Stéphanie De Smedt

Practice Areas

Stéphanie De Smedt, attorney at law, is a Partner in the Brussels office. She heads the Tech & Commercial practice, including the Belgian chapter of the firm-wide Data Protection & Cybersecurity Team. She also heads the Belgian Life Sciences Team.

Stéphanie is an expert in commercial and technology law. She has ample experience in guiding clients through complex contract drafting, contract negotiations, and advising on pre-litigious matters. Though her broad background in commercial law (distribution, agency, unfair market practices, consumer regulations) and IP/ICT law (technology transfers, counterfeit disputes, e-commerce regulations, and software/IT contracting), Stéphanie is the go-to person for clients active in the technology and digital economy industry. Developments such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and new technologies in general (and in the life sciences industry in particular) are part of her core focus areas.

Throughout her career, Stéphanie has furthermore developed a recognised expertise with respect to regulatory compliance, more specifically - as CIPP/E certified expert - in relation to the protection of personal data (e.g. GDPR compliance), cybersecurity, and life sciences. She has managed multiple large scale GDPR audits and “privacy by design” projects, represented clients in high-profile data protection litigation before the Belgian Data Protection Authority and the Belgian courts, and regularly assists clients with setting-up compliant contracts and frameworks. Stéphanie also represents clients in court, before the Belgian Data Protection Authority and in alternative dispute resolution proceedings in her areas of expertise. She has furthermore been appointed by CEPANI, the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation, to act as Third-Party Decider in alternative dispute resolution proceedings for .be domain names.

Stéphanie regularly publishes articles, speaks at conferences and (internal and external) seminars, and has participated as a legal expert to hackathons in her areas of expertise.

For more information, please visit our website at https://www.loyensloeff.com/people/stephanie-de-smedt/.