Our team
Our team consists of specialised criminal lawyers, legal support assistants and one Of Counsel. Visit the individual profiles for more information.
Our team consists of specialised criminal lawyers, legal support assistants and one Of Counsel. Visit the individual profiles for more information.
Philine America (1982) studied Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam. She completed her master’s degrees in criminal law and civil law in July 2008. After internships with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and two well-known criminal law firms, she specialised in criminal law.
Philine was involved in the fouding of the firm and is the owner of the firm. She specializes in complex fraud cases and also provides legal assistance in other criminal cases.
Philine America has registered the following areas of law in the register of legal areas of the Dutch Bar Association: criminal law, financial economic criminal law, fiscal criminal law, international criminal law, environmental criminal law, military criminal law and extradition of cases. This registration obliges her to obtain ten training points per year in accordance with the standards of the Dutch Bar Association in each registered main area of law.
Philine is a member of several associations specialized in criminal law. She is involved in the organization of seminars and has published articles on money laundering and tax issues (e.g.on the obligation to provide information to the tax authorities).
Mr. Ivo Rigter
Ivo Rigter (1975) studied Dutch law at Maastricht University and the University of Amsterdam. He has been a member of the Amsterdam Bar and has exclusively focused on defense in criminal cases since 2003.
Mr. Rigter's legal assistance stands out for its comprehensive approach. Often, a suspect in a criminal case simultaneously faces other types of legal challenges, such as an impending extradition, a request for a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG), or a looming closure of a business or residence. Mr. Rigter flawlessly understands the implications of various procedures and goes to great lengths to ensure a favorable outcome.
In short, engaging Mr. Rigter ensures maximum expertise, decisiveness and perseverance.
Mr. Rigter has registered the following areas of law in the register of legal areas of the Dutch Bar Association: general criminal law, financial economic criminal law, international criminal law and extradition and surrender cases. This registration obliges him to obtain ten training points per calendar year in accordance with the standards of the Dutch Bar Association in each registered main area of law.
Sam Schotman (1997) studied Dutch law at the University of Groningen and completed her master's degree in criminal law in 2023. Since then she has worked at Van Bavel Advocaten in the position of paralegal.
During her studies, she gained experience in the criminal law working field through various internships. She also volunteered for prisoners through Stichting Juridisch Spreekuur Gedetineerden Groningen, and for refugees through the Grotius Program. She also worked as a student assistant and lecturer at the University of Groningen.
Tim Karbet (2002) studied Law at the University of Amsterdam and obtained his master's degree in criminal law in 2025. He wrote his master's thesis on the phenomenon of procedural agreements. During his studies, Tim worked as an editor for the magazine Alibi.
At van Bavel Advocaten, he focuses on his passion, criminal law. Tim provides assistance in criminal cases of a financial-economic nature and in common criminal cases. His work is characterized by his no-nonsense approach and a listening ear for his clients. He believes in the importance of nuance, and the value of a good defense. He is therefore fully dedicated to his clients.
Rien van Dieren is considered to be a distinguished tax expert, having had over 20 years of experience at Arthur Andersen. He and Van Bavel Advocaten have worked together on many cases. For example, he works on files that relate to the problems surrounding the failure to declare foreign bank accounts and legal constructions that are suspected of being used to conceal assets from the tax authorities (separated private assets, including trusts, etc.).
Van Bavel Advocaten regularly retains his services as a tax expert in an arrangement that not only provides clients with the benefits of his expertise, but also maintains client confidentiality and the application of lawyer-client privilege. His articles are regularly published in professional tax journals.
Rien van Dieren regularly acts as a tax expert in files on behalf of Van Bavel Advocaten. This way, the tax expertise required to handle these types of cases is guaranteed, as well as strict confidentiality towards the authorities because is his work is covered by the the attorney client privilege of the attorney handling the case.
Rien van Dieren is associated with Van Bavel Advocaten as Of Counsel.
Eva van Velzen studied accountancy at the Nyenrode Business University and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, she obtained her Master of Science, Culture and Organization & Management at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam and also graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam in 2023 in Visual Arts & Design. Her broad background is very useful. Eva focuses mainly on the financial side of the office.