Ash Costello

About Ash Ash Advises Experience Highlights Memberships Publications

Partner

Privacy, Blockchain, Digital Commerce and Technology

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About Ash

Ash is an experienced commercial FinTech and Data Privacy lawyer, providing legal and commercial advice in the technology, funds and data privacy fields.

She helps clients launch, buy and sell technology related products, services and platforms.  Her expertise includes drafting and negotiating commercial and technology contracts including mobile app agreements, website terms, digital marketplace/platform terms and conditions, terms for the supply of goods or services, SaaS agreements, distribution agreements, software development and licensing agreements, and content licensing agreements.  She advises on both the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ side, with a particular focus on the evolving regime for digital platforms.

Ash first developed an interest in technology and data privacy when overseeing the migration onto a new IT platform while she was Global Head of Legal of a multinational funds administrator, following fifteen years in the funds industry.

She is a recognised authority on emerging technologies.  She was appointed to the Expert Panel of the European Commission’s “European Blockchain Observatory and Platform’ (EUBOF) and was voted in as Co-Chair of the Privacy Working Group of the ‘International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications’ (INATBA). She is also part of the Editorial Board of Citywealth’s Crypto Report.

Dual-qualified in New York and the UK, Ash helps clients understand and meet their privacy and data protection obligations across both jurisdictions, including the new consumer privacy laws in the individual US States.  She assists with global and local US and UK privacy notices, data subject and consumer rights, policies and procedures, data protection agreements, data sharing agreements, risk assessment and management, and privacy compliant AI adoption.

Ash still works with property funds, advising clients on regulated and unregulated property holding structures, and was included in Citywealth’s Top 30 Irish Private Client and Family Advisors.

Ash Advises

Ash specialises in advising on the following:

  • Technology providers and digital platforms
  • Financial services and payments companies
  • Funds and fund managers
  • Pharmaceutical and healthcare companies
  • Global manufacturers
  • Supply chains
  • Companies operating in regulated sectors
  • Entertainment and media companies
  • Professional firms, associations and institutes

Experience Highlights

  • Global Head of Legal of a top 5 multinational Fund Administrator. Responsible for legal strategy and legal spend, member of the operational and risk executive committees. Oversaw the acquisition of and merger with one of our largest competitors and clients which involved: successfully migrating both entities onto a new IT platform, implementing a GDPR data-mapping exercise and privacy management programme for the combined entities as GDPR became live during the merging process; re-papering all our commercial contracts; negotiating and drafting all the IT, software and commercial contracts including  license agreements,  distribution agreements, outsourcing agreements, SaaS and re-seller agreements.
  • External General Counsel for a start-up platform, which offers hosted data and database services, leveraging SMPC (secure multi-party computation) encryption security and a Layer 0 blockchain protocol technology stack. Advised on all legal matters, including the financial services token regulation and registration, IP protection, and negotiating and drafting the commercial, SaaS, software and license agreements.
  • Advising a platform provider in the healthcare sector, including the SaaS Agreement.
  • Assisting with the launch of an App and its distribution via third party platforms, including the app development, SaaS and distribution agreements.
  • Advising a B2B and B2C supply chain platform, leveraging volume authentication capabilities and product tracking and tracing technologies
  • Advising governments and private clients on blockchain technologies, digital assets and smartcontracts; NFTs, encryption technologies such as SMPC and ZKPs. Advising an international supply-chain implementing ZKPs and digital identities and leveraging blockchain technology. Advising an international agricultural supply-chain.
  • Conducting GDPR and US-law privacy compliance audits, compiling gap-analyses, advising on remediation and the steps to compliance, implementing global and local data protection programmes. Numerous clients, including one of the world’s top 3 DAOs.
  • Acting as external-DPO assisting with day-to-day matters, risk management, bio-metric and sensitive personal data treatment, accountability and corporate governance. Clients included a multinational defence contractor,
  • Advising multinational pharmaceutical organizations and health care providers on GDPR, HIPAA and related healthcare and biometric laws; negotiating and drafting business associate agreements, privacy notices, data protection agreements, data sharing, data transfer agreements, risk management and privacy policies.
  • Advising on the data protection requirements of various digital platforms and Apps dealing with healthcare, biometric data and children’s data.
  • Acting for numerous funds and fund managers, assisting with: launching structures, day-to-day queries, co-investment and re-investment rounds; advising on loans to funds; carried interest; property holding structures; fund structures such as SICAV, PCC, ICC, OIEC, LTAF, JPUT, ELP, SLP; and drafting agreements including the IMA, LPA and administrator agreements.

Memberships

  • Member of the Editorial Board of Citywealth’s Crypto Report. (https://www.citywealthmag.com/publication/crypto-report/)
  • Appointed to the Expert Panel of the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum (a European Commission initiative to accelerate blockchain innovation and the development of the blockchain ecosystem within the EU and so help cement Europe’s position as a global leader in this transformative new technology.) https://www.eublockchainforum.eu/  She regularly contributes to their workshops and reports including on matters such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), the Blockchain Ecosystem within the EU, and Smart Contracts.
  • Co-Chair of the Privacy Working Group of the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (https://inatba.org/), (2022-2023) where she explored developments regarding privacy in and for blockchain including (among others) ZKPs (zero knowledge proofs), and SMPC (secure multi-party computations).

