If you’re working at Jaarbeurs and have a contract or a legal issue, you’ll soon find yourself turning to Selma Stoops. As an in-house lawyer, or legal counsel, she keeps an eye on everything that could have a legal impact on the organisation. From non-disclosure agreements and contract amendments to takeovers and complex partnerships. She does this alongside two colleagues. A small team, but with a wide remit.
“As clichéd as it sounds: no two days are the same here,” Selma begins. But she finds it more enjoyable than difficult. Because it is precisely that unpredictable schedule that makes it challenging for her. “You start the day with a specific plan, but things often turn out differently. Suddenly, something else comes up that takes priority. That dynamic suits me.”
Varied work
In her role, Selma serves the entire organisation. She tackles issues for the management, sales, procurement, IT & digital and finance teams. That’s what makes her work enjoyable: “We deal with an incredibly wide variety of cases, both nationally and internationally. In fact, our work is very broad. Whilst in-house lawyers in larger organisations often specialise in a few areas of law, I work as a generalist.” Contract law, property and tenancy law, intellectual property law, privacy, company law: we cover it all. “We’re genuinely involved in a wide variety of cases. It’s precisely that switching between all sorts of topics that makes it interesting.”
Not just saying what isn’t allowed
What Selma finds important in her role is the way in which she applies her legal knowledge and, indeed, shares it. “I don’t want to be stuck in some sort of ivory tower,” she says. “If something isn’t legally feasible, I don’t just want to say: no, that’s not allowed. I want to help find a solution: how can it be done?” It’s an approach that she believes suits ‘ Jaarbeurs ’ well too. “‘Jaarbeurs ’ is all about connecting people. That’s what I try to do in my work too: connecting the legal and business sides.”
From an email to an acquisition
Sometimes it’s about relatively minor queries. A contract that needs a quick review. A non-disclosure agreement from a party with whom Jaarbeurs is in talks. Or someone who wants to know whether a change to a contract is possible. But it can also become much bigger, she explains. For example, she was involved in the recent takeovers of EmigratieBeurs, IPON and Foodbytes by Jaarbeurs. Selma: “Those are really quite different processes from day-to-day work. You’re part of a team comprising finance, sales and project management, and you work together towards closing a deal. You’re not just reviewing documents, but building something together. It’s all about the project dynamics – it’s great fun!”
Seeing what it’s all for
Before she joined Jaarbeurs , Selma worked as an in-house lawyer in the IT sector. She gained a lot of experience there, but after a while she began to wonder whether she wanted to stay. “I realised: do I really want to spend the rest of my career working in that sector? And the answer was no.”
The move to Jaarbeurs proved to be a good choice for her. “In the events sector, you can literally see what you’re doing it for. You see the trade fairs, the events, the people coming together. In IT, it was much more abstract. Here, you can feel what your work contributes to.” And that’s exactly how she experiences it. When one of Jaarbeurs ’s own trade fairs or events is taking place, for example, she sometimes pops in herself. “Then you suddenly realise: oh yes, I’ve contributed to this. Perhaps to a contract, a dispute or a legal issue behind the scenes, but ultimately you see the result right here. That’s what makes it real.”
The feeling of adding value
Selma sees herself working at Jaarbeurs for a long time to come. She feels right at home there. Her ambitions lie not so much in a job title, but in the way she can expand her role. “I want to support Jaarbeurs even better,” she says. “To continue developing my professional expertise, but also to constantly ask myself: how can I add even more value?” For her, this applies to both the big picture and the finer details. In an acquisition process that’s going well, but also in helping a colleague to structure a plan in a more legally sound way. In providing guidance without losing momentum. In contributing ideas and working together behind the scenes to foster valuable connections.
