Shanna Derksen

Shanna Derksen has been a practicing attorney since 2010 and joined the team at Wijn & Stael in 2016. She became a partner in 2021. She focuses her practice on environmental, administrative and environmental law. She represents clients in zoning and enforcement proceedings and counsels and guides them in obtaining environmental permits. She is also an expert on the Environment and Planning Act, about which she regularly writes articles and gives seminars.

Pragmatic and Result-Driven
Shanna is a pragmatic attorney who relishes sinking her teeth into complex cases. She does not take anything at face value and keeps asking questions until she knows exactly what is going on. As a result, she’s able to give to-the-point advice and sway the judge to her point of view. “My goal is to offer clients solutions that will help them move forward. Hence, the high standards I set for my work and my relentless pursuit of new strategies to achieve even greater results.”

Strong in Public and Private Law
In addition to her practice area in administrative law, Shanna also has years of experience in private law, which allows her to advise across the full breadth of a case. She was also politically active and has extensive litigation experience.

Professional Activities & Memberships

• Member, Association for Administrative Law
• Member, Association of Construction Lawyers (VBR-A)
• Member, Nieuwe Amersfoortse Vastgoed Sociëteit (NAVS)
• Lecturer for professional education (Bar Association)
• Lecturer at the Institute for Construction Law (IBR)

Academic Background

• Law Firm School (2012)
• Dutch Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, 2009, Utrecht University

Representative Practice

• Counseled a food manufacturer on the relocation of part of its production site, including the relocation of cables and pipelines. This involved various legal issues, such as advising on environmental legislation and obtaining a zoning change and environmental permits.
• Counseled an institutional investor during the process of obtaining a zoning change as part of the redevelopment of an office tower into a residential tower in The Hague.
• Counseled various developers in zoning procedures. Representing a developer in a proceeding to obtain the necessary approvals for developing a new residential area, maintaining close contact with the municipality and neighboring companies (who fear for their business operations). Drafting agreements with various stakeholders.
• Represented and counseled a company in the groundwork, road and hydraulic engineering sector in matters involving contractual and lease disputes over the storage and delivery of soil (thermally-cleaned soiled). Involved in enforcement issues and counseled on compliance issues with regard to violations of environmental regulations (Soil Protection Act) and compliance with the duty of care.

Bar register of legal practice areas
Shanna has registered the following principal (and secondary) legal practice areas in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas (rechtsgebiedenregister):

• Environmental and planning law (Environmental law, Planning and zoning law)

Based on this registration, she is required to obtain ten training credits per calendar year in each registered principal legal practice area in accordance with the standards set by the Netherlands Bar.