Brigitte Spiegeler LL.M.
Founding partner of Heffels Spiegeler Attorneys-at-Law / artist graduated in fine art at the Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague
Brigitte is an attorney-at-law in The Netherlands and France. She gained extensive experience in legal services to companies, non-profit organizations and (foreign) governments. From 2002 to 2008 she worked with the Ministry of Economic Affairs as a senior policy advisor on Intellectual Property. In this work she was leading research projects on intellectual property and she did negotiations in a national, European and international context at organizations such as the European Council, the European Commission, the World Intellectual Property Organization and several diplomatic conferences. She was also responsible for legislation in the field of Intellectual Property. In 2008 she graduated successfully in fine arts at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague. With her art she has participated in many international exhibitions among which the Venice Biennial in 2017.
Brigitte is co-author of the Kluwer Lexplicatie volume ‘European and international trade mark law’ and ‘Enforcement of intellectual property rights for small and medium enterprises’, published by the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Brigitte is a member of the Dutch association for copyright and board member of the l’Association Henri Capitant. Additionally, she is a member of the Amicus Committee at the International Trademark Association and she is member of the Netherlands Board of Union-IP. She is a mediator at the Shanghai mediation center of the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC). In January 2020 she was appointed to the original Arbitration pool of CAfA, the Court for Arbitration of Art.
Brigitte is a member of the supervisory board of CultuurSchakel.
Brigitte’s eductional background includes:University of Amsterdam Dutch law and European Studies (1995); In 1992, she studied at the Université Pierre Mendès France Grenoble II, French law (1992); scholarship of the Deutsche Akademische Austausch Dienst (DAAD) to participate in Germany in an exchange at the University of Tübingen and at the High Court in Düsseldorf.
She speaks Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish.
Michiel Heffels LL.M.
attorney-at-law – partner
Michiel Heffels graduated in 1998 from the University of Amsterdam with the thesis ‘The Agreement between Galleries and Artists’ where the contract of assignment, agency, mediation agreement were central. After graduation he became an attorney-at-law specialising in intellectual property law at an internationally renowned law firm in Amsterdam until the end of 2002. Michiel worked for 12 years as a Senior Legal Counsel in the Corporate Legal & Regulatory department of telecommunications company Royal KPN where he was involved with matters concerning consumer law, administrative law, competition law, contract law, intellectual property rights, media law, ICT law, distribution and agency law. At KPN’s headquarters, he was responsible for the legal supervision of dozens of lawsuits in the area of among others misleading advertising, copyright and trademark related cases. He continued advising KPN as a Senior Legal Counsel when KPN launched its television-services in 2004 and continued to advise in this specific area of copyright- and medialaw until 2009. Until the end of 2014 he was responsible for advising the External Distribution departments of KPN Retail Corporate and KPN Retail Consumer and KPN Wholesale Mobile (E-Plus The Netherlands) on new agreements and developments in the field of resale, distribution and agency law.
Michiel Heffels is also active in the field of art and culture. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Droog Design and is still active as a board member of the Foundation for Modern Music Nijmegen and Gallery Marzee.
Michiel Heffels speaks Dutch, English and German.
e-mail Michiel Heffels
Ernst van Knobelsdorff LL.M.
attorney-at-law
Ernst van Knobelsdorff graduated in 2012 from the Leiden University with the thesis ‘The Parody in Trademark Law’, in which the Dutch trademark law has been compared with the Dutch copyright law and the German trademark law. During his study, Ernst did an internship at a law firm specialised in Intellectual Property Law. He has also completed the minor Business Administration.
After his graduation, Ernst started his career at a trademark office. Thereafter, he worked as a Legal Counsel at Dümmen Orange, an international leading breeding company in the floriculture industry. Ernst was responsible for all activities in the field of trademark law, plant breeders’ rights and patents. He was also involved with matters concerning commercial contracting. Furthermore, he successfully completed the Professional Education of Company Lawyers.
Ernst speaks Dutch, English and German.
Manuel Chapalain LL.M.
attorney-at-law at the Paris bar
Manuel is an attorney-at-law at the Paris Bar. After graduating in Law and Geography, Manuel studied European Union Law during his first year of his Master’s degree at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and then specialised in Literary, Artistic, and Industrial Property Law at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas during his second year of his Masters. As part of his training as an attorney-at-law, Manuel completed several internships in the intellectual property departments of major international law firms as well as a year in a business school (ESSEC). Manuel also worked as an in-house counsel for international contracts for a French multinational company.
Manuel speaks French and English.
Virginia Bagirian LL.M.
lawyer
Virginia Bagirian graduated from the University of Leipzig in 2018 with a degree in law, specialising in bank and capital market law. She is currently a legal trainee at the Higher Regional Court of Dresden in Germany and is completing her final internship with us. Before Virginia joined Heffels Spiegeler, she gained her first experience in the area of intellectual property law, especially intellectual property and IT law, at a medium-sized law firm in Dresden.
Virginia spreaks German, English and Russian.
contact
HEFFELS SPIEGELER Attorneys-at-Law
Tournooiveld 4
2511 CX The Hague
The Netherlands
T +31 70 2170200
send us an email
www.spiegeler.com
Office The Hague:
Tournooiveld 4, 2511 CX Den Haag
T +31 (0)70 2170200
Office Paris:
137 Rue de l’Université, 75007 Paris
T +33 (0)68 3675 427
Office Amsterdam:
Adm. De Ruyterweg 345 hs
1055 MA Amsterdam
T +31 (0)20 2170005