q Dr Sam De Silva - Business Reporter

Dr Sam De Silva is a Partner in the IT and Outsourcing team. Sam specialises in strategic and complex IT and telecommunication projects including all forms of cloud computing (SaaS, PaaS and IaaS), outsourcing (IT, BPO and off-shoring), system development and supply, system integration, software licensing, support and service agreements, acting for both users and suppliers. Sam also regularly advises on data protection, privacy, cyber-security and PCI DSS issues.

Sam is deeply immersed in the technology sector and at the forefront of related policy issues, representing the UK on a number of international committees. This market intelligence supports clients in their strategic planning and future proofing of projects. Sam is also heavily involved with procurement best practice, having just completed a 4 year term on the Global Board of Trustees at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

Sam has written and spoken extensively on IT and outsourcing and is regularly called upon by the industry as a thought leader in these areas. He has been interviewed in the press, on the radio, and webinars and on television (including BBC Click and Channel 4 Dispatches). Sam is one of very few solicitors to be a Fellow of CIPS (FCIPS), Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS) and a Chartered IT Professional (CITP). Sam has post-graduate degrees in information technology and business administration, so he is well aware of the commercial, business and technical issues facing both users and suppliers of technology. Sam has had in-house industry legal experience, having been seconded to Accenture UK for 9 months as a Senior Legal Counsel.

Sam has been named in Who’s Who Legal: Telecommunications, Media & Technology (TMT) 2017 as one of the world’s leading TMT lawyers. As well as being an English qualified solicitor, Sam is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, and has been involved in some of the most cutting-edge IT and outsourcing projects in those jurisdictions.