Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

• ‘This team has done outstanding work in the area, and does a lot to build communities among their clients such as data protection officers by organising expert meetings and knowledge events about the latest developments in the field.’

• ‘I've known Gerrit-Jan Zwenne for a long time as an academic and a lawyer. He has a can do mentality. His critical approach of supervisory authorities and his solid advice all make him stand out. He is extremely knowledgeable and competent as well as communicative.’

• ‘The uniqueness lies with Gerrit Jan-Zwenne. He is hands down the top authority on data privacy and data protection. True expertise shows if someone is able to explain it in a simple and effective way. No fuss no uncertainty, just practical advice and guidance with a business lens.’

• ‘Regarding Gerrit-Jan Zwenne: I appreciate not only his in-depth knowledge on privacy and data protection law, but also his practical approach and strategic thinking on very complex legal issues. In my view he is undisputed the most authoritative lawyer in the field. ’

• ‘Pels Rijcken has managed to build a top tier practice in data protection over the last couple of years that is particular know for its excellent knowledge and experience in the public sector.’

• ‘That's Gerrit-Jan Zwenne without a doubt who combines a strong knowledge about privacy regulation with the capability to take positions that really help his clients to change the game. Because of his knowledge and sharp observations, he is uniquely qualified to lead disputes with the supervisory authorities, if necessary in court.’

• ‘Jeroen Naves is always easily accessible, thinks along with us, and steps in when necessary to go the extra mile, such as sharing his knowledge in meetings.’

Key clients

Work highlights

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Gerrit-Jan Zwenne

Hall of famePels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn NV

Gerrit-Jan studied Dutch law at the University of Leiden, where he also defended his doctoral thesis 'Belastingheffing en Informatieverplichtingen' (Taxation and Information Obligations) in 1998. He is a full professor of law and digital technologies at Leiden University. In addition to that, as of 1st of June 2023 he will also be full professor data protection law at the Dutch Open University. Before joining Pels Rijcken in 2018, Gerrit-Jan was a partner at Brinkhof and Bird & Bird. He is the author of a number of lectures and articles on digitisation, including for the Dutch Lawyers Association, the Association for Health Law and the Association for Education Law. He is chairman of the Association of Privacy Lawyers (VPR-A) and sits on the board of the Association for Privacy Law (VPR). He is also a member of the Advisory Committee on Information Management of the Ministry of Justice and Security, the Advisory Committee on the Rule of Law of the Netherlands Bar Association, the Advisory Board of the National Archives, and a lecturer and examiner in both the VPR-A specialisation training programme and the VIRA-Grotius programme for ICT lawyers. Finally, he is the editor (and author) of Tekst & Commentaar Privacy en gegevensbeschermingsrecht (8th edition 2022), Concise European Data Protection, E-Commerce and IT Law, Tijdschrift voor internetrecht and Sdu Monografieën ICT-recht.