Jim is likable, independent, and often described as aggressive in his pursuit of his client’s case. Jim’s likeability is evident in his storytelling. Because Jim loves his work, he loves to talk to his clients. Jim doesn’t hesitate to take very contentious and stressful cases to trial and tenaciously pursuing a successful end goal. Jim’s independence stems from his family background. Jim’s family immigrated from the Netherlands prior to Jim’s birth, and his father would always say “de aanhouder wint.” Loosely translated this means “the one who perseveres wins.”
Through his years of practicing family law, Jim learned the truth behind this saying. Persistence in preparation and in proceedings has paid off for Jim and his clients.
With a law degree from Valparaiso University, where Jim was selected to be a teaching assistant and writing assistant due to Jim’s excellent writing skills, Jim started his own practice after law school. Jim’s motto from the start was to give each client individualized attention believing that thorough preparation would pay off in better results and happier clients.
Jim has argued many cases before the Court of Appeals and is proud to say that he has a very high success rate regarding his appellate rulings.
On a personal level, Jim is married to Corinne who works at the firm as the practice manager. He has four children and one grandchild. Jim loves to travel exploring America (which he did in a motorhome, affectionately called “the big rolling turd”) and Europe, which nearly always includes a layover in the Netherlands.
