Privacy statement

Personal Data is processed in the context of the services provided by Blijdenstein Advocatuur. The concept of “personal data” includes all information about an identified or identifiable natural person. With regard to the processing of personal data, Blijdenstein Advocatuur qualifies as the data controller and complies with applicable legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and the Dutch GDPR Implementation Act. You will find Blijdenstein Advocatuur’s contact details below:

Blijdenstein Advocatuur B.V., Grensstraat 25, 1091 SW Amsterdam, +31 6 3104 1243, info@blijdensteinadvocatuur.nl.

Which personal data does Blijdenstein Advocatuur process?

Clients

Blijdenstein Advocatuur processes the following (categories of) personal data of clients and their contact persons:

Name and address details (name, first names, initials, titles, gender, address, postal code, residence) as provided by the client;

Other contact details (telephone number, e-mail address and similar data required for communication) as provided by the client;

Data relating to the handling of a case or the settlement of a dispute, including data concerning the counterparty and third parties, as provided by the client, a counterparty and/or a third party or obtained from a public source, see also below under “Third parties”;

Data for the purpose of calculating and recording fees and expenses, making payments and recovering claims, including the bank account number provided by the client;

Other data obtained from public sources (such as the Commercial Register, the Chamber of Commerce and the Land Register) or data provided to us by third parties in the context of the handling of a case or the settlement of a dispute;

Other data of clients of which the processing is required by or necessary to comply with applicable laws or regulations, the Legal Profession Bye-law and the Code of Conduct for Lawyers, such as, under certain circumstances, the processing of certain data relating to proof of identity and the maintenance of a former client list.

Suppliers

Blijdenstein Advocatuur processes the following (categories of) personal data of persons from whom Blijdenstein Advocatuur purchases products or services or who work for these suppliers:

  • Name and address details (name, first names, initials, titles, gender, address, postal code, residence) as provided by the supplier;
    • Other contact details (telephone number, e-mail address and similar data required for communication) as provided by the supplier;
    • Data for the purpose of placing orders or purchasing services; calculating and recording fees and expenses and making payments, including the bank account number as provided by the supplier;
    • Other data of suppliers of which the processing is required by or necessary to comply with applicable laws or regulations.

Third parties

Blijdenstein Advocatuur processes (categories of) personal data of third parties (such as persons who are not clients and of whom personal data can be found in our records, lawyers and other advisors with whom Blijdenstein Advocatuur is in contact):

  • Name and address details (name, first names, initials, titles, gender, address, postal code, residence), as far as known to Blijdenstein Advocatuur;
    • Other contact details (telephone number, e-mail address and similar data necessary for communication), as far as known to Blijdenstein Advocatuur;
    • Data relating to electronic messages originating from or intended for third parties and data required to maintain contact with these third parties;
    • Other data from third parties obtained from public sources or provided to Blijdenstein Advocatuur by clients, counterparties or third parties in connection with the handling of a case or the settlement of a dispute.

On the basis of which legal processing grounds and for which purposes does Blijdenstein Advocatuur process your personal data?

Blijdenstein Advocatuur processes your personal data on the basis of one or more of the following legal processing grounds:

  • If this is necessary for the performance of an agreement to which you are a party or to perform precontractual acts at your request;
    • If this is necessary to comply with statutory obligations;
    • If this is necessary to justify our legitimate interests or the interests of a third party;
    • Your consent.

If Blijdenstein Advocatuur processes your personal data on the basis of your consent, Blijdenstein Advocatuur will ask you for it separately. You may withdraw your consent at any time. Blijdenstein Advocatuur draws your attention to the fact that the withdrawal of your consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing of your personal data prior to the withdrawal of your consent.

Blijdenstein Advocatuur uses the above personal data for the purposes stated below, in respect of which we have indicated for each purpose on the basis of which of the abovementioned legal processing grounds ((a) through (d)) Blijdenstein Advocatuur does so. If the processing is based on the principle of ‘legitimate interest’, we briefly explain this interest. If you have any specific questions in this respect, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Purposes with corresponding processing grounds:

  • to provide the requested legal services, including identifying the client and performing a conflict check to avoid a conflict of interest (a, b and c: being able to offer and improve our services, compliance with the Legal Profession Bye-law and the Code of Conduct for Lawyers);
    • for the administration of Blijdenstein Advocatuur, including the calculation or recording of fees or benefits, income and expenses, the payment and collection of claims (including the use of collection agencies or bailiffs) (a, b and c: the importance of keeping proper records);
    • to be able to deal with any complaints and disputes about the service ((a), (b) and (c): to defend rights, to maintain and improve existing relationships by means of proper handling of complaints, to improve the quality of the service and to comply with the Legal Profession Bye-law);
    • to maintain contact and communicate with you; ((a), (b), (c)): the interest in bringing Blijdenstein Advocatuur’s services to the attention of existing clients);
    • for placing orders or purchasing services ((a), (b) and (c)): our interest in being able to keep proper records);
    • for conducting audits and other internal controls ((a), (b) and (c)): our interest in being able to keep proper records);
    • to comply with our legal and statutory obligations including the Legal Profession Bye-law and the Code of Conduct for Lawyers ((b), (c): the interest of being able to meet these obligations).

To whom does Blijdenstein Advocatuur provide your personal data?

