Brackmann expands its portfolio with shipbuilding expertise through the arrival of Evert Jan Heijnen
As of 1 July 2026, Brackmann welcomes Evert Jan Heijnen LLM. Over more than twenty years, Heijnen has built a practice in shipbuilding and other highly complex technological sectors. He also brings extensive experience in restructuring and insolvency matters within the construction and technical sectors. With his arrival, Brackmann strengthens its position in shipbuilding and manufacturing, working from the fields of procurement, construction, and environmental and planning law.
Defence investments call for legal expertise
Evert Jan Heijnen has been a lawyer since 1995 and was a partner at DVDW Advocaten in Rotterdam for more than twenty years. He litigates on behalf of companies in the shipbuilding sector on contractual disputes and liability. That expertise is gaining importance now that defence investments are leading to large-scale contracts in the Dutch and European shipbuilding and manufacturing industries. This is where Brackmann's procurement and construction law expertise and his shipbuilding experience come together.
Gert Weerheim, partner in construction law, on the arrival of Heijnen:
"In shipbuilding, we see the same issues we know well from construction law: design responsibility, new contract forms, and discussions about risk allocation. Evert Jan knows the shipbuilding sector from the inside. By connecting his practice to our construction and procurement practice, Brackmann has all the expertise these projects require in house."
Evert Jan Heijnen on joining Brackmann:
"Shipbuilding has become more important to Dutch industry, and this sector faces issues that construction law already has plenty of experience with. Procurement is also becoming a matter of considerable importance. At Brackmann, this knowledge is present at a high level, in a firm that is developing strongly. That is exactly the combination I was looking for."
With the arrival of Evert Jan Heijnen, Brackmann strengthens its position in shipbuilding and manufacturing. In doing so, the firm is responding to the issues that will define these sectors in the years to come.