Claire Halle-Smith
Claire’s experience in-house coupled with many years advising on data privacy matters enables her to identify key issues facing an organisation and to provide practical, solutions-based advice.
About Claire
Claire adopts a calm and practical approach, delivering solution-based legal advice to complex issues.
She has significant experience in private and in-house practice, enabling her to adopt a unique perspective on client matters; in recognising commercial drivers, she can tailor and support clients accordingly.
Her experience spans risk management and strategic planning for businesses and general commercial arrangements (such as terms for purchasing and supplying goods and services, agency and distribution agreements, software/SaaS terms and other service contracts) in both private and public sectors.
Claire’s key area of expertise is data privacy, advising on a global scale. She provides high-level and detailed advice to all organisations on their obligations under data privacy and related legislation and assists in data protection issues that arise daily, particularly supporting clients on their commercial arrangements concerning personal data associated with new products and services, including those involving children’s data and cross-border transfers. Claire has significant experience in providing data breach management support and is often called to support in response to complex access requests.
"Claire Halle-Smith gave me superb advice and assistance as to the process, drafting of all correspondence and the final response and applying relevant exemptions. Claire's support was invaluable and I went on to recommend Wright Hassall to several other societies"
Experience
- Managing data breaches and avoiding financial penalties and other potential adverse action by supervisory authorities when liaising on clients’ behalf following serious breaches of personal data.
- Multiple high-profile access request support both in response to individuals and supporting clients undergoing investigation by the Information Commissioner.
- The creation of an industry-specific network of organisations that provides webinars and multiple face-to-face training workshops on aspects of data protection such as consent for marketing, lawful processing of children’s data and special category data, individuals rights, data mapping, DPIA and audits, breach management, sub-processor contracts, transfers to third countries and accountability obligations.
- Creating compliance programmes for a wide variety of clients, from SMEs to group companies operating across multiple jurisdictions. To include, for example, data asset analysis, policies, procedures, privacy notices, data sharing/processing agreements, cross-border transfers, marketing consents, advice on DPIAs and accountability requirements.
- Created and managed a team in-house to manage risk across a group of companies and has worked closely with data protection officers within a variety of sectors to assist them with their compliance programmes.
- Supporting global organisations in the development and implementation of contractual documents.
Career
Claire joined a multi-national organisation shortly after qualification where she was later appointed Group Commercial Counsel. She subsequently moved to private practice and has worked at Wright Hassall since 2017.
Interests
Claire is a keen walker and spends a lot of her time in the Oxfordshire countryside accompanied by as many dogs and/or people as she can muster... she enjoys skiing and running and spends a lot of her remaining time fundraising for local charities.
