Pels Rijcken acts at the intersection of data protection, privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance mandates. The team regularly handles collective redress proceedings, regulatory enforcement, and advisory matters involving sensitive personal data, international data transfers, and the use of emerging technologies such as AI. The practice is led by Gerrit-Jan Zwenne, who brings extensive expertise in privacy and data protection law, internet and telecom law, blockchain, cloud services, and generative AI; Marte van Graafeiland who assists public authorities and regulators on GDPR and sector-specific privacy regimes; and Jeroen Naves, who advises on technology law, IT contracts, and data exchange, and represents clients in complex IT disputes and procurement processes. Meine Dijkstra retired in October 2024.
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Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Stand-out partner Marte van Graafeiland is very approachable, a quick thinker, and intimately familiar with government practices. Her advice and concrete solutions are tailored to the client's needs.’
- ‘The team is skilled and experienced. This makes them capable of handling complex legal issues quickly and advising efficiently.’
- ‘The individuals I have worked with are practical and can advise on risks, strategies, success rates, and areas of focus concisely and efficiently. They are always on top of the latest news on the legal front.'
- ‘Pels Rijcken offers a unique blend of academic knowledge of privacy law and impressive litigation experience. This mix of qualities is quite rare in the domain of privacy law firms.’
- ‘Gerrit-Jan Zwenne has a calm yet convincing style before the courts in complex collective proceedings against Big Tech companies.'
- ‘Gerrit-Jan Zwenne is widely regarded as being among the absolute top in the field of data protection law, due to his in-depth knowledge and extensive experience in this area. He has an exceptional command of the subject matter.'
Key clients
- NordVPN
- Data Privacy Stichting or DPS
- Stichting Bescherming Privacybelangen or SBP
- Stichting Consumers United in Court or CUIC
- Surfshark Incogni
- Infomedics
- Parliament (Tweede Kamer)
- Reclassering Nederland (probation, parole board)
- Dutch State, including: Ministry of Justice and Security; Ministry of Economic Affairs; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Education, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Asylum and Migration, and Ministry of Defence.
Work highlights
Advising the Dutch Healthcare Authority on a lawsuit brought against it by a group of psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health clients, and various foundations, including the Civil Rights Platform Foundation, regarding new regulations announced in 2022, whereby psychiatrists and psychologists are required to provide highly invasive questionnaires about their clients' mental and social problems.
Advising the Ministry of Health regarding a case brought by the mass claim foundation, Stichting ICAM, arguing for more than €3.5bn in damages on behalf of more than 6 million individuals, whose data was alleged to have been leaked due to a data breach.
Advising our client, The Data Privacy Stichting in close cooperation with the Consumer Association (Consumentenbond), in the first major Dutch class action against Meta for violations of the Dutch Data Protection Act and GDPR, seeking over €2 billion in damages on behalf of 10 million Facebook users in the Netherlands.
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.
Practice head
Gerrit-Jan Zwenne; Marte van Graafeiland; Jeroen Naves
Other key lawyers
Nina Bontje; Tim Gillhaus; Lars Groeneveld; Quirine Van Der Bent; Sadaf Zamani