Blijdenstein Advocatuur does not provide your personal data to third parties (‘recipients’ within the meaning of the applicable privacy legislation), unless this is necessary for the proper performance of the purposes set out in this Privacy Statement, if the law requires us to do so or if you have provided your consent to this end. The third parties to whom the personal data are made available are obliged to handle your personal data confidentially. If these parties qualify as a ‘data processor’ within the meaning of the applicable privacy legislation, Blijdenstein Advocatuur will ensure that a data processing agreement is concluded with these parties, which complies with the requirements included in the GDPR.

Blijdenstein Advocatuur can share personal data of clients, suppliers and third parties with:

  • Suppliers (for example software suppliers, bailiffs, courier services, translation agencies, accountants, etc);
    • Counterparties, other lawyers or advisors in the context of the provision of services;
    • Courts and government institutions;
    • Other parties, such as regulators and other authorities where required by law or with your consent.

In order to provide our services, Blijdenstein Advocatuur might need to transfer your personal data to a recipient in a country outside the European Economic Area with a lower degree of protection of personal data than the European law offers. In that case, Blijdenstein Advocatuur will ensure that such a  transfer of personal data is in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, for example by concluding a model contract prepared and approved for that purpose by the European

Commission.

How long does Blijdenstein Advocatuur retain your personal data?

Blijdenstein Advocatuur does not retain your personal data in an identifiable form for longer than is necessary to achieve the purposes included in this Privacy Statement. More specifically, Blijdenstein Advocatuur applies the following retention periods:

  • The files of the cases handled by Blijdenstein Advocatuur will be kept in accordance with the Archiving Manual of the Netherlands Bar Association for at least five years (and longer if required by law).
    • The personal data that are processed in the context of the Office Complaints Procedure will be removed no later than two years after the complaint and/or the legal proceedings arising from it have been dealt with.
    • Personal data that must be kept on the basis of Article 52 of the Dutch State Taxes Act will be kept for 7 years (from the end of the year in which the data in question have lost their current value for the (tax-) related business operations) in connection with the tax retention obligation incumbent on Blijdenstein Advocatuur pursuant to Article 52(4) of the Dutch General Tax Act.

The abovementioned specific retention periods can be extended if statutory retention obligations apply or will become applicable. Blijdenstein Advocatuur may also retain the personal data for a longer period of time if this is necessary for the handling of incidents and/or legal disputes.

Security

Blijdenstein Advocatuur has taken appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against loss, destruction, damage, modification or publication. If you have any questions about the security of your personal data, or if you suspect or see signs of misuse, please contact Blijdenstein Advocatuur via info@blijdensteinadvocatuur.nl.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device. We use third party analytics cookies, such as Google Analytics from Google LLC, and improve the functionality and user-friendliness of our website. Google Analytics from Google LLC is able to provide Blijdenstein Advocatuur with aggregated statistical information about your use of this website.

For the sake of completeness, we inform you in this context that:

  • Blijdenstein Advocatuur has entered into a Data Processing Agreement with Google LLC;
    • The last octet of the IP address with which the Blijdenstein Advocatuur website was visited is masked;
    • The option ‘share data’ has been disabled;
    • Blijdenstein Advocatuur does not use other Google services in combination with the Google Analytics cookies.

In addition to the use of Google Analytics – as explained above – it is also possible that cookies are placed by the various social media referred to on our website. Social media uses such cookies to enable functionalities and to collect information that they can use for their own purposes.

You can enable or disable cookies at any time by adjusting the cookie settings of your browser.

All data collected by us through the use of cookies is treated confidentially.

Your privacy rights

You have the following rights in respect of the processing of your personal data by Blijdenstein Advocatuur:

  • the right to request whether Blijdenstein Advocatuur processes your personal data and if so, the right to access your personal data;
    • the right to rectification of your personal data if these are incorrect or incomplete;
    • the right to have your personal data deleted (‘right to be forgotten’);
    • the right to object to the processing of your personal data or to limit the processing of your personal data;
    • the right to withdraw permission for the processing of your personal data, if the processing is based on your permission;
    • the right to receive or surrender your personal data to a third party appointed by you in a structured, customary and machine-readable form (‘right to data portability’).

To exercise your rights, you can contact Blijdenstein Advocatuur via info@blijdensteinadvocatuur.nl or by post via:

Blijdenstein Advocatuur B.V., Grensstraat 25, 1091 SW Amsterdam.

In order to prevent that Blijdenstein Advocatuur disclose information to the wrong person, Blijdenstein Advocatuur can ask you for additional information to verify your identity. In principle, Blijdenstein Advocatuur will inform you of whether Blijdenstein Advocatuur can comply with your request, within one month after receipt. In specific cases, for example when it concerns a complex request, this term may be extended by two months. Blijdenstein Advocatuur will inform you of such an extension within one month after receiving your request. On the basis of the applicable privacy legislation, Blijdenstein Advocatuur can refuse your request under certain circumstances. If this is the case, Blijdenstein Advocatuur will explain to you why. You can find more information about your privacy rights on the website of the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about the processing of your personal data by Blijdenstein Advocatuur, we will be happy to work together to find a solution. If this does not lead to the desired result, you will have the right to file a complaint with the authorised regulator. In the Netherlands, this is the Dutch Data Protection Authority. If you live or work in another country of the European Union, you can file a complaint with the regulator of that country.

Amendments

This Privacy Statement was last amended on 1 September 2022. Blijdenstein Advocatuur reserves the right to amend this Privacy Statement. The most recent version of this Privacy Statement will always be posted on the website www.blijdensteinadvocatuur.nl. If substantial amendments are made that could have a significant impact on one or more of the data subjects involved, Blijdenstein Advocatuur will try to inform these data subjects of this immediately.