Public Sector Tech Group

Mark is Global Co-Chair of the technology sector at DLA Piper.

His specialties include: Outsourcing, public procurement, technology procurement, offshoring, HRO, BPO and BPR, internet law and technology regulatory issues.

Mark is experienced in all aspects of IT law, majoring on public procurement, IT in the financial services sector and e-commerce issues. Mark has advised technology suppliers, startups, content providers and public sector bodies on deals ranging from credit card processing outsourcing and online auctions to the creation of standard suites of agreements and car dealership financing. Mark’s practice covers clients in both the public and private sector.

Nicholas De Lacy-Brown is a commercial technology lawyer with a core focus on complex, transformational technology projects and outsourcing transactions. With a background in Government, Nick regularly helps organisations in both the public and private sectors to navigate the requirements of public procurement laws to design, procure and manage end-to-end technology solutions which are crucial to the delivery of national critical infrastructure.

Nick is a keen public speaker and provider of training and mentoring on a variety of legal and professional skills topics.

Experienced Senior Lawyer, with 25 years+ post qualification experience and a demonstrated history of working in both the private sector and central government. Skilled in both advisory and litigation practice across a range of legal work, leading a team of lawyers based in both London and Manchester. Substantial experience of supporting various work streams as part of multi-disciplinary teams in HMRC, worked on the disaggregation of the largest IT contract in government, and one of the biggest IT transformation programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio.

Daniel Denman is the director of the division in the Government Legal Department advising the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Health and Safety Executive and the Office for Nuclear Regulation. Since joining the government legal service in 1996, he has worked in teams including the Cabinet Office, the Department for Exiting the European Union, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Work and Pensions. He is the director champion for legal knowledge in GLD, a committee member of the Bar European Group, and a member of the editorial board of the European Human Rights Law Review. Publications include contributions to “Human Rights Practice” (Sweet & Maxwell) and “The UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement: A Commentary” (OUP)

Charlotte is a an experienced Litigation Partner at Trowers & Hamlins, where she advises across a range of disputes, handling complex, high value and strategically important commercial and public law disputes.

Charlotte has over 15 years’ experience of advising a broad range of public sector clients. In particular, Charlotte is a trusted advisor to organisations managing cyber and data privacy risk; navigating new technologies; and the fallout from cyber-attacks and data breaches.

Chris Raske is an information technology expert and dispute
resolution specialist. He has 10 years of experience working on major technology projects, ranging from project delay analysis to software copyright claims.
He has worked on IT projects across a wide range of industry sectors including construction, healthcare, infrastructure, automotive,
media, transport, and cryptocurrency.

Albert Sanchez-Graells is a Professor of Economic Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Global Law and Innovation at the University of Bristol Law School (UK). He is currently a member of the UK Cabinet Office’s Open Contracting Advisory Group, as well as a former Member of the European Commission Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement. Albert specialises in EU economic law and, in particular, competition law, public procurement and digital regulation. His most recent monograph is Digital Technologies and Public Procurement. Gatekeeping and experimentation in digital public governance (OUP 2024). Most of Albert’s working papers are available at http://ssrn.com/author=542893. His analysis of current legal developments is published in his blog http://www.howtocrackanut.com.

Selen is a dual-qualified lawyer (England&Wales and Turkey) specialising in technology law, including tech and fintech transactions, technology procurement in public and private sectors and emerging technologies. She is currently working as a contract analyst at Post Office. She is an ambassador of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). She is also acting as a mentor for the Queen Mary University of London Postgraduate Law Mentoring Scheme. She has a speaking engagement on the emerging technologies with the SCL. She obtained her LL.M. degree in International Business Law from Queen Mary University of London as a Jean Monnet scholar with Distinction. Her dissertation entitled “Dual-Class Listing: Is It Compatible with Corporate Governance Principles under the UK and EU laws” also received Distinction.

Tasmia is a technology lawyer at Adobe. Tasmia specialises in major technology deals including cloud, outsourcing, digital transformations, and licensing. She also advises on data privacy, issues affecting the financial industry, and has a keen interest in the public sector. Tasmia is also an AI champion and enjoys keeping abreast of a wide range of issues that are emerging.

Amit is an IT Contracts consultant with experience of working across public and private sector, and across both buy and sell sides. For over two decades, he has supported tech and outsourcing programmes in various capacities including: Systems Administrator, Software Engineer, Project Lead, Senior Commercial Manager, Pre-sales consultant, Public Procurement evaluator and Disputes Manager. Through his business Mindful Contract Solutions, he has also run an IT managed services business providing client-side teams for ERP programmes.
Amit is career-changing into law and hopes to qualify as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 2024, having taken his SQE exams. Post qualification, he intends to continue to remain associated with tech and outsourcing programmes, providing advisory and dispute resolution services.
Amit graduated as an engineer. During his MBA from Cranfield University (Class of 2007), he won the inaugural Global Sourcing and Innovation award (pan-European business school essay competition) for his essay on ‘The What, Why and How of Innovation Outsourcing’.
Finally, Amit hosts the Commercial Matters podcast to help increase awareness of tech law amongst those who lead Digital Transformation programmes.

Charlotte is a partner at Sharpe Pritchard LLP specialising in technology and data protection matters, including technology outsourcing. Sharpe Pritchard LLP focuses on public law and Charlotte specialises in advising clients in the public sector including central government and local authorities.

Alex Ustych specialises in data protection / information law, inquests / inquiries, public law, police law and workplace stress claims.

