Media Enquiries

About SCL

SCL is the leading UK organisation for legal professionals advising and practising within the IT sector or advising in a commercial context with a brief that includes such issues as IT, data protection and e-commerce. SCL membership extends across the globe.  

SCL’s mission is to inform and educate legal professionals and the wider audience on the impact of IT on law and legal practice through the promotion of best practice, thought leadership, and the fostering of a global tech law community.

Useful Information

SCL President
Professor Richard Susskind OBE

SCL Trustees
Chair:
Mark O'Conor, Partner, DLA Piper (UK) LLP

Trustees:
Neil Brown, Director, decoded:Legal
Anna Cook, Partner, Bristows LLP
Toby Crick, Partner, Bristows LLP
Chris James, Technology Lawyer
Matthew Lavy, Barrister, 4 Pump Court
Mark Lumley, Partner, Shulmans LLP
Cynthia O'Donoghue, Partner, Reed Smith LLP
Mark Taylor, Partner, Osborne Clarke

SCL Chief Executive
Caroline Gould

Latest SCL News

May the force be with them: the inaugural SCL Tech Law Challenge
David Chaplin, SCL Development Editor, reports back on a highly successful inaugural Student Tech Law Challenge that took place on 3 February 2018, plus some post and pictures from the day.

What do we want to look like when we’re 50?
The SCL Chair, Mark O'Conor, discusses SCL's strategic objectives for the next five years and looks forward to the Society's 50th anniversary

Sir Brian Neill – A Tribute
Richard Susskind, the SCL President, offers his tribute to the Rt Hon Sir Brian Neill PC, a former President of SCL

SCL Flagship Initiatives

Better Contracts Initiative
In 2015 SCL launched the Better Contracts Initiative with the aim of examining current contracts and identifying issues that cause deals to go wrong and areas of improvement. We believe that a fundamental shift in how contracts are structured and written, and in the issues addressed and how they’re addressed, could significantly improve outcomes for all concerned. Read more about the Initiative's background and progress to date:
Can We Write Better Contracts?
Moving Forward with the Better Contracts Initiative 

SCL University Ambassadors and Student Ambassador Scheme
As part of our educational remit we provide free SCL membership to UK students in full-time education. We are extending our partnership-working with universities and institutions of higher learning throughout the UK and part of this outreach is promoting tech law to students via the SCL University and Student Ambassador Scheme. We have an impressive ever-growing list of ambassadors representing some of the top universities in the UK. Read more about this exciting initiative:
SCL University Ambassadors and Student Ambassador Scheme

Did You Know?

• The Society was established as a registered charity on 11 September 1973 under the leadership of its first President, Lord Scarman and celebrated its 40th anniversary with a special dinner at the House of Commons in 2013. 
• One of SCL's major achievements was the establishment of BAILII (British and Irish Legal Information Institute) following a meeting arranged by SCL in London on 8 November 1999.
• SCL was a founder member organisation of IFCLA (International Federation of Computer Law Associations) and hosted their biannual conference in Bath in 1994, Oxford in 2004 and London in 2016.
• Since its inception in 1973 SCL has attracted many enthusiastic and innovative leaders including Lord Scarman, Lord Saville, Sir Brian Neill, Sir Henry Brooke, Theodore Ruoff, Professor Richard Susskind OBE and Professor Christopher Reed amongst others.
• SCL held an event on SexTech, Porn and the Law in 2017 – watch the video on the SCL YouTube Channel  

If you would like to feature any SCL activities, require specialist comment from one of our members or are interested in a press pass for one of our events, please contact:

Maddie Southorn
SCL Communications Officer
Tel: 0117 904 1242
Email: maddie.southorn@scl.org