Digital trade

How we can help

Our services are designed to ensure our clients succeed in the digital world. We help them become more digital; navigate the complex web of international trade law; and shape the future of cross-border regulation.

We help our clients become more digital

As we have already seen, digitisation enables businesses to trade across borders, and so digital business models must be designed to reflect the rapidly evolving legal frameworks in which they operate around the world. We advise the world’s leading companies and investors on how to digitise their businesses, handling their tech deals, regulatory issues and risks in sectors as diverse as fintech, industrials and automotive, life sciences and, of course, technology. Indeed, a major international tech company told us that we are the first firm to really tie law to tech.

• Transactional services
  Our transactional teams help our clients buy and build digital capabilities. We know what it takes to secure the value of a tech acquisition, joint venture or collaboration agreement, whether that involves IP, talent, data or an innovative business model. And with fierce competition for the best assets, we know how to execute at speed. Our global team brings together the world’s leading M&A and antitrust attorneys, cutting-edge IP and data expertise and lawyers with decades of experience inside government agencies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
• Regulatory services
  From proposed EU regulations on AI to evolving data privacy, consumer protection and antitrust regimes, global regulators are constantly challenging digital businesses. Product design and distribution strategies, data practices and third-party relationships are all under scrutiny. Our lawyers cover all areas of tech-related regulation, have deep relationships with the key regulatory agencies and understand how to develop pioneering tech-related products and services. As an example we are giving Siemens, one of the world’s leading industrial manufacturers, award-winning advice on the development of a cloud-based open operating platform that connects machines, plants and systems.
• Risk services
  The world’s leading tech companies and disruptors trust us to defend them against commercial and reputational threats. From complex patent litigation to open source software disputes and investigations into antitrust issues and data breaches – alongside the associated mass claims - we understand the tech risk landscape better than any other firm. We are recognised as market-leaders in commercial disputes, competition litigation, global investigations and risk management, and are renowned for handling the most complex cases. Our teams work together across borders to help you mitigate risk, respond in a crisis and ensure the enforcement of favourable judgments.

We help our clients enter new markets

We are uniquely placed to help our clients enter new markets thanks to our leading practices across all areas relevant to international trade – from public international law to public procurement, competition law and financial services. We have advised major multinationals on the full range of matters including trade remedies, antidumping, customs and export controls, EU trade law and disputes, economic and financial sanctions, WTO matters and environmental law, among other things.

We help our clients shape regulation

Finally, we are one of the few firms with a dedicated EU regulatory and public affairs practice. We help clients engage constructively with the European institutions to shape the regulatory landscape and gather intelligence to help clients anticipate and respond to forthcoming regulatory changes. We have been working with a multinational insurance company and a global payments institution to help them ensure their internal strategies on AI were aligned with the EU's and have been advising an automotive manufacturer on its utilisation of data, in line with the European Data Strategy.

We also advise clients on strategic policy issues in the framework of competition and trade proceedings. For example, we assisted a coalition of UK-based business services organisations on their engagement with the EU Brexit Taskforce, national representations and the UK government regarding issues impacting the professional business services sector, such as uncertainty around EU-UK data flows. In addition, we take part in relevant EU stakeholder fora and are members of the EU AI Alliance, EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum and the EU US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) stakeholder platform.