On 16 June 2025, Anne-Marie Tijs started as Senior Legal Counsel at the NAI. So it’s about time to introduce her.
How have you enjoyed your first few weeks at the NAI?
I received a warm welcome from the NAI team and spent my first few weeks taking the arbitrator training course and the hearing skills course. So I’ve had a good start and am slowly getting to know my way around the NAI platform and the cases currently pending.
Can you tell us a little more about your professional background?
In 2003, I started my career as an employment lawyer in Amsterdam at a small firm. After my internship, I started working at a firm in Beverwijk in a more general civil (litigation) practice for SME clients. In 2009, I switched to the judiciary. I worked as a court clerk at the District Court of The Hague for a few years, first in commercial law, then briefly in criminal law, then in the subdistrict court, and finally back in commercial law. During my time at the court, I wrote many decisions, and that experience is beneficial for my new role at the NAI. In 2017, I became a registrar at the Disciplinary Council in The Hague. From that moment on, I was involved in disciplinary law for lawyers. I spent about half of my time preparing disciplinary cases and writing decisions. The other half of my time was spent managing a small registry which, like the NAI, was involved in the administration of proceedings. Although disciplinary cases are entirely different from arbitration cases, there are many similarities between what I did before and what I will be doing at the NAI.
What does Anne-Marie Tijs do in her spare time?
In my spare time, I enjoy walking. Recently, when I was between jobs, I did this on my own on Mount Olympus in Greece, walking from mountain hut to mountain hut. This summer, I plan to do this with my family (my husband and two teenage sons) in Switzerland.
Anne-Marie is a member of the NAI Case Management Committee and heads the NAI Secretariat. For more information about the NAI organisation, click here.
