Job Description

Cyber and Technology Disputes Associate - 1-4 Years PQE

Location: London, Manchester, Edinburgh

Brief

We are seeking to recruit a specialist cyber and technology disputes lawyer and with 1-4 years PQE to join our market leading international Cyber and TMT Disputes practice.

Background

Pinsent Masons LLP has one of the leading and most established cyber teams in the UK. The team sits within its wider Technology, Media & Telecoms practice which is highly regarded globally with a team of over 30 partners and over 100 additional fee-earners, across a network of offices nationwide and internationally.

The team focuses on cyber, contractual technology disputes and data privacy litigation and has acted on some of the most significant litigation in this area to date. For example, the team acted for Google in the landmark Supreme Court decision in Lloyd v Google. This is widely regarded as the most significant data protection case in this jurisdiction to date.

Our cyber practice supports clients to manage a full range of cyber matters including: pre-breach services such as cyber simulations; full incident response management; regulatory investigations; and litigation arising out of cyber incidents. Our team is consistently praised by both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for its strengths in this area, with the team having been involved in some of the most significant cases to affect this area in recent years.

Our contractual technology disputes practice has handled some of the most complex technology disputes in this jurisdiction, including what is believed to be the highest value technology arbitration to have proceeded to a final arbitration hearing. The practice handles disputes relating to IT implementation projects, software licensing, outsourcing agreements and general commercial issues within the IT industry.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Pre-breach: development and delivery of pre-breach services to clients including cyber simulations, incident response planning programmes, cyber training and other cyber advisory work.
• Breach: end to end management of cyber security incidents including: fielding calls to our 24/7/365 breach response line; initiating and leading CMT calls; appointing IT forensics firms; engaging PR consultants; advising on notification obligations; notifying and liaising with criminal authorities (e.g. NCA, NCSC); project managing the incident response; appointing foreign counsel and coordinating multi-jurisdictional incidents; engaging credit monitoring and notification service providers; applying for injunctions; and submitting takedown requests.
• Regulatory: managing regulatory investigations including: notifying regulators (e.g. ICO and FCA); dealing with regulatory enforcement action; and appealing enforcement decisions.
• Cyber/privacy Litigation: dealing with litigation connected to cyber and data/privacy matters including: pursuing and defending claims and recoveries involving suppliers; dealing with B2B and B2C claims; defending claims (including group litigation and representative actions) initiated following incidents; and managing other disputes arising out of security/cyber and data/privacy matter.
• Technology Litigation: dealing with technically complex IT issues, including IT implementation, software licensing, outsourcing agreements etc. Supporting clients in pre-litigation matters, distressed re-negotiation, ADR, and litigation/arbitration.
• Business development: assisting with business development activities, internally within the firm and externally in the market, in order to win new clients and to win cyber work from existing clients - this will include identifying and developing relationships with clients and cyber insurers, attending and speaking at conferences and writing articles, as well as cementing existing relationships.

The Candidate

• The successful candidate will have excellent academics and will have gained experience in a City firm, with a strong litigation background. We are looking for a team player who can work with different teams and lawyers across the firm. The successful candidate must be a self-starter who enjoys business development.
• The role requires experience of cyber matters. In addition, the successful candidate will have a strong litigation background and an appetite to take on complex contractual technology disputes.
• The matters we work on are often large and high profile involving significant factual, technical and legal complexity. The successful candidate will demonstrate an appetite for getting involved and strong organisational skills. Since we almost invariably work in teams, the successful candidate will need to be a natural communicator and have a desire to work closely with others.

Knowledge, skills and experience required:

• Previous hands-on experience of advising on cyber matters, including in the cyber insurance market, is a key requirement.
• Experience of technically complex litigation preferred.
• A strong commitment to and enjoyment of business development is very important.
• An awareness of and good understanding of recent and upcoming regulatory changes in the data protection sphere is expected.
• English law qualified.

Awards

Pinsent Masons' cyber team is a finalist in the Zywave Cyber Risk Awards 2024. Pinsent Masons was awarded FT Most Innovative Law Firm – Europe, 2023 and also won the 'Best Talent and Inclusion' award at The Lawyer Awards 2022. It is the only law firm named in the top 16 most inclusive businesses in Europe by the Financial Times Diversity Leaders Report. The firm is named amongst the top inclusive UK employers for the 16th consecutive year by LGBT+ equality charity Stonewall in its Workplace Equality Index and won the Legal Business 'Law Firm of the Year' award in 2021. Go to: www.pinsentmasons.com/accolades to view all of our global awards and nominations.

As an inclusive employer, we are willing to consider any flexible working requests.

Should you require further details, please contact our in-house Lateral Recruitment Advisor Jules Grieve who can discuss the role and requirements.

How to Apply:

Apply below or contact our in-house Lateral Recruitment Advisor Jules Grieve who can discuss the role and requirements.

Contact details: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jules-grieve-94a731b4/
• Jules.Grieve@pinsentmasons.com