Ash Costello

Ash Advises

• SMEs, start-ups, and multinationals across numerous jurisdictions and industries.
• Participants across the blockchain ecosystem, including token developers, crypto-asset custodians, blockchain platforms, crypto wallets, crypto-exchanges, crypto-custodians, investment funds, and encryption experts developing ZKPs and SMPCs, supply chain protocols and DAOs.

Experience Highlights

Privacy

• Providing day to day risk based advise on privacy laws, including GDPR, GDPR (UK), CCPA, among others.
• Advising on global data privacy developments.
• Privacy risk management and mitigation; conducting privacy gap analyses and identifying, prioritizing and mitigating risks.
• Working with internal legal teams to ensure compliance with global Data Protection laws; Data-mapping and preparing ROPAs.
• Managing the Data Subject Access request process; Conducting DPIAs (Data Processing Interest Assessments).
• Conducting LIAs (Legitimate Interest Assessments).
• Drafting privacy procedures and policies, including website terms and notices.
• Data breach preparedness and incident responses.

Technology and International Trade

• Technology agreements, such as: SaaS, IaaS; PaaS; Software Evaluation License Agreement; End User License Agreements; Software Support Services Agreements; API License Agreements, Reseller/Distribution agreements; Software Development Agreements; Software Value Added Reseller (VAR) Agreement; Software Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Agreement; IT Systems Integration Agreement; Software Acquisition and Grant-Back License Agreement; Operations Agreement.
• Exporting/importing from the USA and into the EU and the UK.
• US export regulations on software and technology.
• The differences between US, UK, EU software requirements.
• Conventions regarding international trade, such as: the Convention on contracts for the international sale of goods.
• Agreements for the international supply of goods and services; supply chain maters; arbitration clauses; and conflict of laws clauses.

Crypto/Blockchain

• advising on the establishment of a Layer 0 protocol and related tokens
• establishing, restructuring and migrating numerous funds in various jurisdictions
• advising on the encryption elements of various privacy coins
• advising on encryption solutions for blockchain entities, such as Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) and Secure Multi Party Computations (SMPC)
• advising on digital Identities, including the European Digital Identity Wallet, eIDAS and eID
• advising on the establishment of a supply chain protocol
• advising on the FATF Travel Rule
• conducting the full scale GDPR review of a major DAO to achieve privacy compliance
• advising on smart contract vulnerabilities, hacks and scams
• advising on the establishment and corporate governance of DAOs.

Career History

Previous Law firms

• Carey Olsen
• Withers LLP
• Addleshaw Goddard LLP
• Dundas & Wilson (now part of CMS)
• LK Shields

Memberships and Qualifications

• Trinity College Dublin, Post Graduate Certificate in Creative Thinking, Innovation and Entrepreneurship – (2018)
• Law Society of Ireland – Certificate in Data Protection (2018)
• International Association of Privacy Professionals
• Licensed to practice as a Solicitor in Ireland (2012)
• Licensed to practice as a Solicitor in England and Wales (2006)
• Admitted to the New York Bar (2004)
• Sorbonne Paris, French Language and Civilization (2000)
• University of Limerick, Ireland, Bachelor of Arts in Law and Accounting (1998)

Memberships

• Member of the Editorial Board of Citywealth’s 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.) 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, (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:

• “Smart Contracts” 
• “EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments” 
• “Demystifying Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)”