Sheilah advises across day-to-day and complex technology, commercial, franchising and data protection matters, both domestic and international, with particular expertise in the defence, financial services, university and retail sectors. She also works with public sector clients.
Sheilah works extensively on technology projects for customers and suppliers including outsourcing and procurement, software development and licensing, cloud, OSS and AI issues, industrial and academic collaborations, app development, ecommerce and other general TMT matters. She is adept at co-ordinating legal and SME input from multiple jurisdictions and guiding project teams to coherent resolutions.
In parallel, Sheilah advises on compliance with relevant data protection and privacy laws in the use of customer, employee and third party data and the deployment of cookies and similar technology in day-to-day work and large-scale cloud and outsourcing deals.
She advises on a wide range of commercial contracts, frameworks, T&Cs and BPOs and on the impact of relevant regulatory regimes on them e.g. competition law, advertising codes and consumer requirements, and sector specific contracting methods such as DEFCONs. Sheilah is also a recognised franchising expert, providing advice on the full range of issues faced by franchisors, franchisees, industry bodies and consultants.
She is skilled at delivering training for a variety of audiences, as well as understanding the needs of in-house lawyers and their internal clients having worked in-house for several years at both BAE Systems and the University of Southampton prior to joining Womble Bond Dickinson in May 2020.
Sheilah is a member of the Society for Computers and Law.
Experience
Examples of experience include advising:
- Leading global insurer –on the re-platforming of their UK and European broker policy administration system and insurer e-trade solution including assisting with the material outsourcing notification to the PRA under SS2/21 requirements, and on the development and licensing of a global trade credit management system
- Leading UK insurer - on the development and provisioning of a white label investment platform for its advisers providing a full range of SIPP, ISA and general investment account products, working in close conjunction with financial services colleagues
- Multiple independent regional co-operatives - on the joint procurement from a leading AI SaaS provider of a new AI driven range and space and category planning platform to be rolled out across a network of around 500 managed and franchised convenience stores
- UK financial advisory group - managing the transition of a significant number of IT and data contracts to a global financial services management platform following the merger of our client with a leading UK competitor
- Online market leading sportswear business - on a joint membership programme with a global sports brand, advising on commercial and data issues and co-ordinating UK and EU competition law inputs
- Global investment bank –negotiation of multiple IT and business process outsourcing projects up to c. £500m in value, many requiring legal input and management across several years and the management of legal and SME input from multiple jurisdictions, covering development, maintenance and global roll-out of new back office systems, renewal and re-platforming of telephony trading systems, replacement of MFDs, procurement of development, test and automation services, and procurement of recruitment services and publication subscriptions
- British multinational defence, security, and aerospace company – responsible for the provision of IP and technology law expertise across the Maritime, Australian and US Programmes business units, as well as strategic UK university engagements, primarily in relation to MOD and CCS contracts, RFPs and frameworks and also in relation to university collaborations, technology bolt-ons, sponsorship arrangements, commercialisation of software, software development kits, AI and OSS use, marking regimes, shared service projects, and IP strategy and management plans
- Leading independent regional co-operative – providing on-going advice to a co-op on their own convenience store franchise network including preparing standard form franchise and related agreements and advising on franchisee issues, as well as negotiation of the contractual arrangements for their international coffee shop franchises being operated as a franchisee, along with other assorted commercial agreements
- Leading national home services franchisor - on a variety of matters including updating their template franchise agreements, advising on franchise resales, side letters and franchisee management issues
- British multinational DIY retailer - on a variety of IT and data related contracts including the negotiation of merchant services framework agreements.
“Great subject knowledge, commercial acumen and client relationship-building ability.”
Chambers 2017 - A Client's Guide to the Legal Profession 2016
“She is a very shrewd, commercial lawyer who is easy to work with.”
Chambers UK - A Client's Guide to the Legal Profession 2016
“Understands business needs and provides advice in such a way that agreements are legally robust yet in line with clients’ goals.”
The Legal 500 UK 2016
“Sheilah Mackie is ‘tenacious', with ‘a great eye for detail'."
The Legal 500 UK 2014
