Innovative legal experts
PS Legal provides the legal expertise for renewable energy projects. Not the kind of company you would expect in Mercator Science Park? It belongs there.
“The renewable energy sector is incredibly innovative" says legal expert Kasper Paardekooper. “It’s also a very young sector, filled with new challenges. These need to be addressed by providing innovative legal solutions.”
One year ago, Marnix Scholten and Paardekooper set up PS Legal, which has its office in the wonderfully-equipped Mercator building. The legal experts learned the tricks of the trade when they were employed by a large law firm and they are now their own bosses.
Most of their clients are located in the north and west of the Netherlands. They both, however, deliberately choose Mercator Science Park. They have their roots and their families here.
“This location is perfect,” Paardekooper says. “A lot of synergy is taking place here. For instance, we are in close contact with a department of the university that develops solar thermal technology. Maybe they can use our legal expertise.”
It is not just the work that keeps them here. They feel at home on the campus of the Radboud University Nijmegen, where they studied law. The university still ‘feeds’ them, even now that they have their own business. This is the place where they can find trainees and use the Faculty of Law’s vast library. The knowledge-rich environment is a plus for their image. There are other practical advantages such as excellent accessibility and tremendous parking facilities.
PS Legal has no intention of growing too big although they recently recruited their first staff member. “We are ambitious but we want to maintain a level where we ourselves are still involved with the actual legal process," says Scholten.
“We will stay in Mercator for as long as we can. Nijmegen is a wonderful place for recruiting highly-educated personnel. The new generation not only wants to work hard but also wants to live in an environment where people matter and where the general attitude is less cut-throat than in the west of the Netherlands.
