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 KC (Hon)
SCL Vice-President:
Mark O’Conor, Partner, DLA Piper (UK) LLP
SCL Trustees Chair:
Patricia Shaw, CEO, Beyond Reach
SCL Vice-Chair:
Sue McLean, Partner, Baker McKenzie LLP
Trustees:
Toby Crick, Partner, Bristows LLP
Matthew Lavy KC, 4 Pump Court
Mark Lumley, Consultant, Freeths
Dr Katherine Ramo, Of Counsel (Tech & Media), Head of Pro Bono Practice, Founder & Chair CMS ENABLE (disabilities & well-being) Network
Fernando Barrio, Senior Lecturer in Business Law and Director of International Engagement, School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)
Shelley Thomas, Associate General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Bank of America
Andy Crystal, Corporate Counsel – EMEA at Amazon Web Services
Anne Rose, Managing Associate and co-lead of the Blockchain Group, Mishcon de Reya
Minesh Tanna, Partner and Global AI Lead, Simmons & Simmons
SCL Chief Executive
Caroline Gould
Recent SCL Articles
Navigating the Legal Landscape of Self Driving and Electric Vehicles
Ben Kaplinsky reviews the current state of regulation for AV and EV vehicles worldwide and ponders what the UK should do to reman competitive in the sector.
Beyond Binary: Revisiting the Interplay of Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law
Coran Darling and Hayley Milner survey what regulators in the UK, EU and US are doing to safeguard human rights in the new AI era.
The new UK Data Protection Bill: Practical effects and prognosis
A team at Reed Smith looks at the changes to UK data protection set out in the Data Protection & Digital Information Bill currently in Parliament
SCL Initiatives
SCL Adjudication Scheme (SCLA)
A three-month procedure for “technology” disputes – meaning any dispute arising from a contract for the provision of tech-related goods and services including software development contracts, outsourcing arrangements, systems integration contracts, IT consultancy contracts, software licensing agreements, blockchain/smart contracts and cloud computing contracts.
The scheme is the result of considerable work by a small and dedicated group of SCL members over the past two years, growing out of the SCL Better Contracts Initiative. The scheme was launched on 15 October 2019 in London.
Read more about the Scheme
SCL AI for Schools
The SCL AI for Schools Programme is an outreach initiative aimed at helping underprivileged 6th form students, who may never have heard of tech law, consider a career in the sector.
It has been conceived by SCL Trustee Matthew Lavy, Barrister, 4 Pump Court and Iain Munro, Barrister, 4 Pump Court.
Read more about the initiative
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 50th Anniversary this year, 2023.
- 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 Relationships and Communications Manager
Email: maddie.southorn@scl.org