Shehana Cameron-Perera

Shehana is a Senior Associate in Ashurst's Digital Economy Transactions Practice specialising in data protection and cybersecurity . She has extensive experience in advising global UK and international clients across various industries and sectors on all areas of data protection, privacy and cyber breach response including complex data sharing, drafting complex data protection impact assessments, dealing with and responding to sensitive data subject requests and regulatory complaints, advising on cyber breach management and supporting clients with any regulatory enforcement action and communications with data protection regulators and drafting key compliance documents and consumer facing privacy notices. Shehana also has first-hand experience of liaising with data protection regulators on behalf of clients and is able to bring and use this invaluable insight when advising clients on risk and their strategy.

Shehana also has particular expertise of advising clients on emerging technology and the intersection of data protection, AI and has substantial experience advising clients on AI and their AI frameworks and on their data protection designation and subsequent obligations when using AI and machine learning. Shehana is also an appointed member of the City of London Law Society's Specialist Committee on Artificial Intelligence and its AI Education sub-committee which works to coordinate the City of London's response to AI.

Many of Shehana's clients are large global organisations and therefore Shehana has particular experience of leading on international projects and advising on data protection implications on large outsourcing, procurement or contract remediation projects involving the the ability to identify the key data protection issues alongside co-ordination, and project management of local counsel to ensure that it the advice provided is pragmatic and commercial, consistent and ultimately in a deliverable that the client expects. Shehana has led several such data protection projects over the course of her career and has advised on the privacy aspects of software, cloud-based and outsourcing transactions.

Shehana has considerable in-house experience, working closely with in-house legal and compliance teams. She has previously undertaken numerous secondments, acting as Privacy Manager and deputy to a DPO. Her numerous secondments have given Shehana a real understanding of in-house priorities and exposure to a broad range of queries and strategic work streams that would ordinarily be handled in-house, requiring her to directly advise the business and senior stakeholders providing both technical legal expertise and pragmatic commercial advice.