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Caroline Mehlem

Caroline Mehlem

Senior Associate | Attorney at law

Employment & Employee Participation

Caroline has considerable experience in guiding medium-sized to large national and international enterprises in every aspect of employment law, from individual dismissals and legal scans to complex reorganisations and company acquisitions. She also assists many educational institutions ranging from school districts to universities. In addition to ‘regular’ employment law, she also has a special interest in cross-border employment and education law.

Caroline is a highly motivated attorney who takes a solution-oriented approach underpinned by her strong interpersonal and decisive qualities. Her commitment, expertise and clarity inspire trust among her clients and colleagues. Caroline is French in origin and also has German, Spanish and English roots, making her multilingual – something which is of great practical benefit.

Education

Caroline studied Dutch law at Leiden University, majoring in International Law.

Career

Caroline has worked at De Clercq as an attorney since 2003, with a broad focus on employment law. She puts her multilingual background and international interest to good use in advising numerous international clients. She specialises in Education Law and Employment Law from a European perspective, and has completed mediation training, which also serves her practice well. As well as being an attorney, Caroline is a board member with the Technolab Leiden Foundation.

Caroline’s daily practice

On an almost daily basis, Caroline deals with matters such as individual dismissals, reorganisations, working remotely from abroad, expatriates, unacceptable behaviour and the investigation of this, and disability in the workplace. She also provides advice to companies at the policy level. Caroline acts as in-house counsel for a variety of companies, and values the opportunity to get to know her clients well. This often leads to fruitful collaborations that last for many years. The same applies to the educational institutions with which Caroline has long-term involvements with respect to employment law matters.

Stay up-to-date

The latest developments

Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

75 years of WOR Congress

7 April 2025

In May 2025, we celebrate a special milestone: it will be 75 years since the Works Councils Act (WOR) was introduced. On 14 May 2025, a festive congress will be held; a day filled with celebratory activities, leading speakers, and interactive workshops on current topics.

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Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

Modern Employment Conditions: (3) Green Employment Conditions

27 March 2025

The work environment has changed significantly in recent years. Technological advancements, a new generation of employees, and the desire for a better work-life balance have forced employers to rethink their policies and employment conditions. It is important to respond to these changes, as modern employment conditions are increasingly a determining factor for talent retention, attracting new employees, productivity, and overall employee engagement. What modern employment conditions can you think of? You will read more about this in this blog series.

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Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

Facilities for the employee participation (works council): making membership more attractive

21 March 2025

Many works council struggle with vacancies. Often, too few employees run for election, or works council members leave their positions prematurely for various reasons. Good facilities can help to enthuse employees about works council membership and keep them engaged. In this blog, we list some important facilities for inspiration.

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