Our Team – NovaLegal

Strong Togheter

Law firm NovaLegal is primarily specialized in criminal law. We’re talking about criminal law in the broadest sense of the word. From a case against the State to a case involving the most serious crimes known to criminal law, sometimes cases right in the public domain.

The office is ready for those who expect results. This by taking an extra step and sometimes leaving existing conventions behind.

NovaLegal exclusively deals with criminal cases, with a great attention to the procedural aspects of your file, regardless of the guilt or innocence of the person. After all, citizens must comply with rules, but the same applies to the government that prosecutes citizens. We are dealing with a powerful government apparatus, and the more power, the less arbitrariness there may be.

The lawyers closely monitor that the criminal investigation has been conducted regularly through a meticulous procedural review.

The ideology of NovaLegal is that no one may be subjected to any form of arbitrariness, especially not from the government. Legal and case knowledge form the basis of this approach.

It concerns criminal cases in all their forms: from traffic violations to offenses related to drugs, money laundering, organized crime, cybercrime, violent crimes, weapons offenses, sexual offenses, kidnapping to serious crimes (murder, manslaughter, …) for the Assize Court and this in every phase of the criminal investigation: from a preliminary and during the hearing to the trial.

The aim is always to provide optimal assistance to the client and to strive for the best possible result. Acquittal is of course the best possible result, but if it cannot be otherwise due to the nature of the case, everything will be done to obtain the best possible penalty type/penalty scale for you. This can range from community service to complying with certain conditions. In this way, as much as possible is avoided that your daily life would suffer greatly, such as preventing the loss of employment.

A case that seems unfeasible at first sight, “deserves” a stubborn and boundary-breaking approach. If possible and if it is in the client’s interest, a settlement can be pursued to prevent or terminate a court proceeding.

Truly all options are explored, which is why the office – if necessary – also works with a multidisciplinary approach through external experts (toxicologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, forensic experts, …).

After all, in more and more criminal cases, expertise from other fields is essential, such as: scientific approaches (DNA research, toxicology, blood or saliva analysis, ballistics, …) as well as psychiatric and psychological reporting.

These non-legal aspects can be conducive to the termination of your legal problem.

Keeping appointments on time and maintaining a high level of service are highly valued: the client and their interests are always at the center.

Yen Buytaert

Lawyer

Mr. Yen Buytaert graduated with a specialization in “criminal law and criminal procedure law”. He then started his career as a lawyer at a renowned criminal law firm, where he exclusively focused on criminal cases. To this day, he still exclusively handles criminal cases, with great attention to the criminal procedure.

In this regard, Mr. Buytaert also holds a “certificate of training in appeals procedures in criminal cases”, which allows him to act in criminal cases before the Court of Cassation, which is the court that judges whether a conviction is affected by irregularities/procedural errors, for example.

He also assists clients during police interrogations and their preparation.

The client’s interest is essential, and Mr. Buytaert is very straightforward about this. After all, in the first instance, it is not about whether you have or have not done something, but mainly whether this can also be proven and that the evidence is presented according to the law: not the (possible) act is defended, but the person who is suspected of it.

Indeed, Mr. Buytaert takes it as a point of honor to oppose unjustified government actions such as those of the police and the public prosecutor’s office, but judges must also adhere to the law: the procedural position of the person seeking justice must be determined by the law and not by allowing arbitrary government actions.

Mr. Buytaert has had his own criminal law practice for many years and eventually founded the NovaLegal office together with Mr. Annelien Welvaert.

Mr. Annelien Welvaert graduated with distinction as Master in Law from Ghent University in 2016.

During her studies, she specialized in criminal (procedural) law and human rights.

In 2016, Ms. Annelien Welvaert joined the Bruges bar, now the West Flanders bar.

Since the beginning, she has exclusively specialized in criminal cases.

This means that on the one hand, she thoroughly examines your file in terms of content and shows great empathy towards the client on an emotional level, but on the other hand, she also carries out a very decisive procedural analysis of your criminal file.

Ms. Annelien Welvaert is certified to assist suspects during their first interrogation during their arrest (also called “Salduz”).

The prevention of arbitrary action by the government is central to this: your rights as a suspect are of paramount importance and their defense is crucial.

However, Ms. Welvaert also values the human aspect of her assistance. It is of great importance to her to support the client on a human-emotional level and guide them through the process.

She is not only your legal-technical adviser, but also your sounding board for all other questions and uncertainties that you undoubtedly have and that are perfectly normal when you are suddenly confronted with the powerful judicial apparatus.

Languages: Dutch, French, English, and Italian