Bhagyashree Pancholy
Summary
Data privacy, Technology, Commercial and Financial law specialist with 12+ years of relevant experience. Have worked extensively in Privacy and Data Protection, Technology Law, Artificial Intelligence and SaaS industry from pre-GDPR days and have been involved in operations as well.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Legal Counsel (Tech, Privacy and AI)
Legal Out International Lawyers
05.2023 - Current
- Assisted, managed and led clients in all matters of technology, privacy, banking law, Web 3 and AI
- Drafted comprehensive legal policies, ensuring regulatory adherence and minimizing exposure to liability especially for AI vendors and clients
- Represented clients in privacy related matters
- Created and finalized contracts and other legal documents for clients
- Drafted, reviewed and negotiated contracts and other legal documents to support client needs including third-party, operations, services, and marketing agreements
- Served as in-house counsels for AI start up clients, overseeing the entire legal requirements including AI vendor contracts, privacy assessment and documentation, and risk analysis
- Served as lead counsel on strategic deals, resolving issues that arise in existing commercial relationships, and handling pre-litigation legal disputes and inquiries for clients
- Liaised and worked closely with in-house counsels on matters related to AI and Data Privacy risks, policies, regulations, frameworks and laws.
- Aided in-house teams in conducting Data Privacy Risk assessments, AI Impact Assessments and Tech Assessments
- Served as external product counsel for startups, ensuring adherence to existing policies and laws and conducting risk analysis and framing relevant product development and growth strategies
- Provided expert guidance on intellectual property rights, securing valuable assets for the organization
- Provided time-sensitive support on a wide array of legal inquiries concerning all aspects of EU's operations
Legal Advisor
Visaero Ptd. Lte.
02.2023 - 02.2024
- Served as the Chief Privacy and Data Protection Officer
- Set up all compliances and policies related to data privacy and protection
- Drafted and negotiated relevant data transfer agreements and other commercial agreements Performed GDPR, CCPA, PDPA (Singapore) and Personal Data Protection Law (Dubai) audits and compliance
- Drafted agreements for exceptions to biometrics privacy and Artificial Intelligence
- Drafted Terms and Conditions, Platform usage policies, cookie policies and privacy policies
- Aided the founders in NIST privacy framework implementation, EU's AI Act compliance, China's AI guidelines and Dubai's AI guidelines along with aligning the product with OECD's AI framework
Legal Advisor
Cammylyyon GmbH
04.2021 - 01.2024
- A Zug-located company that builds AI chatbots and Augmented Reality products for the manufacturing and financial industry
- Developed vision, operationalized and implemented strategy
- Advised the board on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and other business matters
- Identified relevant current and future legal, regulatory and policy requirements as well as voluntary commitments and industry best practices, and translate them into the company's policy, standards and controls
- Built and maintained strong and trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders, in particular with legal and business teams, and interaction with clients, as needed
- Closely worked with risk, information security and other teams to build and run the products, supporting risk and quality management as well as post market monitoring, each as relevant for the scope of the product
- Kept abreast of technology trends and developments and their impact, and developed guidance, training and thought leadership for internal audiences
- Managed and oversaw all commercial-legal issues of the company including contracts, documentation, MSAs, SLAs, vendor contracts and assessments, procurements etc.
