James McDevitt

James McDevitt is an associate based in the London office of Morrison & Foerster and is a member of the Global Privacy Group. James represents domestic and international clients on a broad range of cyber risk and technology related matters. He has extensive experience advising on cyber incidents, data breaches, third-party claims, recovery actions, and regulatory investigations and enforcement challenges.

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, James was based in London and San Francisco at a leading global law firm.

James has earned an LL.B (Hons.) from the University of Exeter, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from BPP University, London.

James is admitted to practise law as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Representative Experience

• Acting for a domestic online retailer which was subject to an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office into its compliance with the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. James managed the regulatory response process, including the initial submissions to the regulator, challenges to the proposed enforcement and penalty notices, and grounds for appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber).
• Acting for an international insurance services provider in relation to a data breach and payment diversion fraud. James managed the response effort, including regulatory notifications to the Information Commissioner’s Office and Financial Conduct Authority.
• Acting for a global technology solutions services provider which experienced a ransomware event. James assisted with managing and coordinating the response effort across multiple jurisdictions, including regulatory investigations commenced by the Information Commissioner’s Office and Irish Data Protection Commissioner, amongst others.