Michael Butterworth | Fieldfisher
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Professional background

Professional background

I specialise in solving legal challenges relating to new technology, including IT and business process outsourcings, cloud services agreements, technology and software procurement, managed exits and renegotiations of distressed IT projects, telecoms regulatory advice, e-commerce and privacy. Clients range from pioneering tech start-ups to established corporate technology buyers and global IT suppliers.
 
My experience has involved me working in the technology, telecommunications, retail, financial services, and logistics sectors. My professional highlights include advising on shared service centre deals and 'track and trace' and supply chain traceability projects (long before they were front page news).
 
I have also spent time on secondment at a major international bank and hold a Practitioner’s Certificate in Data Protection from BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT. I am a member of the Professional Board of the leading IT law journal, Computer Law & Security Review.

Authored pieces

All Resources
A digital, stylized image of Earth with a focus on Africa, depicted in a mesh of glowing dots and lines. Surrounding the planet are illuminated rings and data streams, giving a futuristic and high-tech appearance. The background is dark, enhancing the visual impact.
Technology and Data
Insight

The next link in Supply Chain regulation: EU Commission proposals on digital sovereignty and high risk vendors

02.04.2026
In what the EU Commission identifies as an increasingly hostile threat landscape riddled with daily sophisticated state actor threats[1] , it has issued a proposal for radical new supply chain requirements in the draft Cybersecurity Act 2  (“the CSA2" ) that would push European enterprises to consider potential exposure to government influence when assessing their technology vendor relationships.
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A map of Europe showing the NIS2 Directive implementation status by country, with colors indicating implemented, draft published, no draft, and similar regime planned, as of March 19, 2024.
Cyber Security
Insight

NIS2 across the EU

25.03.2026
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Close-up image of an abstract 3D circuit board with glowing blue and purple lines and blocks. The intricate pattern creates a futuristic, high-tech appearance, suggesting themes related to technology and digital connectivity.
Press Release

Fieldfisher advises Joblogic on £60 million investment from Axiom Equity

21.03.2023
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A digital illustration featuring a series of glowing padlocks, alternating between locked (in pink) and unlocked (in blue), against a background of numbers and code. The image symbolizes cybersecurity and data protection.
Insight

How to implement effective data processing agreements

20.09.2022
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