A renowned expert on distribution, franchise and agency agreements, Tessa de Mönnink has over twenty-five years’ experience in commercial contract law. She advises numerous well-known companies, many from the retail, fashion, FMCG, food and drink, beauty and healthcare sectors, and from fields as diverse as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and industrial manufacturing, on setting up and unwinding international and domestic distribution networks. She also regularly advises, and litigates, on licensing, collaboration and related commercial contracts.
Clients value Tessa for her deep, sector-specific knowledge, her hands-on style and her approachable manner. “Every business and distribution network is different, in its objectives, its strategy, its dynamics, and that’s what makes this work so engaging,” she says. “My job is to understand a business inside out, so I can spot the pain points before they become real problems and turn them into solutions that actually work in practice.” That combination of curiosity and pragmatism is what clients keep coming back for: a lawyer who thinks like a business partner, not just a legal advisor.
These skills were on full display when Tessa helped a large retailer branch out internationally, building a franchise chain that stretched from the Middle East to South America. Her strategic advice and hands-on coordination were key to making the project a success. She is just as often the go-to lawyer for companies assessing their (international) distribution strategy and for clients who simply need a dispute resolved quickly and painlessly.
Before joining Leeway, Tessa spent more than a decade running her own firm, Parker Advocaten, having previously built over eleven years of experience at global law firm Allen & Overy. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Amsterdam, studied at New York University School of Law in 1998, and later completed a postgraduate programme at the Grotius Academy, Nijmegen University.
Beyond her practice, Tessa is a board member and chair of the legal committee of the Dutch Franchise Association (NFV), and chair and co-founder of the Association for Distribution, Franchise and Agency Law (Vereniging DFA). She also serves as the Expert in Franchise Law for the Netherlands at the International Distribution Institute (IDI) and is an active member of the Distribution Law Network (DLN).
A regular contributor to legal journals, Tessa has authored numerous articles on distribution, franchise and agency law and is regularly invited to give trainings and speak at seminars.
