New hires strengthen data protection and IT team at Leeds law firm

Transatlantic law firm, Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD), has hired two Managing Associates in its Leeds-based Commercial team to assist with data protection and IT related matters.

WBD’s data protection privacy and cybersecurity team boasts the capabilities to handle contentious and non-contentious matters relating to data protection, privacy and information law advice. The firm’s IT lawyers have particular expertise in advising clients from the financial services, manufacturing, transport and retail industries alongside public sector bodies.

Amir Ziton specialises in IT related matters, and has extensive international experience providing strategic advice to clients on all aspects of structuring and negotiating complex high-value commercial contracts. Amir is a US-qualified lawyer who began his career in private practice in Chicago.  He relocated to the UK in 2013 and has spent more than a decade working in both countries in various roles on the procurement and global legal teams of one of the world’s largest financial institutions, including serving as the Head of IT Legal for Customer Platforms & Digital.

Louisa Wojciechowska, who previously worked as a consultant for Blue Chip clients (including banks and large organisations) in the UK and Sydney, Australia, has over twelve years’ experience working in data protection privacy and IT. Over the years she has worked on various projects, one of which involved the implementation of a large IT project for a bank where she advised on the software and hardware requirements for its ATM machines.

Caroline Churchill, Partner in WBD’s Commercial team commented: “We are delighted to have Amir and Louisa join us in our Leeds-based commercial team with their specialist experience providing strategic advice to clients and negotiating high-value commercial contracts. They will assist with technology transactions pertaining to the Internet of Things as well as data and cyber security issues. The growth of our practice in Leeds demonstrates the firm’s commitment to expanding expertise within this area and continuing to support the commercial market.”

The firm was recommended in this year’s Legal 500, a leading annual guide to law firms in the UK, ranking as a top tier law firm across 33 practice areas. As part of a larger operation, the UK commercial team acts for more than 250 listed companies. In addition to the combination with the US which strengthened its offering, the commercial contracts practice gained momentum in other respects, as was evidenced by the firm’s appointment in 2017 to tier one of the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) legal panel and its successful re-appointment to Kingfisher’s legal panel.