Senior Legal Advisor
Avyana GmbH
01.2022 - 11.2023
- A research company based in Zug that specializes in building self learning AI chatbots, linking AI with IoT and building AI solutions for the manufacturing industry
- Delivered comprehensive legal analysis, enabling informed business decisions based on sound understanding of applicable law
- Counseled founders on potential outcomes of legal matters
- Drafted clear and concise legal documents including contracts, memoranda, pleadings, briefs, settlement agreements, among others which contributed to successful case resolutions
- Protected intellectual property rights, filing infringement claims when necessary to safeguard valuable assets
- Demonstrated ability to identify, understand and assess trends and developments in data governance and AI, such as the proposed EU AI and digital packages, and to explain issues in a practical, results-focused manner
- Drafted, negotiated, reviewed and maintained contracts
- Performed GDPR, CCPA, privacy and AI audits and compliance
- Aided the operations, sales and tech teams in relevant legal queries, product development and compliance, client queries, deployment procedures, software and AI audits
- Closely worked with the insecurity team to address AI risks at all stages from development to deployment at the client's servers
- Oversaw and led internal corporate governance, commercial transactions and documentation and board meetings
- Demonstrated command of data governance and artificial intelligence, and related policy, laws and regulations
- Served as lead counsel on strategic deals, resolving issues that arise in existing commercial relationships, and handling pre-litigation legal disputes and inquiries
General Counsel
Lano Software GmbH
05.2021 - 05.2023
- Served as the General Counsel at Lano Software GmbH, an Employer of Record, Payroll, Fintech and Contractor management platform
- Implemented all legal procedures and operations for the team, and developed legal strategy for the company
- Head and responsible for all employment, tax, immigration, Intellectual Property, Privacy and technology and other cross jurisdictional hire compliances and procedures
- Head of data protection and privacy at Lano
- Worked closely with the CTO to implement and secure company servers and databases, along with Head of Info Sec
- Head of company‑wide legal internal and external matters, directly reporting to the founders
- Aided the founders in general corporate governance and fund raising
- Reviewed, drafted and negotiated commercial contracts including MSAs, SLAs, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policies, Cookie Policies, vendor management contracts, Non Disclosure Agreements, and other legal documents
- Drafted global country hiring guides, permanent establishment guides, and other collaterals related to employment law, taxation law, Intellectual Property Law, Privacy and Data Protection and immigration law
- Responsible for all external/client legal communication and correspondence Oversaw recruitment and working of the in‑house legal team
- Performed GDPR compliance audit of employment contracts, policies and software
- Served as a go‑to resource and expert on technology, product, Privacy, AI and other legal areas
- Actively collaborated with other teams (sales, business development, product, customer success etc.) on legal issues and challenges
- Oversaw legal checks and all sorts of compliance for the product/platform
- Responsible for partnering with external legal consultants and law firms on case by case basis
- Assisted the leadership since the launch of Lano Software platform in legal matters, strategy, operations, governance, funding and compliance
- Responsible for keeping the legal team updated with the changing laws/legislations in the countries Lano operates in and ensuring that the team touches upon all facets of law
- Served as lead counsel on strategic deals, resolving issues that arise in existing commercial relationships, and handling pre-litigation legal disputes and inquiries
Legal Counsel
Code Arm
05.2018 - 02.2021
- Provided legal advice on technology, privacy and data protection, algorithms and AI, employment, mobility, benefits, financial law and executive operations
- Provided day‑to‑day legal counselling and assisted in hiring
- Primary resource for technology and privacy law related matters and other in‑house legal matters
- Performed investigation of techno-legal issues
- Drafted employment contracts, remote work processes and employee policies
- Performed legal negotiations when needed
- Performed GDPR compliance audit of employment contracts, policies and software
- Drafted legal partnership contracts, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policies, Cookie Policies and other data transfer and privacy agreements, service contracts (MSAs and SLAs), vendor and procurement contracts,
- Supervised legal and privacy operations and ensured contracts and templates are updated, regularly revised and amended as the company grew
Legal Counsel
Purple Rain Technologies
09.2015 - 03.2018
- Drafted and negotiated contractual agreements including MSAs, SLAs, SaaS and technology transfer agreements, DPAs, RFPs, licensing agreements, Intellectual Property transfer and exploitation rights agreements
- Primary resource for employment law, tax law, IP law, privacy law and compliance related matters, and other in‑house legal matters
- Acted as the primary source for all matters related to legal and supervised external legal advisors
- Performed data security (GDPR and other data privacy laws) audit and ensured compliance
- Owned up ISO compliance and standardization, working closely with external operators
- Drafted internal legal documents, policies and agreements including data transfer contracts
- Regularly organized workshops, as mandatory by local laws, for employees and training sessions on info‑security
- Regularly performed risk assessment as the business grew and expanded into other countries.
