Data Privacy and Technology Senior/Managing Associate
Commercial
Flexible
Apply nowWe are excited to be recruiting an experienced Data Privacy and Tech Lawyer to join our growing and ambitious Commercial team. This is an excellent opportunity to work with partners Ashley Avery (formerly of Travers Smith), Paolo Sbuttoni (formerly of Baker & McKenzie) and the wider team on a wide range of data privacy and technology related matters.
We are looking for someone who has the expertise to lead large scale (often global) privacy projects including data protection compliance audits, complex DPIAs, group data processing arrangements and advisory work in respect of international data transfers. We have carved out a niche for ourselves in the market by focussing on the use of personal data in innovative marketing and advertising activities, social media, consumer-facing promotions, and loyalty programmes (in particular a means of supporting our market leading Retail and Charities sectors). Expertise in these areas would be particularly welcome.
From a Tech perspective, we support clients on transformational technology projects and complex licensing in the FinTech, CleanTech and Retail Tech fields and as a team, advise both consumers and suppliers on the implementation of new digital initiatives. This is a great opportunity to advise on the adoption and negotiation of contracts relating to, traditional technology-based arrangements (licensing, cloud services, consultancy, support and maintenance and hardware/software purchasing) as well as new technology (i.e. AL; drone management software, blockchain solutions). We regularly develop bespoke contracts for the latter.
We’re flexible as to where and how this role is fulfilled. We have offices in various locations (see below) including London, Bristol, Southampton, Exeter and Manchester. We are open to a blend of office and home working.
What you’ll do
Working as part of a motivated and supportive team, you will advise a wide range of high quality national and regional clients including household names and highly successful regional and national businesses, you will take responsibility for drafting and negotiating agreements and related documentation and advising clients on a wide range of data privacy and tech related matters (including how emerging tech such as AI and drone technology may impact our clients). In addition, you will work collaboratively with our highly regarded Corporate Team, providing support in respect of Data and Tech matters throughout M&A transactions and post completion when developing relationships with target businesses (and supervise juniors in respect of the same).
In addition to leading on innovative work, you will be responsible for delegating work to, and supervising, junior lawyers and trainees to ensure that work is done at the right level and to allow you to focus on more complex matters. It is therefore essential that you enjoy working as part of a team and are skilled in managing others as well as effective delegation.
Working closely with the partners to build the profile of the Commercial Team, you will be directly involved in growing this practice area in line with the wider objectives and goals of the firm. In return for your efforts, we will support you in developing your professional skills and knowledge to progress your career and provide you with every opportunity to continue building your profile. We actively encourage every member of the team to engage with business development opportunities and take part in networks which are such an integral part of this area of practice. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain more experience in supervising juniors in the team, whilst being able to continue your own journey of progression and development. As such, you will play a key role in contributing towards the continuing success of the team and the firm’s wider Commercial offering.
We are proud of our proven track record of developing and progressing our lawyers, in an environment where recognition and appreciation is shared with colleagues. Our lawyers understand that progression is open to them as and when they are ready, without the need for concern about ‘glass ceilings’. Your career path will be entirely based on merit and under your control from the outset.
What we’re looking for
As an experienced Data and Tech Lawyer, you will be accustomed to being challenged and seeking to further enhance your skills and knowledge whilst working with high quality clients in a supportive team. You will have already gained exposure to a wide variety of commercial matters with a focus on Data Protection and Tech issues, working independently with clients of differing size and profile, able to demonstrate your positive and pragmatic approach to finding the right solutions to meet their business needs. In addition, it’s essential that you possess a passion for this area of law. With the exceptional pace of technological change, you will be driven to stay ahead of data protection developments and be at the forefront in understanding the impact of developing technologies.
You will be experienced in managing and supervising junior lawyers and will know how to get the best from the people around you. You will be a strong communicator with good rapport building skills and the resilience to work under pressure. You will have the ability to forge lasting relationships with clients, and will be keen to create opportunities to further enhance your profile and that of the firm by engaging with a variety of business development opportunities.
You may already be an experienced Associate looking for a step up or a Senior/Managing Associate who is ready for a new challenge. You may have also gained some experience in an in-house legal team, and previous secondments may be advantageous but are not essential. The most important thing to us is your drive to continue developing your legal and commercial skillset and be part of a tight knit and ambitious team.
Our offer to you
In return for your efforts, you can expect considerable scope for personal as well as professional development. We encourage people to engage with our popular and well supported coaching and mentoring programmes, which connect you to people right across the firm and at every level. We create space for mental and physical wellbeing with our weekly Lifestyle Hour, along with 28 days of annual leave (plus an extra day for your birthday), private medical insurance (eligibility applies) and a sabbatical you can take every 5 years. You can also buy holiday, managing your benefits flexibly using our sophisticated portal to configure your total reward offer according to what you value most. As part of this, you can make ongoing or one-off donations to our charitable foundation and access our CSR programme where you can engage with community-based initiatives (as a team, or individually) twice a year, to give something back where you feel it matters.
For further details of our benefits packages, please visit the link attached – Our benefits | Foot Anstey
Successful applicants will be required to complete a pre-employment screening process which includes a financial integrity check and a DBS check. If you wish to discuss any issues or questions in connection with this, or anything else, please do speak in confidence with a member of the Talent Acquisition Team: [email protected]
Why Foot Anstey?
As one of the UK’s fastest growing law firms, Foot Anstey believes in helping our clients and people achieve their ambitions, unlocking new and exciting opportunities. Our team of business and legal advisors are motivated by understanding clients’ goals and collaborating with them and other advisers to deliver solutions. By becoming our clients’ most trusted advisor, we are enabling them to achieve their ambitions. How we do it is just as important as what we do. Our values define the way we act with our clients and one another every day, and because of these we think our culture and environment sets us apart.
Over our history we’ve grown from a high-street firm to a significant regional and national player working with leading brands and individuals predominantly across seven key sectors: Private Equity, Retail & Consumer, Energy & Infrastructure, Islamic Finance, Developers, Private Wealth and Charities. Our strategy of gaining market share through meeting clients’ needs, investing in and developing high quality talent and using technology and innovation to enhance our services has led to significant growth. We now operate from nine locations: Truro, Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton, Bristol, Southampton and London, as well as a ‘hub’ base in Oxford and Manchester.
Our people are central to our success, in every part of the business. We actively support our employees to achieve their aspirations through offering meaningful careers with balanced rewards, which have been carefully designed to focus on personal wellbeing. We offer continual opportunities for support and professional development through our Business Skills Academy and Digital Skills Academy and believe in empowering each other to achieve and strive to create a progressive and inclusive working environment. Being forward-thinking, we are open to discussing flexible working patterns for all of our vacancies, with over 40% of our existing employees having a permanent flexible working pattern. In addition, our impressive suite of flexible benefits will enable you to prioritise what matters most to you.
Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is integral to delivering our strategy, and we were delighted to be awarded the National Equality Standard for a second time in 2021. We consider this to be right at the heart of our priorities, and goes way beyond our policies – it’s something we consider across everything we do, from the make-up of our client teams, encouraging staff to reach their potential, through to our leadership. We aim to support our clients and our people to achieve their goals, regardless of background, gender, race, beliefs, sexuality or other non-work related factors. We champion aspiration and encourage it in everyone that works with us. As such we actively encourage applications from all suitably qualified people, regardless of any characteristics protected by law. If you apply for this role, you may be encouraged to answer our diversity and social mobility monitoring questions, so please be reassured that any answers you provide will remain entirely anonymous and confidential and will in no way impact your application.
Foot Anstey. Seriously Ambitious.
