Adam is a Commercial and Data Protection Partner in the Intellectual Property Group, with over 25 years' experience, specialising in data protection and freedom of information law, as well as advising clients on IT and commercial contracts, including licensing, franchising, agency, distribution and terms of business.
He advises clients across a number of sectors, but in particular, those in real estate, publishing and broadcasting, financial services, and retail and leisure, including hotels and restaurants.
In data protection and freedom of information, he advises corporates and individuals on all aspects of the law.
Adam is the International Development Partner at Mishcon de Reya. His primary objective is to ensure the firm consistently delivers the best advice to its clients and to gain the trust of clients and lawyers from around the world. He works closely with the partners appointed as leaders for each international region to closely monitor the overseas service the Firm provides, the expansion of its client-base and how it is delivering against its strategy.
Key Experience
- Advising the Intertain Group Limited in relation to proposed acquisition of Jackpotjoy site and business partnership with Gamesys Limited.
- Advising JO Hambro on an IT services agreement relating to a mobile billing platform with DoCoMo, Bouygues, Movistar and Orange.
- Acting for diamond company Pluczenik in a High Court commercial agency dispute with diamond dealer Nagel.
- Representing an investor in a business that went on to appear on a television reality programme. We used subject access requests to the TV production company to seek to uncover what information had been provided to it in respect of our client. This proved extremely valuable in the shareholder dispute that ultimately successfully settled.
- Acting for various individuals connected with an investment who sought to obtain their personal data from a campaigning NGO which our clients believed were holding personal data relating to them. We were testing the scope of the 'journalism exemption' which the NGO claimed enabled it to avoid disclosing that data to our clients. Ultimately, the Information Commissioner decided that the NGO has engaged in 'campaigning journalism' and therefore protected from needing to comply with the Data Protection Act.
- Advising a major property developer on data protection aspects relating to its use of loyalty cards and mobile tracing techniques in respect of its town centre mixed use development.
- Advising a tax payer in relation to his Data Protection and Freedom of Information Act requests made to HMRC, challenging HMRC's interpretation of the meaning of 'personal data' and various exemptions to both the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act.
- Acting for a leading charity in relation to an investigation by the Information Commissioner into charity practices concerned with cold calling and data list selling.
- Representing a major online gaming business on its multi-jurisdictional data protection compliance obligations and its handling of personal data in the context of the Data Protection Act, gambling regulation and historic player terms.
- Advising a publisher in the medical sector on its ability to use sensitive personal data and anonymised and aggregated data under licence from a public sector data provider.
- Various betting and gaming companies on their IT contracts.
- Various property developers on freedom of information and environmental information issues opposite planning authorities around the UK.
Articles and Publications
- The implications for data protection, cybersecurity and privacy lawyers of the Digital Economy Act 2017 (LexisNexis), 2017
- Caldicott’s concerns: DeepMind and the Royal Free London (Digital Health Legal), 2017
- ICO issues an Undertaking but no fine following its investigation into Royal Free/DeepMind deal (Digital Health Legal), 2017
- Data Protection Day: Is regulation a price worth paying? (Data IQ), 2017.
Career History
Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Partner, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
Solicitor, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
Articled Clerk, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
Open University, Certificate of Higher Education
LSE, LLM (IP and IT Law)
College of Law, Law Society Finals Examination
Manchester University, BA (Hons) Accounting and Law