Graham Smith

Graham Smith is Of Counsel at Bird & Bird and is one of the UK's leading internet and IT lawyers. His primary practice area is Technology Law.

In the internet and online sphere, he has helped many kinds of internet actor on topics such as copyright, intermediary liability and cross-border exposure to foreign law and jurisdiction. He edits and co-authors the textbook Internet Law and Regulation (Sweet & Maxwell), first published in 1996, with the 5th edition appearing in December 2019. He contributed a chapter on Cyberborders and the Right to Travel in Cyberspace to the book The Net and the Nation State (CUP, 2017).

On software, he provides development advice, including clean room projects.

On surveillance, his work includes lawful access to communications, data retention and related privacy issues. He has advised industry clients on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), its successor the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, and on other law enforcement powers. Following the Snowden revelations, he has written and commented extensively on the UK's surveillance legislation, and his submissions and evidence were quoted in A Question of Trust, in the Joint Parliamentary Committee Report on the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, in the Commons Science and Technology Report on the draft Bill, in the Bulk Powers Review and in House of Lords debates on the Bill.

On IT disputes, he has handled a variety of disputes in the IT sector, ranging from IT project litigation to software copyright disputes.

On electronic transactions, his work covers the use of electronic signatures and compliance with formalities in the electronic environment. He sat on a Law Commission external Advisory Panel for its September 2019 Report on Electronic Execution of Documents.