Judith Zoë Blijden

Judith is a creative and passionate lawyer and philosopher with over eight years of experience in data and law. At Hooghiemstra & Partners, she specializes in navigating the legal and ethical dimensions of technology, focusing particularly on its impact on human rights and the democratic constitutional state. Judith’s approach blends rigorous legal insight with philosophical inquiry, ensuring her work addresses both immediate legal concerns and the broader ethical implications of technology.

Judith is a bridge builder between across various areas of expertise and domains. She is able to have complex conversations about technology with a large number of different stakeholders while keeping everyone engaged. She can examine both the current legal frameworks and the underlying values, which allows her to think about both the application of the law and possible changes that are needed to the law. She enjoys moving back and forth between abstract concepts and concrete applications. This comes in handy in the dynamic playing field of data and law.

Expertise: GDPR | AI act | IP | ECHR | Ethics | Philosophy of law | International

Judith joined Hooghiemstra & Partners following her role at the Social and Economic Council where she, as a Senior Policy Officer for Digital Transition, looked at the impact of AI on the quality of work, productivity, income, and employment. In addition to her work at the SER, she worked on a participatory philosophical study on autonomy and menstruation apps for which she received the Democracy Fellowship. She made the podcast series The Digital Period about her research.

This year Judith is one of the nominated top 5 Responsible AI Leaders by Women in AI Benelux this year for her commitment to responsible AI. Before her time at the SER, Judith worked at consultancy firm PBLQ (together with our colleagues Theo and Walter) on privacy issues and at think tank Kennisland as an advisor on copyright and digital culture.

In addition to her work at Hooghiemstra & Partners, Judith explores philosophical art projects under the name Is This Art Maybe. She brings together her professional insights and creative expression to foster philosophical reflection on the meaning of life in the digital age.

Judith holds a Master’s degree in Law and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Leiden University.