In 1997 I moved from my hometown Mierlo to the dynamic city centre of Tilburg to study law at the Catholic University of Brabant, currently known as the University of Tilburg. In 2001 I graduated in criminal law "with merit". Like many other criminal law graduates, I wanted to become an criminal defense attorney, but internships in criminal law sector turned out to be scarce.

After my graduation I started to work for the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) as a so-called 'hoor- en beslismedewerker asiel'. During my time as a 'hoor en beslismedewerker asiel' I often disagreed with the senior counsellor, who also was my supervisor. During this same period I also developed my love for immigration law and asylum law and a desire to fight the unjust system of the INS.

In 2002 I obtained a job as a paralegal at Santi Advocaten in Waalwijk due to my knowledge of immigration and asylum law in combination with my criminal law degree. After 3 months I got the offer to start the attorney internship at Santi Advocaten. Finally, my dream came true because in January 2003 I was sworn in as a attorney.

In 2006, after having enjoyed working at Santi Advocaten for almost 4 years, I became a partner at Berte Maalsté en Blom Advocaten, a medium-sized firm with offices in Tilburg and Utrecht. Since 2012 I have my own office in Tilburg called Berte Advocaten. In that same year, I followed the criminal (procedural) law specialist course at the Willem Pompe Institute, which made me a member of the Dutch Association of Criminal Defense Specialists. 

Besides criminal law, immigration law and asylum law I also like to deal with youth law. I have been recognised by the court as a youth law attorney, which means that I can provide legal assistance in supervion order cases and in custodial placement cases.

I registered myself for this four areas of law 
in het rechtsgebiedenregister van de Nederlandse orde van advocaten. Deze registratie brengt de verplichting mee om elk jaar voor elk geregistreerd rechtsgebied 10 opleidingspunten te behalen. 

I still enjoy my job every day, I love expanding my knowledge, and I still like to fight, for example, the IND, the Public Prosecutor's Office or the Youth Care Office on a daily basis. Fortunately, I also have the wisdom to bury the hatchet if this will lead to the best end result for my clients.