He is frequently instructed in high-value and complex private and public law cases with data protection, privacy and freedom of expression dimensions. Alex is on the Attorney General’s B Panel of Counsel and ranked as a leading junior in The Legal 500 for Data Protection, and Inquests and Inquiries.

Alex has a particular interest in the impact of emerging technologies (such as Artificial Intelligence) on individuals’ data protection and privacy rights. He advises companies in emerging industry areas (such as Virtual Reality) as well as public bodies in respect of major digital projects, including on international data transfers. As a member of the Society for Computers and Law, he is at the cutting edge of legal developments in technology. He also delivers talks on topics such as AI alongside industry experts.

John is a Deputy Director in the Government Legal Department, leading a team of lawyers principally advising the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Before joining GLD, John spent seven years as a senior lawyer at the Charity Commission, and before that worked as a Senior Associate at Trowers & Hamlins, specialising in mergers, governance and regulation for charities, housing associations and public bodies. His interests in the law surrounding AI focus principally on public administrative law and data processing, and on the application of these technologies to the delivery of legal services.

I am a Senior Solicitor in the Legal Services and Corporate Governance team at Bournemouth University. I advise the University on legal issues relating to IT contracts and procurement. Prior to working in-house, I worked in private practice advising on general commercial contracts and corporate transactions.

Professor of Law at the University of Exeter. I am a recently appointed member of the Civil Justice Council.  My research interests focus on access to justice in the civil courts, particularly online dispute resolution. I have written about mediation in Canada and Florida & New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I was a member of the Civil Justice Council Advisory Group on ODR led by Professor Richard Susskind, which recommended the online court, and a member of the JUSTICE group on Preventing Digital Exclusion which reported in 2018.  I am a CEDR Accredited Mediator and a trained community mediator.

I am an associate in Bird & Bird’s public sector projects team. I specialise in public sector, defence, utilities, and private procurement, public law, and subsidy control.

I have previously worked in central government and, therefore, have had first-hand experience of a public authority’s ways of working and the external and internal pressures a public authority may encounter. I draw on this insight to take a practical and collaborative approach when advising both public and private sector clients to ensure that project objectives are achieved.

I advise on UK, EU, and international procurement law. I also advise private organisations on implementing robust procurement processes by taking best practice from public procurement. I have advised on large technology procurements, including a solution deemed critical national infrastructure.

I am a partner in Geldards LLP, located in Cardiff.   He has advised on public sector IT projects for over two decades including some of the largest IT and communications projects in the country.   In addition, he has advised on G-cloud projects, framework arrangements and local authority and NHS projects. During this time Gerald’s practice has included advising both suppliers and the public authorities themselves.

Amanda Chaboryk is the Head of Legal Data and Systems within Operate, for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in London. She started her career in the public sector at the Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario and is now focused on leading the operational delivery of managed legal programmes at PwC. Within her role she is also responsible for upskilling on GenAI and helping clients navigate emerging technologies. Outside of the professional setting, she is a contributing lecturer at King’s College London (KCL), on legal technology in practice. Amanda has a keen professional interest in how AI can streamline legal processes and democratise access to legal services, particularly through fine-tuned Large Language Models (LLMs).

Carlos Lasprilla is a Colombian qualified lawyer with over a decade of experience, focusing on Public Law and LawTech. His background includes work in both the private and public sectors in Colombia, with a strong emphasis on Administrative and Constitutional Law, as well as teaching Public Law at various law schools.

Carlos holds an LL.M. in Economic Law (Universidad Externado, in Bogotá, Colombia) with a concentration in Constitutional Law and Economics, and recently completed another LL.M. in Law and Tech (King’s College London). He also contributed to a project to develop web-based automated SaaS solutions for constitutional injunctions and class action claims in Colombia.

Currently, Carlos serves as a legal advisor to the Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia. In this role, he collaborates with the City Hall’s IT team and other local institutions to implement gov tech and legal tech solutions.

Carlos is fascinated by the potential of AI, legal tech tools, and digital innovation to transform government operations and enhance service delivery to citizens, making it better, cheaper and more accessible.

Louise Hooper is an established public law, human rights and migration lawyer. Her practice over the last 20 years has involved a focus on human rights, equality and dignity. She views strong commitment to and enforcement of universal human rights standards as fundamental to the rule of law and she is committed to holding those responsible for breaching the human rights of others to account. She has particular expertise in cases involving child, refugee and migrant rights, sex, gender, LGBTI+, trafficking and detention.

Richard is a Director of Government Services at Addleshaw Goddard, having previously co-led the public sector practice at DLA Piper. Richard has worked for twenty five years on the procurement and contractual aspects of major central Government transformation, technology, outsourcing and infrastructure programmes across Government (for Cabinet Office) and for clients such as Home Office, Department of Health, NHS England, DWP, MoD, National Highways, HMRC and Metropolitan Police Service. Previously a professor of Public Procurement Law at the University of Leeds, Richard is a member of the SCL Public Sector Tech Group and of the Procurement Lawyers Association committee.

Lavania is an emerging technology entrepreneur with a deep passion for driving innovation in the digital landscape. Having contributed to several tech SaaS companies and recently founding her own tech venture, she is on the path to qualification in both New York and England & Wales as an Attorney. Lavania’s interest in Artificial Intelligence spans from its theoretical foundations to its practical applications in legal practice. She is dedicated to exploring new opportunities for advancement, driven by a commitment to continuous growth and learning.