5 Legal Mountains AI Companies Are Climbing

Alex Sobolev Partner

London

Alex’s multidisciplinary practice and transatlantic experience enable him to provide strategic commercial advice for technology led companies, including coordinating and implementing data and consumer risk mitigation projects, providing outsourcing advice and developing key legal risk mitigation strategies in relation to products where the pace of innovation nearly always outpaces the law.

He has advised companies at all stages of the corporate lifecycle, from software development and product launch, through technology licensing, sale and purchase, to mergers and acquisitions of data and tech-heavy businesses. He has assisted organisations with the design, development and implementation of global data protection and compliance policies, as well the management of risk and security associated with data retention, processing and transfer.

Sarah Schaedler Partner

San Francisco

Sarah’s practice focuses on structuring and negotiating the intellectual property aspects of complex corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, business divestitures, and commercial transactions where software and technology are the principal assets as well as stand-alone strategic licensing matters. Sarah also advises clients on their Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy and roadmap implementation with a focus on the procurement and negotiation of AI contracts.

Sarah routinely advises on carve-outs and business separation transactions and helps clients with structuring and implementing their intellectual property and technology separation and integration roadmaps.

Sarah has counseled several companies in their preparation for a divestiture and understands the issues a buyer is focused on in the context of intellectual property matters. She regularly helps companies implement remediation steps around their intellectual property assets to help them to a successful closing.

She has significant experience advising private equity funds on investments involving companies that are driven by technology and innovation, as well as intellectual property reliant consumer product companies and companies that are stepping into digitalization.

As a member of Orrick’s AI leadership group, Sarah is involved in Orrick’s AI practice strategy and thought leadership projects related to AI matters.

Julia Apostle Partner

Paris

Julia counsels on compliance issues in relation to European and French tech and data regulations, including:

• the GDPR;
• the Digital Services Act;
• the EU AI Act and the regulation of AI more generally,
• the Data Act;
• the Cyber Resilience Act;
• the NIS2 Directive;

and other new and emerging legislation impacting online platforms, technology developers, and eCommerce businesses. She advises companies of all sizes on a wide range of compliance matters, ranging the drafting of internal policies, to assisting with regulatory investigations, product counseling and regulatory engagement.

In the context of strategic transactions covering significant and complex technological issues, she is involved in the drafting and negotiation of agreements relating to data transfer, IT, software, content and brand licensing.

Julia is deeply familiar with the commercial considerations’ clients face, having practiced in-house at Twitter, Financial Times and CBS for more than a decade prior to joining Orrick. Julia also teaches a course on AI contracts for the Master's program in AI Law at a leading French university and acts as a mentor for students.