Iain Simmons

What do you do for your clients ?

T: 07939542226

E: iain.simmons@arbor.law

Find me on LinkedIn

I am a senior commercial lawyer, with experience across multiple sectors and jurisdictions, specialising in technology, media and telecoms (TMT). I have held senior in-house, Head of Legal and General Counsel positions at a number of platform, technology and data businesses, from start-ups/scale-ups to multi-nationals.

What are your legal specialities?

As an experienced commercial contracts lawyer and negotiator, I have helped both supplier and customer-side clients to achieve their business goals. I’ve advised start-up platform businesses on business-to-business SaaS agreements and SLAs through to supporting household name corporates on their major multi-million pound outsourcing projects, including in heavily regulated sectors such as financial services, telecoms and utilities. I’ve gained a breadth of legal experience, including contract/consumer law, corporate law and governance, M&A, IP, AI/technology, Data Privacy/GDPR and dispute management & resolution.

Having held Head of Legal and GC roles, I also have a good understanding of how to create and maintain business value and how to balance this against managing legal risk and compliance, as well as being comfortable working with senior management, boards and key external stakeholders such as lenders, investors, shareholders and regulators.

What do clients say?

That I am collaborative, balanced and approachable and that I help clients understand and weigh legal/regulatory or contractual risk against commercial and operational factors.

Having worked in a range of sectors and organisations, I’m able to identify opportunities and apply best practices in a way that is most suitable to a particular culture, organisation, project or team. I’m good at arriving in a new business and getting up-to-speed relatively quickly, to help support business teams deliver on their commercial goals and achieve good business outcomes in a relatively short timeframe.

Behind the lawyer

I’m getting better at making the most of my free time, as and when I get it. I live close to Epping Forest, so that could be a trail-run, a mountain bike ride or taking my dog for a walk. A good film or book, theatre and the arts too, whenever I can.

Before Arbor

  • 2022-2023 Head of Legal (interim) for Secret Escapes (Online Travel Agency)
  • 2020-2022 General Counsel for Moteefe (Print-on-Demand Platform)
  • 2019-2020 Senior Legal Consultant for Bink (Fintech)
  • 2016-2019 Head of Legal for SilverRail (Expedia Group) & Senior Legal Consultant for Expedia (Traveltech)
  • 2010-2016 Senior Commercial Counsel & DPO for AIG Europe (Financial Services)
  • 1999-2010 TMT specialist & Company Commercial lawyer for Harbottle & Lewis, Addleshaw Goddard and RPC law firms (Private Practice, London)
  • 1996-1999 Pre-qualification contract management roles for JP Morgan and British Telecom

Education 

  • College of Law (Guildford), CPE & GDL; 1996
  • University of Sheffield, BA (Hons) English Literature, 2:1; 1993