At the SCL Trustees meeting on 21 November, Roger Bickerstaff was elected as Chair of the SCL Board. He has taken over from Clive Davies. Clive, who spent almost three years as Chair, will continue as an SCL Trustee.
Roger Bickerstaff is Joint Head of Bird & Bird’s IT Sector Group where he advises on all aspects of IT law to public and private sector clients with a particular interest and experience in advising on public sector IT projects. He is recognised as being a leading exponent of IT law. During the time he has been a Trustee of SCL, Roger has taken responsibility for many seminars and other events, including (together with fellow Trustee Mark Taylor) organising this year’s highly successful annual conference in London, has spent a long period as Chair of the SCL Media Board and has been a prime mover in the very popular Back to Basics series.
Roger Bickerstaff said:
‘I am delighted to have the opportunity to serve as SCL Chair. Clive Davies has done such a good job as Chair and will be a hard act to follow. I hope to carry on building on the community aspects of the Society which Clive has done so much to foster. I will also continue to ensure that SCL attracts the increasing number of in-house lawyers with IT law responsibilities.’
Roger originally trained as a mechanical engineer, ‘as suited a good Sheffield boy’, until retraining in law in the mid-1980s. Following his training contract with Linklaters, he joined Bird & Bird in 1992. Interest in IT law seemed to come naturally, both because of his engineering background and because it was a hot area at that time. That is an interest he has never lost.
Roger shares a passion for sailing with the preceding SCL Chair and his boat reflects his interest in technology. He is kept on his technology toes by a technogeek teenage son.
At the Society’s AGM earlier in November, Mark O’Conor and Anna Cook were elected as new SCL Trustees (although Anna had previously been co-opted).
Anna leads radiant.law’s dispute resolution practice. Previously, Anna was a Partner at Wedlake Bell LLP where she led the IT practice. Anna is has been a long-term member of the Media Board of the Society. She is recognised in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 as a ranked expert for IT and telecoms.
Mark O’Conor is a Partner in the Intellectual Property and Technology Group at DLA Piper. His work includes all aspects of IT law, majoring on public procurement, IT in the financial services sector and e-commerce issues. During his career, Mark has advised technology suppliers, start-ups, content providers and public sector bodies on deals ranging from credit card processing outsourcing and online auctions to the creation of standard suites of agreements and car dealership financing.
Bill Jones, a former SCL Chair and long-serving SCL Trustee, steps down. Bill has been responsible for many conferences and events and has been an important influence in the many changes wrought in SCL over the last decade.
