Speakers
Ann Bevitt
Anna Dickinson
Jaspreet Grewal
Session
Ann’s two key and complementary practice areas, employment and privacy, focus on helping companies manage two of their most important business assets – their employees and their data.
Ann’s employment practice covers all aspects, both contentious and noncontentious, of employment law and employment-related matters. On the noncontentious side, she focuses on counselling clients throughout the employment life cycle, from the cradle (hiring) to the grave (firing). Ann also advises clients on employment issues arising out of international reorganisations, outsourcings, insolvencies, and mergers and acquisitions. Her contentious work includes the protection of confidential information and trade secrets before, during and after employment, the enforcement of restrictive covenants against former employees, and the handling of other employment-related claims arising during and on termination of employment.
In her privacy practice, Ann assists clients with privacy and data security compliance and risk management, and she advises on issues such as effecting data transfers, drafting privacy policies, conducting electronic marketing, monitoring employees (with a particular focus on monitoring to protect the employer’s trade secrets and other confidential information), dealing with eDiscovery, undertaking internal investigations (domestic and cross-border), responding to data subject requests, and notifying breaches.
Ann works with clients, including multinationals, large corporations, governments and individual senior executives, from industry sectors such as technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, banking and financial services, venture capital and private equity, insurance, hotel and leisure, music, and recruitment and employment.
Ann has rights of audience in all civil courts and significant experience as an advocate. She was called to the bar in 1992 and practiced as a barrister with a focus on employment law for seven years before qualifying as a solicitor in 2000.
Ann has appeared on the BBC’s ‘World Business Report’ discussing data transfers. She also regularly writes for legal and human resources publications, including the Financial Times, City A.M., Management Today and Personnel Today. She is co-author of ‘A Guide to Hiring and Firing in Europe’ and a contributing author to ‘Employee Privacy: Guide to US and International Law, Trade Secrets, and Sale and Supply of Goods and Services’ and ‘A Practical Guide to UK and EU Data Protection Law’.
Ann leads Cooley’s UK employment practice, which has been ranked in The Legal 500 UK. Ann also has been personally ranked for her employment and data protection work in Chambers UK and for her privacy work in The Legal 500 UK, and she is described as ‘very knowledgeable’ and ‘demonstrating noteworthy strengths in the life sciences and tech sectors’. Ann also has been ranked as a thought leader in Who’s Who Legal.
Anna joined Public First as Associate Director for Health & Life Sciences in early 2026. Prior to this, she was Head of Strategy to Baroness Nicola Blackwood, serving as a trusted advisor across her portfolio including Genomics England, Oxford University Innovation, BioNTech, RTW Biotech Opportunities, and the House of Lords.
Previously, Anna was Head of Office to Lord Ara Darzi, where she supported major projects such as the NHS Review. She has also worked at leading think tanks, including the Tony Blair Institute and Onward, where she led policy development across life sciences and innovation.
An experienced advisor to senior leaders across health and life sciences, Anna holds particular expertise in navigating government, building cross-sector coalitions, and delivering high-impact projects.
Jaspreet Grewal is an accomplished clinician, researcher, and investor, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare, clinical research, regulatory affairs and strategic advisory to companies focused on the life sciences. Her career has allowed her to train and work globally in some of the best healthcare and innovation ecosystems. Jaspreet completed her medical training at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine (Ophthalmology), Medical Glaucoma and Cornea training (Yale University), an Executive Certificate in Public Health from Harvard University (T. Chan School of Public Health) and an Executive MBA from the London School of Economics and Political Science. As Chief Executive and founder of AxialBridge, Jaspreet has built the company into a global life sciences advisory firm supporting a variety of stakeholders along the biotech and life sciences value chain. She is a published researcher keen to support advancing innovation in MedTech, Biotech and Digital Health.
She has successfully merged her expertise and passion for innovation, research and finance to become a dynamic leader nationally and internationally. She is a sought-after speaker who addresses topics related to investment trends, regulatory strategy, international trade, and economic development, and emerging areas of innovation. She is passionate about championing innovation, ecosystem development and clinical adoption.
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