Hi, I'm Sven.

I'm a lawyer, but I do my best work outside the lines of what lawyers usually do.

I started out in big law on the Zuidas, but I kept wanting to be closer to the business. I didn't want legal questions filtered down to me at the end of a long chain. I wanted to sit with the people actually running the company, get to the problem behind the problem, and help the board think about what comes next.

So in 2022 I started Donkerblauw. At its core it's strategic legal advice for businesses, rooted in IP and IT, reaching into commercial agreements and the legal operations of in-house teams that want an outside brain in the room. I also work alongside two law firms on their clients' commercial questions.

More and more of my time goes to AI. It's the biggest shift the profession has faced in my career, and cutting through the hype is harder than it looks. I help firms and in-house teams get from "we should probably do something about AI" to an actual plan, through keynotes, firm-wide assessments, and workshops that treat AI as a serious tool, not a party trick.

More on how I work: Legal Advisory and AI Advisory.