Zala Skandary

Legal & Privacy Consultant | Certified DPO | Certified Mediator

Salary / Daily rate

Brussels, Belgium

Freelance, open to permanent contract

Skills

GDPR

Languages

French (Native)English (Fluent)DutchPersian

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.

Links

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 by Data Protection Institute

Certified Mediator (Civil & Commercial)

Issued: Jan 2011

Certified by Bmediation Brussels

The best place to find your next move

© 2026. All Rights Reserved.