Welcome to the Page for the SCL Women in Technology Law Group
SCL Women in Technology Law (WiTL) Mission Statement
SCL WiTL's mission is to advance, celebrate and connect women in technology law, across private practice, companies, academia and the legal technology sector.
SCL WiTL's objective is to accelerate the number of women entering, advancing through, and celebrated in the technology law sector in order to achieve a more inclusive and diverse sector.
SCL WiTL seeks to achieve this objective by running educational, networking and promotional events, organising initiatives, providing a mentoring programme and providing a forum for discussion with internal and external stakeholders.
SCL WiTL aims to run inclusive and diverse events and initiatives, welcoming people regardless of gender.
Co-Chairs:
Rebecca Keating, Barrister, 4 Pump Court
Rebecca is a barrister at 4 Pump Court, with a particular interest in technology and intellectual property. Recently she has been instructed on disputes involving bespoke software, defective IT systems and the use of a robo-advice model across a range of issues including data security, cyber security and intellectual property. Prior to joining 4 Pump Court, Rebecca worked at Dropbox's European Headquarters, where her work focused on assisting clients in the large-scale deployment of cloud technology. She has published several articles on the topic of technology and the law in both national and international publications.
Alison Berryman, Head of UK, Biztech Lawyers
Alison is the head of Biztech Lawyers' UK office (other offices in the US and Australia). She is a senior technology and data protection lawyer with extensive past experience, gained in-house and at boutique IT/IP law firms. Skilled in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, Alison has been praised in the legal directories for her deep knowledge of technology and the associated law. Clients value her pragmatic approach and willingness to help them make informed decisions, as much as her expertise. For two decades, Alison has also advised on data protection law, primarily in connection with the technology products that her clients provide. Now, as part of a global practice, she is increasingly providing EU/UK privacy advice to overseas businesses.
Committee:
Sue McLean, Partner, Baker McKenzie LLP
Sue is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Technology group and the firm's global tech lead for FinTech and Blockchain. Sue advises clients on technology, sourcing and digital media business models and deals, as well as the legal issues relating to the implementation of new technologies. Sue advises on a wide range of technology matters including outsourcing, digital transformation, technology procurement, development and licensing, m/e-commerce, cloud computing, AI, FinTech, blockchain, and data privacy. Sue is focused on driving greater gender diversity in the legal sector. She is on the Baker Women Executive Committee and a member of the Law Society Woman Lawyer's Division working group. Sue is founder of the SCL Women in Technology Law group.
Despina Chatzimanoli, Senior Legal Expert, Team Leader- Regulatory Policy Advice 2, Legal Unit, European Banking Authority.
Dr Despina Chatzimanoli, LL.M. is Senior Legal Expert at the European Banking Authority (EBA), advising, most notably, on all things related to digital finance/fintech (from digital assets, to operational resilience and cybersecurity, as well as AI). Previously she worked for the EBA’s predecessor organisation, CEBS (Committee of European Banking Supervisors), and for the (then) UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) acting as coordinator for the FSA’s participation in the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS). Prior to that, Despina worked for international organisations (EPLO, Athens; IDLO, Rome), a Greek publishing house (Nomiki Bibliothiki) and in private practice (in Greece). She is passionate about both tech law (law about the use of technology) and law tech (the use of technology for delivering legal services).
Anna Ward, Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Anna is a Managing Associate in Mishcon de Reya's Intellectual Property team, specialising in all types of intellectual property disputes. She has a particular interest in tackling piracy, domain name hi-jacking and associated online infringements.
Anna handles IP infringements tenaciously and has helped the owners of some of the world’s best-known rights to protect their IP. She acts for a wide range of clients including those in the media, technology, retail, food and beverage and pharmaceutical sectors.
Fiona Campbell, Global Privacy Counsel, Informa PLC
Fiona is the Global Privacy Counsel for Informa PLC, a FTSE 100 listed events, knowledge and technology solutions company, serving 20 specialist markets in over 30 countries. Fiona was previously a senior associate in the data protection team at Bristows LLP and before that worked at Linklaters LLP and DAC Beachcroft LLP.
Elizabeth Meade, Senior Associate, Cooke, Young & Keidan LLP
Elizabeth is a Senior Associate at the boutique commercial disputes firm, Cooke, Young & Keidan LLP. She has a broad practice and regularly represents high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients in technology, financial services and crypto disputes. She also has a wide advisory practice relating to all aspects of the law and regulation of cryptoassets, advising clients including exchanges on the application of UK regulatory requirements. She regularly writes and speaks about contentious technology issues.
Aleksandra Wawrzyszczuk, Head of LawtechUK
Aleksandra currently heads LawtechUK, Europe’s largest government-backed legal sector transformation programme, housing the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce and Regulatory Response Unit. In addition to managing a wide portfolio of lawtech and techlaw projects, she is an advocate for interdisciplinary borderless collaboration in the tech ecosystem, and maintains an active academic practice spanning law, tech and philosophy as an adjunct professor at Liverpool University. Aleksandra is also a co-host of the Just Theory podcast, member of the Lawtech Sounding Board at the City of London, a Top 10 Lawyer in Legal Innovation (2020) and a Woman Who Will (2022).
Laura Irvine, Partner, Davidson Chalmers Stewart LLP
Laura is a data protection specialist and Head of Regulatory Law at Davidson Chalmers Stewart, a Scottish law firm. She works across the tech sector, from Scottish start-ups to Global unicorns advising on processor/controller agreements, international transfers, automated decision making and AI matters. She regularly speaks at events and provides training on all things data protection and cyber. Laura wrote the GDPR for the Law Society of Scotland.
Olivia Atkinson, Solicitor
Olivia is a newly qualified solicitor, with a wealth of experience in commercial and contract law, and a keen interest in emerging technology and data privacy. Olivia is also a member of the SCL's Women in Tech Law Committee, and PR Lead on the Cambridgeshire Junior Lawyers Division. In her spare time, Olivia loves to read, write, cook, dance and play the piano
Rachael Gibbons, Associate General Counsel, Cybersecurity & Investigations at Meta
Rachael is an Associate General Counsel at Meta. Rachael advises on cybersecurity, information security and investigations matters across the UK & EMEA. Prior to Meta, Rachael was an Associate in the Technology group at Baker & Mckenzie, where she advised on a wide range of legal matters and specialised in information security and data protection.
Rachael is focused on driving greater social mobility and equal access to opportunity in the legal sector.
Jana Srikumar, Senior Legal Counsel, dentsu
Jana is a Senior Legal Counsel in the Global Privacy, Technology and IP team at dentsu. She advises the business on a range of complex legal issues, including tech development, cloud service contracting, software development and open source licensing. She has a particular interest in emerging tech like A.I. and Web 3.0. Jana also helps manage the dentsu international trade mark portfolio and advises on domain disputes and brand protection. Prior to joining dentsu, Jana was a lawyer in the Digital Business team at Simmons & Simmons where she advised clients on technology, outsourcing and commercial matters.
Jana is a strong advocate of greater representation in law and has contributed to several social mobility schemes and initiatives.
SCL Women in Tech Law Group Initiatives
The SCL Women in Tech Group would like to compile a list of volunteer women techlaw speakers. The intention is not only to offer an alternative to men-only speaker panels but to become a valuable resource for those looking for fantastic female speakers. It will also shine a light on those who might not have had opportunities to share their knowledge and experience at techlaw events.
If you would like to volunteer, or have a recommendation, please contact hello@scl.org and we will send you a speaker form to complete.
