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Digital Regulation and Technology Projects

How Linklaters can help you

Digital regulation has never had so much ability to impact the success or failure of both traditional and new ventures as it does today. Regulators across the globe either have passed – or are in the process of considering and drafting – regulation that will shape our future economy and be pivotal to the competitiveness of businesses in all sectors.

Both new digital regulation – and technology projects – present unprecedented opportunities and risks. Our global technology team is one of the largest and most experienced in the world. Uncommonly, our practice offers individual lawyers with deep specialism in providing regulatory, commercial and contentious advice across the broad range of issues affecting technology: AI intelligence, big data, online safety, agile contracting, and more. This means that we deliver pragmatic advice that is capable of being operationalised and which reflects our deep understanding of regulatory attitudes.

Working within a leading, global, full-service firm also enables us to deliver multi-disciplinary teams that provide consistent and coherent global advice on related competition, ESG, employment and other issues.

The digital regulation landscape – how we can support you

Understanding your digital regulation landscape

Understanding the status of relevant digital regulation

- in the jurisdictions in which you operate

- and likely associated enforcement attitudes and timelines is key

Not all regulation affects all businesses equally, so it is important to understand the potential impact on, and identify the right path forward for, your specific organisation. Crucially, you may also identify opportunities presented by digital regulation – including access to data sets, IP and tools. Our specialists are experts at assisting clients with these issues across Europe, the US, Asia and beyond.

Building digital compliance

Our tech practice has over 30 years’ expertise in building practical global compliance project plans and programmes, as well as conducting readiness and other assessments.

We help to build compliance programmes around themes that are common to different key regulations from different jurisdictions (including data, AI, cyber, online safety and digital operational resilience regulation), leveraging off existing structures, processes and procedures as appropriate. The aim is often to simplify and to future-proof. Our compliance offerings can be enhanced with the use of alternative legal services, including project managers, consultants and more.

Product workshops and risk assessments

Risk and impact assessments are often needed to demonstrate that appropriate care has been taken to identify and mitigate risks posed by the use of innovative technologies, big data or certain online user forums. We have deep experience of developing these in conjunction with our clients’ legal and business teams, and explaining them to regulators and courts. We firmly believe that good risk assessments can be powerful tools in helping businesses not only to safeguard compliance with regulation, but also to identify and mitigate key ethical and reputational risks. It is often possible for us to provide real time input into product development via workshops.

Investigations and claims enforcement

Our technology specialists have deep experience of working with regulators both prior to any investigation and for the purposes of investigations. Our multi-disciplinary global Investigations practice also includes market-leading investigators, litigators and competition lawyers from across the globe who have helped clients successfully challenge regulatory decisions at tribunal and in court, as well as defend class actions. Our bench includes individuals who regularly represent clients in front of the European Commission, who have been seconded to regulators and who have worked at the SEC and the DoJ.

Technology projects

We have deep experience on advising on all shapes and sizes of technology projects: AI, agile development, system integrations, tech collaborations, accelerators, complex technology outsourcings, SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, and more. We also provide strategic advice on client’s preferred target operating models and market testing strategies. Our combined commercial and regulatory expertise allows us to focus on the issues that really matter, and to ensure that what is written in our contracts is commercially realistic and safeguards key project values. We act for clients in many highly regulated sectors, including on fintech and medtech projects.

Recognition

Legal 500, IT & Telecoms UK 2024

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Data Protection & Information Law UK, Chambers 2024

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Data Protection, Europe-wide, Chambers 2024

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Our experience

  • A number of high-profile clients: advising on responsible AI programmes, often within the framework of broader EU Digital Package compliance programmes, and on commercial terms for the implementation of AI and generative AI tools.
  • A number of platform providers: advising on digital reforms, including on compliance with the DSA, Online Safety Act, AI Act, Data Act, risk assessments, responses to RFIs and more.
  • Barclays: advising on the development of a number of IT platforms, including a corporate pensions portal supported by two major insurers and a flexible benefits platform offering a variety of insurance products.
  • One of the “Big Four”: advising on several aspects of the evolution of its IT strategy including its global approach to cloud agreements through an innovative and transformational alliance with Google Cloud.
  • Sainsbury’s: advising on the outsourcing of its data centres and other IT requirements involving a ground-breaking IT securitisation financing structure worth in excess of £3.5bn.
  • Nestlé: advising on its ‘lighthouse’ digital warehouse transformation project, which involved the sourcing of the design, development and ongoing management and service provision of a new ‘intelligent’ UK logistics and distribution centre with third party logistics supplier, XPO.
  • Vodafone: advising in relation to its strategic collaboration with IBM, which will allow the two companies to jointly offer clients the latest Hybrid Cloud, AI, 5G, and Software Defined Networking capabilities.
  • De Beers: advising on all aspects of its e-business programme, including drafting development agreements for necessary software for websites, intranets and trading nets, and business operation agreements for hosting of all systems.
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EU Digital Package Handbook

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