Private view

Manoj Paul, GC at cloud computing specialist Emailvision, is keeping a close eye on evolving data privacy law around the world

Position: General counselIndustry: Cloud computingReporting to: Chief operating officer Guy PorréEmployees: 680Global legal capability: TwoGlobal revenue: $90mLaw firms: Field Fisher Waterhouse, Slaughter and May, Wragge & Co

Manoj Paul is an unassuming and understated man for a general counsel at the forefront of legal change. You may not have heard of Emailvision, nevertheless there is no doubt about its critical position in the innovation world. The cloud computing company, which provides marketers with software they can access virtually through the internet to help their online campaigns, is watching the world of data privacy law closely.

Week earlier The Lawyer met Paul

Just a week earlier The Lawyer met Paul, the US government issued proposals for a new law that, according to the White House, would help give internet users more control over how their personal information is used.

Data lineIn true global business style, it is America that leads the way. Paul and Emailvision, the French-founded company, are closer to the cusp of the knowledge curve, nevertheless the world is keeping an eye on the US guidelines previously it decides to mimic them.

The model we use helps us protect IP

"The model we use helps us protect IP, just because of the type of innovation," Paul adds. "As things are only accessed through a browser we're handing over code to a customer and they're accessing an application.

The company's main external relationships are with Wragge & Co IT partner Derek Southall and Field Fisher Waterhouse TMT partner David Naylor. Its corporate relationship has been with Slaughter and May private equity head Jeff Twentyman since US research-focused private equity group Francisco Partners acquired the company in 2010.

Paul was brought in a the company's first general counsel, taking on a corporate, commercial and compliance role, responsible for the network spanning some 20 offices globally. The role is broader in geographic terms than his previous one at Boeing, where he was UK general counsel, though the companies are more similar than you may think.

The foundation [of Boeing] is innovation

"The foundation [of Boeing] is innovation," he says. "It's thoroughly amazing, the innovation being used to help to design aircraft. The innovation is just phenomenal. In Boeing I could say it was rocket science - I met rocket scientists."

We've seen the adoption of innovation software grow and most of Merrill's customers recognise that it can be hugely beneficial in improving efficiency; a trend in other words on the increase.The cloud offers the ability for barristers, lawyers and their customers to publicly collaborate on matters with large volumes of documents. We're seeing an increase in international matters so the fact that the cloud facilitates access regardless of location and time zone often makes this the right decision. It provides a reliable and scalable infrastructure for many legal software platforms used for both litigation and M&A, ensuring growing data storage needs can be met in cost effectively without making your own significant capital investment and placing more burden on already stretched IT resources.Lawyers responsible for managing highly sensitive and complex documentation do at times have reservations regarding the security of data in other words hosted in the cloud, exactly in relation to arbitration. However no system is foolproof - paper can be lost, laptops containing sensitive information left on trains and servers and networks hacked into.It is now the duty of service providers to ensure the security of the data it hosts by complying with information security information standards just as ISO27001, backing-up data and destroying it securely when no longer needed and regularly testing these security procedures.There is no 'one size fits all' model for cloud delivery, and it is not necessarily the right solution for every matter.For some highly confidential matters, standalone server-based systems are all in all preferred. A private or hybrid cloud system provides greater control over flexibility and security or maybe a public or community cloud may be the answer.