- Drafted Platform terms and conditions, cookie policy, privacy policy, mapped data flows and drafted appropriate legal documents reflecting the same
Legal Counsel
Automatic
09.2012 - 06.2015
- Aided Operations Head in auditing of tools and software, compliance with local laws and represented the company in civil courts
- Drafted and negotiated different commercial agreements, especially Master Services Agreements as well as Standard Terms and Conditions, and provided commercial legal advice to internal business stakeholders
- Protected brand and technology through IP protection and enforcement worldwide
- · Implemented and mapped data flow charts to build the platform with the concept of privacy by design
- Collaborated with Trust & Safety team on cutting edge, user‑centered policies for protecting freedom of expression, user safety, privacy and data protection, and intellectual property online, along with handling requests from law enforcement
- Helped manage international litigation, and work with counsel in implementing the strategy and vision
- Advised on and helped teams implement solutions for a broad assortment of regulations and industry standards, with a focus on those related to intellectual property, data and privacy, marketing and advertising, consumer protection, terms of service, and user generated content
- Responsible for employment, privacy and trust compliance for the global team, tax laws and contractor compliance
Education
Certificate - Artificial Intelligence And Law
Lund University
Lund, Sweden2023
LL.B - Law
Delhi University
New Delhi, India06.2012
Bachelor of Arts -
Delhi University
New Delhi, India06.2009
Skills
- Contract Negotiation
- Document Preparation
- Public Policy
- Intellectual Property Law
- Contract Review and Negotiation
- Data privacy
- Commercial Contracts
- Creative and Critical Thinking
- Client Representation
- Litigation Management
- Legal Case Management
- Legal Advisory
- Corporate Governance
- Reviewing documents
- Case interpretation
- Technology Law
- Artificial Intelligence
- Banking and Finance Law
- Experienced in working with Startups and B2B SaaS companies
- Stakeholder management and communication skills
- Experience with complex transaction management
- Cross border and multi-jurisdictional legal experience
- Regulatory and framework analysis and implementation experience
- Experienced in working with founders in a fast-paced, hypergrowth stage
- Excellent collaboration, organizational and tie management skills
- Litigation experience
Accomplishments
I aided EU MEP during the drafting of EU's AI Act and have been named as a leading lawyer in privacy and biometrics privacy.
I have been recognized for my work by various organizations and was named as a leading woman in AI by Women in AI, volunteer with Swiss Women in AI, have been named a leading lawyer for biometrics privacy, Top 50 lawyers in Intellectual Property by World Intellectual Property Forum, Top 30 Legal Innovators in Asia by Asia Law Journal, 30 Top Technology Lawyer in India by Business World and also serve as the legal advisor to Compliant AI - one of the world's first AI and algorithmic auditing services company.
I am currently enrolled into legal practice in India and can be enrolled in the UK and Wales. With a career spanning over a decade, I have worked extensively in the APAC, South Asia, EU and North America jurisdictions and am well-versed with the laws of these regions.
I am also experienced and familiar with various AI frameworks including OECD, AI Act of the EU, China's AI guidelines, UAE's AI policies, Canada's AI guidelines, USA's AI guidelines, NIST frameworks, COPPA, Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive, and privacy laws of India, EU, Australia, Singapore, the USA (including California), Canada, Singapore and Brazil.
Timeline
Senior Legal Counsel (Tech, Privacy and AI)
Legal Out International Lawyers
05.2023 - Current
Legal Advisor
Visaero Ptd. Lte.
02.2023 - 02.2024
Senior Legal Advisor
Avyana GmbH
01.2022 - 11.2023
General Counsel
Lano Software GmbH
05.2021 - 05.2023
Legal Advisor
Cammylyyon GmbH
04.2021 - 01.2024
Legal Counsel
Code Arm
05.2018 - 02.2021
Legal Counsel
Purple Rain Technologies
09.2015 - 03.2018
Legal Counsel
Automatic
09.2012 - 06.2015
Certificate - Artificial Intelligence And Law
Lund University
LL.B - Law
Delhi University
Bachelor of Arts -
Delhi University
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