FRANSSEN ADVOCATEN - Key Persons
Frontiers of Equality in the Development of EU and US Citizenship
Jeremy Bierbach (1975) is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Georgetown University in Washington, DC in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in linguistics, Jeremy worked as an IT specialist for several years. In 2001, Jeremy emigrated to the Netherlands, and in 2003, he changed his career direction and began studying law at the University of Amsterdam, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Dutch law in 2006 and a master's degree in constitutional and administrative law in 2007. Jeremy subsequently worked as a legal advisor through Avocado Legal, where he focused on immigration and European migration law. In January 2014, Jeremy joined Franssen Advocaten and was sworn into the Dutch bar as an attorney, and in September 2015 he successfully defended his PhD thesis in European constitutional law at the University of Amsterdam. A commercial edition of his thesis, Frontiers of Equality in the Development of US and EU citizenship, was published in 2017 by Asser Press. He is a member of the Workgroup for Legal Aid to Immigrants (WRV) and the Specialist Association of Migration Law Attorneys (SVMA). He also serves as a board member of Stichting TransMotion, the non-profit foundation behind the volunteer-run TransScreen Amsterdam Transgender Film Festival.
His specialty and focus of interest is in invoking norms of international law - EU law in particular - as a source of protection for members of minority groups who are unrepresented or underrepresented in the democratic process: in particular EU citizens, their non-EU citizen family members, and other non-EU citizen immigrants to the Netherlands (including British citizens as former EU citizens). He represented two non-EU citizens, P. and S., in challenging the Dutch state on its laws providing for a fine to be imposed on immigrants who do not pass the civic integration exam (inburgeringsexamen) by a set deadline. The underlying questions of EU law were ultimately referred to and decided on by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2015, establishing important limits on the extent to which immigrants can be penalized without a complete examination of their personal circumstances and needs.
Martha Ande studied Dutch law (obtaining bachelor's and master's degrees) at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, where she graduated with a master's thesis (grade: 8.0) in the field of private international law. She also studied migration law.
Martha also studied international law at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa in 2016. In 2019, she traveled to Eritrea for several months to research Eritrean marriage and divorce law and its application in Dutch private international law.
Martha joined Franssen Advocaten in July 2021. She advises clients on both Dutch and European migration law. In addition, Martha is specialized in (international) family matters.
Martha speaks fluent Dutch, English and Tigrinya.
Peggy Franssen was sworn in as an attorney by the district court of Amsterdam in 1999, and began working as an immigration law attorney at a medium-sized law firm in Amsterdam. Later she became specialized in (international) family law. In December 2013, she founded her own law firm: Franssen Advocaten.
In addition to her work as an attorney, she is also a mediator and a member of the vFAS (Association of Family Lawyers and Divorce Mediators). In order to better serve her international clients, she has completed a postgraduate specialization course in international family law. She assists international clients with family law matters, and continues to support clients in the field of immigration law.
In her practice, it often happens that expats are faced with the possible loss of their residence permit due to their divorce. She is able to provide legal assistance in both these areas. She always tries to find solutions in consultation, but sometimes going to court is unavoidable. Thanks to her years of experience, she can make an accurate assessment of each case. She is fair and will not incur unnecessary costs.
Peggy assists expats living in the Netherlands as well as Dutch people living abroad in dealing with legal problems relating to family law and immigration law. With over 20 years of experience as an attorney, she has extensive practical knowledge and a broad network to which she can refer.
She can assist her clients remotely if they are not currently residing in the Netherlands, using conferencing apps such as Skype or Zoom.