What do you do?
We assist clients across the globe in making sure that they are compliant with applicable privacy legislation such as the GDPR or e-Privacy rules.
Career highlights?
Two particular highlights in my career to date spring to mind. The first is client-related and links to one of the largest personal data breaches in the recent years, which affected millions of individuals in over 30-plus territories. The severity of the incident mixed with the volume of hours myself and the team spent on this matter meant that the case was all the more rewarding once finalised.
The second is linked to our team in the London office. When I joined Bird & Bird back in 2011, there were only three of us in the London data protection team: one partner and two associates. Seven years later, we are in a completely different environment.
Influences and mentors?
Jérôme Huet at University Paris II Panthéon-Assas, and Chris Hoofnagle at UC Berkeley, San Francisco.
Advice for young lawyers?
Things are getting more and more technical. Being a good lawyer is a given. More and more clients expect lawyers to have a strong technical knowledge of their systems or industries so we can be put in front of their engineers, R&D and data scientists to fine-tune their engines. It’s important to be tech savvy so you can get your head around things such as ad-tech, profiling and anonymisation solutions.
If you hadn’t been a lawyer...
I would probably be an entrepreneur. There are few random things running through my head that I would’ve liked to have done such as operating a rooftop bar in Paris, importing crab-infused cachacas from Brazil or running a bed and breakfast on the Ile de Ré.
What will data lawyers be advising on in 10 years?
The battle between privacy and intrusive technologies will continue, and things are unlikely to slow down. We are likely to see a boom where multiple individual, possibly supported by non-for-profit organisations, will cluster together and sue companies and/or public bodies for breach of privacy laws.
What do you do to relax?
I love running to clear my mind, and it often gives me a different perspective on certain problems I’m trying to solve.