Will is a technology lawyer based in London. He focuses on fintech, outsourcing and intellectual property law and co-leads the firm's UK AI Advisory Group.
Will advises clients on global commercial and technology transactions (including regulated outsourcing arrangements in compliance with DORA and the EBA Guidelines), fund administration and investment service arrangements, complex software and systems development projects, and the commercialisation of intellectual property.
Will works with a broad range of clients, including institutional banks, investment/pension funds, large technology providers, insurers, and clients within the energy sector. He was previously seconded to a global investment bank to work on projects involving the distribution, analytics and commercialisation of market data and the use of blockchain in global securities financing markets.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
Fintech
- acting for a high-growth fintech start-up on the development of its digital fundraising platform, allowing investors to fully manage the entire life cycle of their private capital and fund-of-funds investments through a single integrated platform, and expanding the functionality of the platform through subsequent product launches*
- acting for a leading global investment bank to extend its participation in a complex and highly regulated securities lending platform operating that tokenised securities utilising Blockchain technology*
- acting for an international insurance firm on its procurement of an AI-enabled digital risk processing platform to support its commercial underwriting function*
- acting for one of South Africa’s largest banks on the procurement of a core banking solution to be implemented across 18 African jurisdictions*
- acting for a high street name on the phased implementation of payment and banking services across its estate of branches in the UK, using PCI-accredited point-to-point encryption to facilitate business banking capabilities, card payments in branches, and transaction management support facility*
- acting for a French international banking group on a global technology refresh for its investment banking division through procuring specialist communications hardware and software for its traders from IPC*
- acting for one of the world’s largest crypto-currency exchanges on its strategic global restructuring to ensure uninterrupted service provision across the group while maintaining consistent regulatory compliance*
- acting for a crypto-native fintech on a global intra-group EBA-compliant intra-group services agreement in respect of various operational support services*
Energy
- acting for one of the world's largest publicly listed utilities focused on transmission and distribution of electricity and gas on the sale of its subsidiary that operates the electricity transmission networks
- acting for a leading EV charging infrastructure provider on the strategy and renegotiation of material service and SaaS arrangements across the entirety of their charging infrastructure estate on their exit from part of the EV charging infrastructure market
Corporate and Commercial
- advising a range of financial service institutions and critical technology service providers on regulated outsourcing remediation projects, including in compliance with DORA (including level 2 technical standards) and the EBA Outsourcing Guidelines
- acting for a leading global online distribution platform on its multi-billion dollar partnership with a luxury fashion goods group, to launch e-concessions on the marketplace for its various brands, and re-platform all direct e-commerce apps and websites for certain brands onto our client’s combined, proprietary technology and fulfilment solution*
- acting for a global investment management company on the procurement of fund administration and transfer agency services in respect of ACS and OIEC funds comprising multiple asset classes with an AUM of around £60 billion*
- acting for a British multinational bank on all aspects of the business-critical outsourcing to HCL of its global technology support functions, as well as all technology and mainframe support functions based out of the bank's technology hub in Lithuania, involving 31 jurisdictions*
- acting for a US global asset management firm on a joint venture with one of Europe’s largest financial services groups to operate a global cash equities and research business*
- acting for an international life insurance company on the procurement for the development of a global IFRS reporting system, together with systems integration, resource augmentation and tax advisory services*
- acting for a government owned UK high street name on a major multi-supplier outsourcing worth £750m covering telecoms network, IT, service integration and management, the provision of consumer hardware and contact centre services*
- acting for a consortium of investors on a multi-million dollar joint venture to commercialise an international women’s tennis competition*
- acting on the sale of one of Europe's largest holiday rental companies*
*Matters dealt with at a previous firm.
