DWF has appointed its new UK national leader of privacy and cybersecurity, James Drury-Smith, who has joined from PwC where he was UK leader for the non-contentious data protection legal practice.
Drury-Smith will now assist the global legal firm in developing its data protection and cybersecurity business both in the UK and worldwide.
His role will include advising businesses from a variety of sectors on meeting their data protection requirements. These are in the areas of privacy compliance programs, implementing and assessing privacy controls, responding to data breaches, regulatory investigations and rights requests, the commercial use of data and data protection assessments of new technologies.
Stewart Room, global head of data protection and cybersecurity at DWF, commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming James to DWF. He is an extremely experienced data protection professional who brings with him technical legal excellence and a wealth of practical operational experience. James and I have worked together in different forms for over eight years, I am therefore certain his addition will help us propel the practice forward.”
Drury-Smith has over 16 years of experience in the field, helping companies build and establish their data protection and cybersecurity business, including at Barclays Bank, Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe and PwC. He is recognized by the legal directories, Chambers and Legal500 for his expertise in privacy and cybersecurity.
Drury-Smith said: “At DWF, we will be putting business-minded data protection subject matter experts at the heart of what we do. We aim to become the number one destination for our clients as they grapple with the practicalities and complexities associated with data protection in modern business. I am very much looking forward to working with my new colleagues to achieve this.”