wilfred holds various committee positions, including member of the complaints committee of the Dutch Legal Aid Board.
- Graduated: Dutch law Erasmus University Rotterdam (with principal subjects at Leiden University)
- Sworn in as a lawyer: October 1989
- Established first own firm: 1998 (Amsterdam)
- Founding of Wintertaling advocaten: 1 January 2006
- Member of the association of real estate lawyers VVJJ
- Member employment lawyers association VAAN