Overview

Joanna Thomson is a partner in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP. Joanna focuses on the intellectual property, technology and data protection aspects of high-value mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate reorganisations, securitisations and related transactions. She predominantly advises private equity firms and Fortune 500 companies in a broad range of industry sectors, including software, pharmaceuticals, retail, consumer goods, hospitality, real estate and manufacturing (amongst others). Joanna has extensive experience with drafting and negotiating intellectual property and technology transfer agreements, intellectual property licences, development and collaboration agreements, transitional service arrangements, data transfer/sharing agreements and other commercial agreements.

Joanna’s practice also extends to counselling clients on a broad range of European data privacy and security issues, including compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.

More

Thought Leadership

Publications

Co-Author, “Balmain or Banal? EU General Court Considers the Distinctiveness of Luxury Fashion House’s Lion’s Head Logo”, Entertainment Law Review, 2024

Co-Author, “The Final Piece to the Schrems II Puzzle? UK Parliament Approves New International Data Transfer Mechanisms, Plus Signs of a Breakthrough on Transatlantic Data Flows from the EU”, Kirkland Alert, April 2022

Co-Author, “eXtreme action against G-Force leaves them blushing in the locker room (the capitalised X is intentional)”, Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice, vol. 12, no. 5, May 2017

Seminars

“EU and UK Data Protection – ‘I almost wish I hadn’t gone down the rabbit hole – and yet – and yet’”, Sun Capital Advisors Meeting, June 2023

Memberships & Affiliations

Society for Computers and Law

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • 2013, Admitted to practice as a Solicitor of Scotland

Education

  • Mountbatten Institute, New YorkPost-Graduate Diploma in International Business2011
  • Robert Gordon UniversityDiploma in Legal Practice2008
  • University of EdinburghLL.B.Honours2007
  • Katholieke Universiteit LeuvenOne-year European exchange on the Erasmus programme2006