CMS

Partner Co-Head of the Commercial Practice Group

Dr Sam De Silva is an international award winning Partner in the Technology and Outsourcing practice and is the Global Co-Head of the Commercial Practice Group. Sam specialises in complex and strategic technology and outsourcing projects including all forms of cloud computing (SaaS, PaaS and IaaS), outsourcing (IT, BPO and off-shoring), system development and supply, system integration, software licensing, support and service agreements. Sam also regularly advises on data protection, privacy, cyber-security and PCI DSS issues.

Sam is an expert in legal risk management and was the Co-convenor of an ISO Working Group which led the development of the first ever international standard on the Management of Legal Risk (ISO 31022).

Sam is deeply immersed in the technology sector and at the forefront of related policy issues, representing the UK on a number of international committees. This market intelligence supports clients in their strategic planning and future proofing of projects. Sam is also heavily involved with procurement best practice, having just completed a 4 year term on the Global Board of Trustees at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

Sam has written and spoken extensively on IT, outsourcing and data and is regularly called upon by the industry as a thought leader in these areas. He has been interviewed in the press, on the radio, webinars and on television (including BBC Click and Channel 4 Dispatches). Sam is one of very few solicitors to be a Fellow of CIPS (FCIPS), Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS) and a Chartered IT Professional (CITP). Sam has post-graduate degrees in information technology and business administration, so he is well aware of the commercial, business and technical issues facing both users and suppliers of technology. Sam has had in-house industry legal experience, having been seconded to Accenture UK for 9 months as a Senior Legal Counsel.

Sam is proud to be one of the embRACE Partner Champions at CMS and was a finalist in the 2022 Chambers & Partners European Lawyer Awards for his outstanding contribution to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

As well as being an English qualified solicitor, Sam is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, and has been involved in some of the most cutting-edge digital and outsourcing projects in those jurisdictions.

Former UK representative on the EU Commission’s Expert Group on Cloud Computing Contracts. UK representative on the IT Law Committee of the Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). Past Chair on the Law Society's Technology and Law Committee (but still a committee member). Committee member of the EU Law Committee of the Law Society. Committee member of the Data Law Committee of the City of London Law Society. Member of the Technical Strategy Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). Elected Trustee of The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS), Council Member of the BCS and the Chair of the Legal Specialist Group of the BCS. Chair of Legal Special Interest Group at the Institute of Risk Management (IRM). Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group of the Society for Computers & Law. Chair of the Ethnic Solicitors Network of the Law Society. Immediate past Chair of the Tech & Sourcing Committee of iTechLaw. Consulting Editorial Board for LexisNexis TMT

2004 – D.B.A., CCU, USA. 2000 – M.B.S (Distinction), Massey University, New Zealand. 1997 – LL.B., The University of Waikato, New Zealand. 1997 – B.M.S., (1st class Hons), The University of Waikato, New Zealand.