Webinar Description

AI is already reshaping the contracts landing on lawyers’ desks. Vendors are pushing back on liability clauses, refusing to account for AI-generated outputs, and presenting terms that standard software contract frameworks were never designed to handle. Legal teams are being asked to advise on deals and assume responsibility for risks that existing templates and playbooks do not adequately address.

This webinar brings together experienced practitioners in technology law, AI advisory, and data privacy to examine what AI contract problems look like in practice today and what lawyers actually need to do about them.

Through a moderated panel discussion, the speakers will share the clauses they fight hardest over, where liability genuinely sits in AI deals, how agentic AI is changing contracting risk, and what responsible AI adoption looks like inside a legal team.

Speakers

• Peter Hense – Founder & Partner, Head of Data & Technology Law / Spirit Legal
• Tom Whittaker – Director, Head of AI Advisory / Burges Salmon
• Yelena Ambartsumian – Founding Attorney / Ambart Law

What We’ll Discuss

The session will cover four key themes:

What Does an AI Contract Problem Actually Look Like? 

What companies are bringing to their legal teams when AI is involved in a deal. The gap between what the business has agreed commercially and what legal is asked to ratify. How the AI Act’s delayed application is affecting how organisations structure their contracts.

Drafting and Negotiating AI Contracts 

Which clauses lawyers spend the most time on, and which template agreements still fail to adequately address IP ownership: who owns outputs, training data rights, and what happens when a model is fine-tuned on client data. How liability caps and indemnities from software contracts do not carry over into AI deals.

Agentic AI and New Contracting Challenges

How to contractually manage AI systems that take autonomous actions on behalf of clients. Liability when agentic AI acts beyond its instructions. Whether standard force majeure and exclusion clauses are being adapted to cover AI-related failures.

Enabling Responsible AI Adoption in Legal Teams

What is currently working well for lawyers, and where practitioners are advised not to rely on AI. How to get buy-in from senior partners or general counsel. The most common mistakes legal teams make when they start trying to tackle AI in contracts and what to do differently.

Format

Duration: 60 minutes

Format: Moderated panel discussion with expert speakers

Includes practical insights, real-world examples, and actionable advice.

Who Should Attend

This webinar is designed for professionals involved in AI governance, risk management, and digital transformation, including:

• Compliance and legal professionals
• HR and workplace technology leaders
• Risk and governance specialists
• Data protection and privacy professionals
• Digital transformation and innovation leaders
• Anyone responsible for implementing or overseeing AI in the workplace

Participate by registering here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/96daceee-996d-47b4-abe5-c98d64011649@e6e6058e-0925-49d7-af6c-08ac483cb997

Speaker Bios

Peter Hense – Founder & Partner, Head of Data & Technology Law / Spirit Legal

Peter Hense advises prominent national and international companies on implementing and enforcing digital innovations and business models across IT, Artificial Intelligence, Data Protection, and Competition Law in R&D, commerce, marketing, and industry. A significant focus of his work is dedicated to leading companies in the travel and hospitality sectors, where he advises top players on Travel Technology and Digital Distribution and represents them in court. He and Sabine Fuhrmann founded Spirit Legal in the year 2011, their major focus being on those issues which arise when business meets technology. His prior experience includes roles at an Italian Studio Legale specialising in public telecommunications and trademark law, work in real estate law at a British law firm, and various positions in e-commerce and IT companies. Peter completed his studies and legal training in Leipzig and Rome.

With over 400 interim proceedings, 40+ tech-related class actions, and hundreds of individual and competitor claims, Peter brings extensive experience to strategic litigation – many of these cases gaining media attention.

Since 2017, a key focus of his work has been advising on automated decision-making, supporting the development of machine learning models and systems with a focus on data quality management and data governance, and implementing emerging global compliance standards for AI systems, including the upcoming EU AI Act.

Tom Whittaker – Director, Head of AI Advisory / Burges Salmon

Tom is a director and solicitor advocate in the Technology team. He regularly advises and trains clients on AI regulation and legal risk. Tom is recognised by Chambers and Partners as a global market leader in AI law (2024 and 2025). He wrote the chapter on Public Law and Procurement Law and AI in the practitioner’s textbook, The Law of Artificial Intelligence, alongside co-authors Rebecca Williams (Professor of Public and Criminal Law, University of Oxford), Azeem Suterwalla KC and Will Perry (Monckton Chambers) and Burges Salmon colleagues.

Tom holds multiple specialist accreditations in AI and, separately, electronic disclosure technology. He is part of various AI working groups and has led responses to multiple government consultations related to AI. He is a member of the Society for Computers and Law AI committee. He has also spoken at various conferences on AI and, separately or together, disclosure, including the Legal 500 Commercial Litigation conference, Society for Computers and Law AI conference, and the Responsible AI and Risk Management Summit. Tom was recognised as Lawyer of the Year at the Bristol Law Society awards 2024 for his work regarding AI.

Tom also regularly advises clients on commercially significant and complex civil disputes, investigations and inquiries for a wide range of corporate and government clients across different sectors. Tom’s focus is on disclosure and evidence management. His experience includes leading disclosure workstreams in litigation, regulatory investigations, and inquiries. Tom’s specialism includes the use of AI in disclosure, and he co-wrote the ILTA best practice guide to GenAI in eDiscovery.

Yelena Ambartsumian – Founding Attorney / Ambart Law

Yelena Ambartsumian is the Founder of AMBART LAW, a New York City law firm offering fractional general counsel services to startups and scaleups, with a focus on AI product counselling and governance, data privacy, and commercial contracts. She brings a rare combination of transactional and litigation experience to companies building with AI and regulated data. Prior to founding AMBART LAW, Yelena was a Senior Associate at a premier global law firm, where she handled complex commercial litigation, bet-the-company litigation, and regulatory investigations. Yelena holds the AIGP and CIPP/US certifications from IAPP, where she is a co-chair of the New York KnowledgeNet Chapter. Yelena is also a charter member of Women in AI Governance, where she leads the global chapter of Fractional GCs in AI Governance.