Eversheds Sutherland

Simon is a Partner in the Eversheds company commercial team. He leads the Eversheds International IT Group and the Eversheds International Outsourcing Group. Eversheds benefits from one of the largest group of IT and outsourcing lawyers globally, involving true specialists at all levels of experience. Simon is shortlisted for Legal Advisor of the Year 2016 by the National Outsourcing Association.

Simon has experience in a wide range of technology deals including system development transactions, ERP projects, system integrator matters, complex software licensing arrangements, e-commerce projects and has advised on the full range of hosting, cloud and software as a service type models. In terms of his outsourcing practice, Simon has again advised extensively on matters in the IT arena (including application development, maintenance and infrastructure outsourcings) but has also worked across many other areas such as HR, BPO, customer management / call centre projects and KPO/analytics type deals. He has a particular specialism in working on these types of outsourcings in the financial services sector, where he also advises on transfer agency, fund administration and other similar "middle-office" outsourcings.

He acts predominantly on the buy side, but has an important supplier-focused practice, being for example, client partner for the Polaris Group.

His experience includes:

Advising Anglo American, one of the world's largest diversified mining companies, on a number of global IT outsourcing arrangements including in respect of their managed networks (with BT plc), application development and maintenance (with Accenture), provision of IT hardware (with Dell) and IT infrastructure, data centre and end-user computing services (with HCL). These contracts covered all of Anglo American's (including De Beers) requirements at several hundred locations around the world. Advising Threadneedle Asset Management on the second generation outsourcing of the fund accounting and administration, investment operations, share class hedging, stock lending, custody and depository functions in respect of their UK and Luxembourg domiciled funds to a major US bank. This transaction related to global funds and assets under management of circa £70bn. Advising the Royal Bank of Scotland on a range of strategic and business critical outsourcings. Advising Bank of Ireland UK plc on a long term financial services partnership in the UK with AA plc. The partnership combined BOI UK’s proven product development capabilities with the strength of the AA brand and assets and its extensive and attractive membership base. Advising one of the large UK high street banks on the acquisition of a new software suite and connected outsourced IT services to manage the bank’s letters of credit across in excess of 35 countries around the world. This work involved replacing the supplier’s favoured “blueprint” approach with an approach that gave our client considerably greater control and clear test and break points. Advising a major City institution on the second generation outsourcing of its temporary and permanent recruitment processes. The transaction was complicated by the fact that a significant number (50 plus) of existing relationships with existing suppliers had to be transferred over to be managed by the new provider and also some careful tax structuring was required. Advising a FTSE 100 company on the purchase of a business critical SAP based software solution for its operations in Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Advising WNS (Holdings) Limited on a multi-year $1 billion business process outsource (BPO) contract. WNS acquired Aviva’s offshore operations, Aviva Global Services, for a cash consideration of over £100 million, including business process operations in India and Sri Lanka that comprised over 5,800 seats (by way of a BOT model). The organisations also entered into a Master Services Agreement, under which WNS was appointed the exclusive long-term strategic BPO service provider to Aviva’s UK and Canadian business.

Simon is a regular speaker at conferences and for example, recently spoke on a number of outsourcing issues at the International Outsourcing Forum in London, which Eversheds sponsored. He has a Diploma in Computer Law from Queen Mary, University of London.

Simon also has a personal interest in Russia and is responsible for developing our practice in that jurisdiction. He regularly spends time in Moscow and St Petersburg, working alongside our alliance firm in that jurisdiction and ensuring our clients receive a seamless service as and when they need advice in Russia.

He is noted for his expertise in the financial services sector.

practice head Simon Gamlin has 'an uncanny balance of legal expertise, industry knowledge and the ability to provide commercially astute, workable solutions' and has a 'proactive and easy-to-work-with personality"

Legal 500

Chambers states that Simon receives high praise from clients:

He is commercially astute, practical and easy to work with - I have not yet found his limit."

Brexit

Simon is one of our specialist Brexit lawyers. Contact Simon Gamlin for more information on how Brexit may affect your contracts, particularly your IT and Outsourcing arrangements. View our Brexit hub for our full range of Brexit resources.

Contractual risk analysis and Brexit proofing for your IT and Outsourcing arrangements - Guiding businesses through Brexit

Using our Brexit Risk Analysis, we can help you answer your questions, understand the potential risks to your trading arrangements arising from Brexit (whether pricing, currency, regulatory, tariff, people, data or otherwise) and put measures in place to protect against those risks.

Publications

Simon has recently co-authored the thought leadership report "Delivering contracts with teeth" - the future of outsourcing. This report was produced from the results of a prior survey, conducted with the National Outsourcing Association, looking at which contractual provisions in outsourcing agreements are actually being used by customers at the coalface, to ensure that their suppliers perform.

Please view, share or download the report here.

    

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