Tech & Sourcing @ Morgan Lewis

Please join us in our Philadelphia office on Wednesday, April 23, for the 2025 Tech & Sourcing Philadelphia Summit. We are broadening the agenda this year to provide more time for exploring issues that are front of mind for technology and sourcing lawyers, starting with an AI and ethics session, followed by three hours of interactive presentations and workshops by market leaders in the technology, sourcing, and privacy fields.

Each outsourcing transaction has its own unique characteristics and business drivers and, therefore, will include its own deal-specific terms. A key initial consideration to think about when beginning an outsourcing initiative is how the personnel of both parties will be managed. This includes how the transaction will impact the customer’s existing employees and contractors, as well as oversight and management of the service provider’s personnel. These issues will likely have operational and financial impact, and will require input and coordination with internal human resources (HR) teams.

Partners Ksenia Andreeva and Kristin Hadgis and associate Oliver Bell recently authored an Insight titled The Evolving Framework of Data Governance: A Global Perspective. The article explores and summarizes hot topics in data governance, data privacy laws, and the evolving global landscape, including in the United Kingdom, European Union, United States, and Middle East. As the focus on transparency and cybersecurity increases, and as markets become more globalized, keeping up to date on privacy regulations and rules can be a demanding undertaking.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm ET, as Morgan Lewis partners Barbara Melby and Mike Pierides discuss the systems, processes, and workflows necessary to data center operations as well as the issues that may arise for data center operators when contracting with third parties.

Whether form or template agreements are for a company’s own services or are used for the procurement of goods and services, leveraging forms can be a useful tool to maintain consistent terms and conditions. With the advancement and growth within the artificial intelligence (AI) market, including new and enhanced products and services that incorporate AI, now is a good time to revisit and refresh template agreements.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm ET, as Morgan Lewis partners Don Shelkey and Ben Klaber and of counsel Emily Lowe discuss the latest developments impacting AI solutions and associated data, ranging from the overall landscape to specific use cases.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping modern society, enabling the automation and modification of routine human activities and, consequently, enhancing efficiency and productivity. Like any technological development, AI presents both benefits and risks. Concerns include potential biases, privacy intrusions, and ethical dilemmas.

While artificial intelligence has not quite yet achieved singularity, the last fortnight brought about a substantial update to the AI regulatory landscape. As of February 2, Chapters I and II of the EU AI Act have entered into force. This includes Article 5, which prohibits certain AI systems whose use may intrude upon an individual’s privacy. This includes certain AI systems relating to emotion recognition in the workplace, subliminal manipulation, and predictive policing. Separately, EU AI Act obligations relating to AI literacy have also gone into effect.

Mike Pierides and James Mulligan co-authored an article in the Journal of Securities Operations & Custody which explores key themes of outsourcing and third-party risk management regimes that apply to financial entities and their service providers. The article serves as a compendium of key differences between regulatory expectations on resiliency and outsourcing, highlights key best practices and challenges to implementing these expectations, and, finally, considers the impact of artificial intelligence solutions on such regulatory expectations.

On January 14, the UK government published a consultation on new measures to tackle the increasing threat of ransomware attacks. Ransomware is malicious software (malware) that infects a victim’s computer system and prevents the victim from accessing IT systems, significantly impairs their use of ICT systems, and/or facilitates the theft of sensitive data. A ransom is then demanded for restoration of use and/or data and, as we previously noted, the cost of ransomware attacks is increasing nearly 20% year-on-year.