Publications

Co-Author of reports conducted by EUBOF including:

About Ash

Back to top

Ash is an experienced commercial FinTech and Data Privacy lawyer, providing legal and commercial advice in the technology, funds and data privacy fields.

She helps clients launch, buy and sell technology related products, services and platforms.  Her expertise includes drafting and negotiating commercial and technology contracts including mobile app agreements, website terms, digital marketplace/platform terms and conditions, terms for the supply of goods or services, SaaS agreements, distribution agreements, software development and licensing agreements, and content licensing agreements.  She advises on both the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ side, with a particular focus on the evolving regime for digital platforms.

Ash first developed an interest in technology and data privacy when overseeing the migration onto a new IT platform while she was Global Head of Legal of a multinational funds administrator, following fifteen years in the funds industry.

She is a recognised authority on emerging technologies.  She was appointed to the Expert Panel of the European Commission’s “European Blockchain Observatory and Platform’ (EUBOF) and was voted in as Co-Chair of the Privacy Working Group of the ‘International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications’ (INATBA). She is also part of the Editorial Board of Citywealth’s Crypto Report.

Dual-qualified in New York and the UK, Ash helps clients understand and meet their privacy and data protection obligations across both jurisdictions, including the new consumer privacy laws in the individual US States.  She assists with global and local US and UK privacy notices, data subject and consumer rights, policies and procedures, data protection agreements, data sharing agreements, risk assessment and management, and privacy compliant AI adoption.

Ash still works with property funds, advising clients on regulated and unregulated property holding structures, and was included in Citywealth’s Top 30 Irish Private Client and Family Advisors.

Ash Advises

Back to top

Ash specialises in advising on the following:

  • Technology providers and digital platforms
  • Financial services and payments companies
  • Funds and fund managers
  • Pharmaceutical and healthcare companies
  • Global manufacturers
  • Supply chains
  • Companies operating in regulated sectors
  • Entertainment and media companies
  • Professional firms, associations and institutes

Experience Highlights

Back to top
  • Global Head of Legal of a top 5 multinational Fund Administrator. Responsible for legal strategy and legal spend, member of the operational and risk executive committees. Oversaw the acquisition of and merger with one of our largest competitors and clients which involved: successfully migrating both entities onto a new IT platform, implementing a GDPR data-mapping exercise and privacy management programme for the combined entities as GDPR became live during the merging process; re-papering all our commercial contracts; negotiating and drafting all the IT, software and commercial contracts including  license agreements,  distribution agreements, outsourcing agreements, SaaS and re-seller agreements.
  • External General Counsel for a start-up platform, which offers hosted data and database services, leveraging SMPC (secure multi-party computation) encryption security and a Layer 0 blockchain protocol technology stack. Advised on all legal matters, including the financial services token regulation and registration, IP protection, and negotiating and drafting the commercial, SaaS, software and license agreements.
  • Advising a platform provider in the healthcare sector, including the SaaS Agreement.
  • Assisting with the launch of an App and its distribution via third party platforms, including the app development, SaaS and distribution agreements.
  • Advising a B2B and B2C supply chain platform, leveraging volume authentication capabilities and product tracking and tracing technologies
  • Advising governments and private clients on blockchain technologies, digital assets and smartcontracts; NFTs, encryption technologies such as SMPC and ZKPs. Advising an international supply-chain implementing ZKPs and digital identities and leveraging blockchain technology. Advising an international agricultural supply-chain.
  • Conducting GDPR and US-law privacy compliance audits, compiling gap-analyses, advising on remediation and the steps to compliance, implementing global and local data protection programmes. Numerous clients, including one of the world’s top 3 DAOs.
  • Acting as external-DPO assisting with day-to-day matters, risk management, bio-metric and sensitive personal data treatment, accountability and corporate governance. Clients included a multinational defence contractor,
  • Advising multinational pharmaceutical organizations and health care providers on GDPR, HIPAA and related healthcare and biometric laws; negotiating and drafting business associate agreements, privacy notices, data protection agreements, data sharing, data transfer agreements, risk management and privacy policies.
  • Advising on the data protection requirements of various digital platforms and Apps dealing with healthcare, biometric data and children’s data.
  • Acting for numerous funds and fund managers, assisting with: launching structures, day-to-day queries, co-investment and re-investment rounds; advising on loans to funds; carried interest; property holding structures; fund structures such as SICAV, PCC, ICC, OIEC, LTAF, JPUT, ELP, SLP; and drafting agreements including the IMA, LPA and administrator agreements.

Memberships

Back to top
  • Member of the Editorial Board of Citywealth’s Crypto Report. (https://www.citywealthmag.com/publication/crypto-report/)
  • Appointed to the Expert Panel of the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum (a European Commission initiative to accelerate blockchain innovation and the development of the blockchain ecosystem within the EU and so help cement Europe’s position as a global leader in this transformative new technology.) https://www.eublockchainforum.eu/  She regularly contributes to their workshops and reports including on matters such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), the Blockchain Ecosystem within the EU, and Smart Contracts.
  • Co-Chair of the Privacy Working Group of the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (https://inatba.org/), (2022-2023) where she explored developments regarding privacy in and for blockchain including (among others) ZKPs (zero knowledge proofs), and SMPC (secure multi-party computations).

Publications

Back to top

Co-Author of reports conducted by EUBOF including:

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