
Zala Skandary
Legal & Privacy Consultant | Certified DPO | Certified Mediator
Salary / Daily rate
Brussels, Belgium
Freelance, open to permanent contract
Skills
Languages
About me
Intro
Legal & Privacy specialist with 15 years' experience in corporate advisory, GDPR and dispute resolution. Renowned for pragmatic, client-focused solutions in complex regulatory settings for multinationals, EU institutions and non-profits. Former Brussels-Bar attorney with 14 years of practice, now an independent consultant through SRL Zala Skandary.
Work experience
Independent Legal & Privacy Consultant
SRL Zala Skandary
Jan 2010 - Present
16 years 10 months
Brussels, Belgium
– Advising large and mid-sized enterprises on shareholder disputes, complex commercial litigation and guiding compliance with national and EU legislation. – Drafting and negotiating international contracts (SaaS, M&A, DPA) alongside compliance artefacts (ROPA, DPIA, policy suites). – Serving as external DPO-as-a-Service. – Delivering bilingual (EN/FR) workshops on emerging EU regulation aligning legal and privacy stakeholders.
External Legal & Privacy Consultant
Cronos Group IT services & digital innovation
Jan 2023 - Jan 2025
2 years 1 month
Brussels, Belgium
– Re-engineered the group legal library: NDA, MSA, DPA, SCC mapping, and other commercial/privacy templates. – Delivered a modular contract playbook. – Provided continuing GDPR alignment advice across business lines.
External Legal Adviser
European Commission (DG HR)
Jan 2021 - Jan 2025
4 years 1 month
Brussels, Belgium
– Advise EU staff on Belgian real-estate transactions—purchase, sale and lease—including contract drafting and review. – Advise EU staff on key areas of Belgian law such as civil liability, consumer law, tenancy and insurance and deliver focused webinars. – Help EU staff resolve private disputes and cross-border questions under Belgian law and EU private-international rules.
External Privacy Consultant & DPO-as-a-Service
Tomorrowland festival & e-learning platform
Jan 2023 - Jan 2024
1 year 1 month
Brussels, Belgium
– End-to-end GDPR compliance program for festival and e-learning operations. – Drafted bilingual privacy policy, academy terms & conditions, and supporting corporate and privacy agreements. – Ongoing review of supplier and sponsorship contracts.
External Privacy Consultant
Galapagos NV EU biotech
Jan 2023 - Jan 2024
1 year 1 month
Brussels, Belgium
– Brought clinical research activities in line with GDPR and sector guidance. – Drafted and negotiated corporate and privacy contracts, including data processing agreements and vendor questionnaires. – Updated privacy notices and internal policies.
Attorney-at-Law
Athena Law & Strategy
Jan 2020 - Jan 2024
4 years 1 month
Brussels, Belgium
– Represented corporate and individual clients in real estate (purchase, sale, tenancy, construction disputes), as well as corporate and commercial litigation. – GDPR & EU-compliance rollouts: policies, controls, staff training. – Shareholder & governance disputes: negotiation, mediation, litigation strategy. – Cross-border commercial & M&A contracts (supply, distribution, SaaS, M&A carve-outs) involving EU jurisdictions.
External Privacy Consultant
Volvo Group Belgium
Jul 2023 - Dec 2023
6 months
Brussels, Belgium
– Ran GDPR audits across HR, Procurement and IT and issued focused remediation plans. – Led the OneTrust-based ROPA roll-out, from data-flow mapping to continuous register upkeep. – Authored and refreshed GDPR-compliant policies, procedures and external notices.
Attorney-at-Law
Alterys Law & Mediation
Jan 2010 - Jan 2020
10 years 1 month
Brussels, Belgium
– Represented corporate and individual clients in real estate (purchase, sale, tenancy, construction disputes), as well as corporate and commercial litigation. – Drafted cross-border contracts, pleadings & legal opinions (commercial, civil, corporate) aligned with EU & national law. – EU & administrative law on procurement, state-aid, institutional matters; litigation before Belgian courts. – Regulatory-compliance programs and in-house training for businesses. – Shareholder & partnership conflicts: negotiation, mediation, litigation support.
Education
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Complementary Master's Degree, Economics & Corporate Law
2012 - 2012
1 month
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Master's Degree, Public Law
2005 - 2010
5 years 1 month
Athénée Royal Jean Absil
General Higher Education
1999 - 2005
6 years 1 month
Licenses & certifications
Certified Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Issued: Jan 2020
Certified Mediator (Civil & Commercial)
Issued: Jan 2011