Experienced Legal Counsel
We handle deals and disputes for tech-forward companies.
Service Areas
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We are trusted advisors and stern negotiators for our clients’ agreements and commercial issues.
Our work includes contract reviews, policy drafting, due diligence investigations, regulatory disclosures, discussions with third-party stakeholders, interfacing with insurers/brokers on coverage matters, gap assessments, etc.
We routinely act as transactional project managers while reviewing MSAs, drafting SOWs, and regulating the flow of incoming Change Orders.
We often work in complex ecosystems with many stake-holders and regulators, where an appropriate balance must be struck with external obligations.
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We litigate high-stakes cases involving contracts, complex technology stacks, regulatory investigations, and corporate matters including shareholder disputes.
We regularly attend settlement conferences, discoveries, motions, mediations, arbitrations, trials and appeals.
We aim to provide up-front exposure analyses and damages assessments when possible.
We handle investigations to discover relevant facts up front. Our general philosophy is to limit future surprises, to facilitate a smooth litigation process and more accurate cost projections.
We work with technical experts to procure necessary expert evidence, as needed.
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We act as General Counsel for organizations requiring oversight of complex business and legal mandates, inclusive of ongoing legal process handling for deals and disputes.
Our work includes acting as interim Chief Legal Officers and Chief Privacy Officers, advising the Board and C-suite on risk mitigation measures, establishing legal processes and protocols for non-lawyer resources, drafting playbooks for urgent action, advising on employment and contract matters, procuring insurance coverage where vendor contracts are material, acting as the point of contact for incidence response, etc.
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Although the regulatory environment for digital technology is maturing, it remains subject to constant change.
We are privileged to publicly share our perspective on the various paths forward for digital law reform.
Our work in this area is focused on the laws of privacy, artificial intelligence, blockchain & cryptocurrency, and global legalops.
We invite you to view our:
We think five steps ahead, and hold your strongest position with competence and integrity.
Chetan Phull, Principal Lawyer
LLM, JD, FIP, CIPM, CIPP/C/US/E
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Complex jurisdiction motion—with $60k awarded costs—against a U.S. multinational conglomerate in a cross-border litigation with $7M+ in dispute.
Full-value settlement of a high-value machine contract against an international distributor, on confidential terms at mediation.
Created a cyber breach playbook for a national casino company, with data interests shared between PE-firm shareholders, statutory Crown operators, national service subcontractors, international commercial partners, and a multitude of regulators in various jurisdictions.
Secured favorable outcome on jurisdiction for two publicly listed web3 companies, with $40M+ in dispute against a foreign third-party.
Secured court-ordered evidence against a U.S. “tech giant” and an internet service provider.
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Chetan Phull is the Principal Lawyer at Smartblock Law. His practice is dedicated to helping commercial parties with technology deals, digital regulation and high-stakes litigation.
He brings broad experience to his clients, having worked as General Counsel for an international fibre optics manufacturer, corporate and privacy counsel for Canada’s largest casino operator, digital-laws counsel for the largest global “Big Four” accounting firm, and litigation counsel for a variety of commercial/investment clients and “crypto whales”.
His courtroom experience includes complex jurisdiction matters against multinational conglomerates, debt-priority against a Schedule I bank, corporate governance malfeasance against a corporate director, high-value insurance coverage, and motions for evidence production against global technology companies and internet service providers.
Publications by Chetan include BIG DATA LAW IN CANADA (2019), and various compilations for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
He is a former judicial law clerk of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal (2011-12), and is licensed to practice in Ontario, New York State, and Massachusetts (all 2013).
A more detailed bio for Chetan is available at our About Us page.
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IAPP Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP # 332425l) (2023)
IAPP Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM # 332425l) (2023)
IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional – Europe (CIPP/E # 332425l) (2023)
IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional – US (CIPP/US # 332425l) (2020)
CipherTrace Certified Examiner (certificate here) (2019)
IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional – Canada (CIPP/C # 332425l) (2019)
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Nova Scotia Court of Appeal (2012)
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Master of Laws, University College London (2011)
Juris Doctor, Queen’s University (2010)
Postgraduate Diploma in International and European Law, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 (2009)
Bachelor of Music, University of Toronto (2007)
Billing & Workflow
Transactions:
We work within legal budgets, set with you, on a cost-per-stage basis.
Litigation:
We provide ongoing cost projections for each viable path ahead.
General Counsel:
Hours per week can be set for GC engagements.
Our workflow ensures you are continually informed of your best options and projected expenses.
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