Clifford Chance

Practice profile

Clifford Chance is best-known for its banking and finance abilities. But there’s more to the firm than that: in the past few years, tech and data have become increasingly important – perhaps inspired by the work undertaken by its competition practice, which has conducted large amounts of work for digital markets such as Spotify and advocated against Google in multiple European Commission complaints. Nowadays, the firm has a leading AI and ethics advisory practice, and parlays its strengths in all matters corporate and financial into advising investors on portfolio company data risks and opportunities. As at late 2021, 18 partners in multiple practice areas across Europe, Asia and the US dedicate a significant amount of their practices to data and technology. Three of those partners were hired after July 2020; the firm also picked up counsel Jamal El-Hindi, who was formerly the chief data officer at the US Department of the Treasury.

The firm boasts the kind of client roster you would expect from such a global giant: to name but a few, there are global banks such as ING, Santander, HSBC and Citi, and TMT and social media players such as Groupe Canal Plus, Tencent, Viasat and News Group.

Leading individuals

Partners Jonathan Kewley, Kate Scott and Samantha Ward are key contacts in London: Kewley is a private equity specialist by training, while Ward and Scott bring significant disputes experience to the table. Dessislava Savova is a leader in Paris, and Celeste Koeleveld in New York has a background as a prosecutor and regulator. Of note is rising star Arnav Joshi, who started his career in India before relocating to the UK.

Work highlights

The firm’s historic work has included advising an airline on shutting down unauthorised data scraping of its website by online travel agents, which involved questions of contract, tort, copyright and database right claims, and assisting a FTSE 100 retail-facing company implementing a global data protection compliance programme.

More recently, Amsterdam partner Titus de Vries and Paris partner Savova have conducted a transfer assessment survey for ING, which has involved mapping the bank’s data flows across multiple jurisdictions and advising on post-Schrems II compliance. Another interesting banking matter for a confidential client has seen London partner Simon Persoff creating a framework for addressing risks linked to over- and under-retention of data. Kewley has worked on an impressive list of privacy and non-privacy data matters for several private equity houses.

There is – predictably – plenty more financial services work on the deals side. Clifford Chance has provided Italian and Spanish advice to Santander as it launches a data-driven joint venture with Telecom Italy. A major bank is also receiving advice on the data aspects of its disposal of European operations. Outside of banking and finance, a team in Australia, UK, the US and Singapore acts for digital fitness app Sweat on its sale to iFIT Health & Fitness. German lawyers are advising on a cooperation with medical data providers and hospital chains to build a data platform to standardise global healthcare sales. One pro bono engagement has involved the team working with the UK data regulator and Advocates for International Development to create a Brexit playbook for charities.

On the contentious side, lawyers including Ward, Scott, Persoff and New York partner Daniel Silver assisted a client in responding to a ransomware attack that involved liaising with regulators in 20 jurisdictions. Italian partners Antonio Golino and Fabio Guastadisegni represent Sigue in an appeal against a pre-GDPR Garante decision to fine the company and four of its agents €11 million for consent failures. A London disputes team is defending News Group in a high-profile High Court phone hacking litigation. Luxembourg partner Albert Moro acted for a global payments platform in its interaction with the National Data Protection Commission; the matter concluded in late 2020. A Spanish and Italian team acts for a client in multiple data protection investigations linked to international transfers, processing client data for marketing purposes and an alleged failure to prevent SIM swap fraud.

Outside of privacy, Paolo Sersale in Milan has advised BaoSteel on the migration of proprietary information of a subsidiary to its holding company’s databases – triggering complex IP issues relating to rights in data, confidentiality and trade secrets alongside data protection questions.

Client feedback

The general counsel of a company in the aviation industry says partner Luke Tolaini and senior associate Ellen Lake provided “excellent” representation on an ongoing matter: “They were completely knowledgeable regarding the matter and advised [the company] both as to the laws and regulations in the area, our choices for actions to comply with laws and regulations and our commercial choices in dealing with affected counterparties.”