Jan Hofkens graduated with a licentiate in law in 1992 from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL). In 1993, he received a further bachelor’s in tax sciences at the Brussels Tax College (EHSAL).
From 1993 to 2002 he was an attorney with Stibbe in Brussels, where, from 2001, he was one of the partners heading up the employment law department.
On 1 January 2003 he joined Lydian, were he represents both companies and executives in employment counseling and transactions. He has +17 years experience in the full range of employment law, with a special focus on company restructurings (mass lay-offs including collective bargaining), negotiation of severance packages for senior executives and drafting of HR policies.
Key experience includes acting for both employers and senior executives in negotiating severance arrangements, including tax structuring of termination indemnities. He has, moreover, a large employment tribunal caseload.
He is often involved in cases of employee fraud, privacy issues related to internal investigations, whistle blowing and dismissal for cause. For this reason, he is also a Registered Forensic Auditor at the Belgian Institute for Forensic Auditors (IFA), and he lectures at the Master course in Forensic Auditing at the University Management School of Antwerp (UAMS). His expertise has also merited him an entry in Chambers, Legal 500, PLC Which Lawyer? and Europea Legal Experts.
Jan was managing partner of Lydian from 1 january 2010 until 31 December 2012.