Stephanie Essey

Special Counsel
Sydney

Biography

Stephanie is a special counsel in our Technology and Intellectual Property group.

Her practice focuses on complex technology transactions, data commercialisation, software licensing, and regulatory advice. With particular expertise in establishing and navigating long-term, high-value commercial contracts and technology transformations, she is sought out by clients to advise on their most high-stakes and cutting-edge deals.  

Stephanie frequently acts for clients in heavily regulated industries, including the financial services, telecommunications, agribusiness, government and healthcare sectors. She draws on this experience to provide clear and strategic advice on regulatory matters, including all aspects of data use and commercialisation, privacy law and telecommunications and banking regulation. Stephanie has significant experience handling software transactions and licensing, including mission-critical software contracts, cloud services and software disputes. She also advises clients on artificial intelligence and biometrics, particularly in the healthcare AI space. 

Before joining G+T in 2017, Stephanie worked at a top-tier firm in London, also completing a secondment to the Group Operations and Commercial Legal team at Lloyds Banking Group.

Experience

Stephanie’s recent experience includes advising:

  • Two of the Big Four banks on critical technology and data agreements, including material outsourcings, strategic AI initiatives, biometrics, and data ingestion and analytics.

  • ASX on its suite of enterprise resource planning agreements with a major SaaS vendor.

  • harrison.ai on its healthcare AI joint ventures, data use and sharing, and intellectual property ownership and licensing.

  • NSW Government on the cornerstone $2.6 billion, 35-year concession of NSW Land and Property Information, the first concession of its kind in Australia.

  • GrainCorp on the sale of its liquid terminals business to Quantem, and on other major transactions.

  • Microsoft on its software licensing contracts and agreements with key subcontractors.

  • KPMG on its technology transformation contracts with Australian universities and government corporations, spanning technology advisory, implementation, data migration and integration services.

  • Ramsay Health Care on its subscription and services agreements with a SaaS vendor.

  • Altus Group on an agreement for smart technology and digital services in the traffic management sector.

  • NRMA on its template services agreements for electric vehicle chargers for use by its energy and infrastructure business.

  • Porsche, WiseTech Global, Ansarada, ABS-CBN, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, on privacy and data use.

  • Several ASX 100 companies on software licensing, including on the terms of their software licence agreements, their engagement with vendors, and preparing for software audits.

Related insights

Insights featuring Stephanie