In this article, Bram, along with his supervisor Cristian Plomp, look back on his swearing in. They also look ahead to the start of law school in September.
The swearing-in
In his gown and white jib, Bram Officier reported to court. In front of the judge, prosecutor and Hague Bar Association, he took his pledge. Since then, Bram has officially been a lawyer.
Bram specializes within Wille Donker in corporate and insolvency law. Since December 2023, he has strengthened our team under the guidance of Cristian Plomp.
Along with four other colleagues, Cristian attended the swearing-in ceremony. “It is an important moment not only for the lawyer, but also for the firm,” he explains. “You are expanding your organization with a colleague who holds a protected title. That is special and also a nice moment to dwell on. We do this not only by attending the swearing-in as an office, but also by raising a glass as colleagues immediately after the swearing-in. We traditionally do so a stone’s throw from the courthouse.”
Cristian remembers his own swearing-in as a special moment. He explains, “I was sworn in together with an acquaintance. The president of the court, who supervised the moment, was one of the founders of our firm. That made it special for him, too.”
Specifically, the day-to-day activities have not changed much, according to Bram. “The biggest difference is that I can now perform them from the title of ‘lawyer,'” he says. For Bram, the swearing-in moment felt like the starting shot for lawyer training. From now on, it really starts.
Training
In September, Bram will start a new chapter. During his three-year internship at Wille Donker, he is taking the Professional Law School. This will take two years to complete. Upon completion of that, he may call himself an unconditional lawyer and the title ‘trainee’ can forever be dispensed with. Bram: “Apart from a few teaching days, a lot of morning and evening hours will be spent on this. Spicy, but I am also looking forward to developing further as a professional.”
Cristian looks back on his training time, “When I took the course, all the material from the university was repeated in a nutshell. This was supplemented with other relevant topics within the legal profession. For example, how you relate to your clients and other lawyers. Shortly after I completed professional training, the format changed. Nowadays the focus is more on skills, entrepreneurship and ethics.”
Bram adds: “Negotiating, presenting, advocating…. That’s really where the focus is now. You are expected to know the content from your time in the lecture halls. I’m a big believer in that.”
In the meantime, Bram has already learned a lot on the job. “Writing and analysis is a profession in its own right. You learn the art of turning legal analysis into clear and concise advice to clients,” he says. “And there is still a lot to learn. That’s why I’m looking forward to starting the course.”
Good luck, Bram!
