Vita Zwaan > bureau Brandeis > Amsterdam, Netherlands > Lawyer Profile

Vita Zwaan

Position

Partner

Career

Vita Zwaan is partner at bureau Brandeis and specialises in privacy and data protection. She advises on compliance issues in various sectors, assists clients in investigations carried out by the Dutch Data Protection Authority and litigates in class actions involving privacy. Known for her practical, prompt and thorough advice, she is also an experienced litigator.

Vita manages GDPR compliance projects for a wide range of clients including both domestic and international companies, retailers, video on demand services, cinemas, online and print publishers, advertisers, charities, industry associations and sharing economy services. She has also litigated in a number of groundbreaking class actions involving privacy and was at the forefront of the movement to make the Dutch Cookie Act more flexible.

Sworn in as an attorney in 2005, Vita has worked at bureau Brandeis since its inception. A member of the Privacy Law Association and the Privacy Lawyers Association, she also publishes and gives regular workshops and presentations on privacy and data protection.

Recent work:

• advice on GDPR compliance, including on the
  • international exchange of personal data;
  • data breaches and security issues;
  • the use of customer data for marketing purposes and profiling;
  • retention of personal data and privacy documentation;
  • tranmission of commercial communications and behavioural marketing;
  • disclosure of user identities/customer data to investigative agencies and other third parties;
  • theuse of cookies and personal data for online advertising purposes and the use of special personal data;
  • requests from data subjects, such as for inspection and deletion of data;
• drafting and negotiating processing agreements and agreements between joint controllers;
• advice on personal data in the context of mergers and acquisitions;
• assisting with enforcement procedures carried out by the Dutch Data Protection Authority and the ACM;
• preparing gap analyses;
• carrying out Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs);
• preparing privacy documentation such as privacy and cookie statements and retention policies;
• giving workshops on privacy issues.

Testimonials in Legal500 Data Privacy and Data Protection:

• ‘bureau Brandeis has a great team that gives excellent advice. Quick, thorough, seem to be on top of all new developments. Always very approachable and friendly.’
• ‘Vita Zwaan stands out, she always has a practical solution or has a great and calm way to explain in clear language why it would be better not to proceed with certain plans.’
• ‘Individuals have an eye for your company’s best interest.’
• ‘What makes them strong for me? Their people and their team as a whole. I like how they focus on high-level litigation cases, giving them a very deep knowledge of data protection. But we can also contact them for regular data protection matters.’
• I love working with Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm and Vita Zwaan. ‘Very professional, very reliable, very profound, very approachable.’

Languages

Dutch, English