Melissa Hall
Legal DirectorMel is a Legal Director in our Corporate & Commercial team.
Mel advises clients on a variety of matters including data protection, commercial and IT contracts, anti-bribery and corruption, and intellectual property. She is ranked as a Rising Star for TMT IT and Telecoms in Legal 500 2024, and was awarded TMT Rising Star of the Year 2024 at the Legal 500 Scotland Awards in 2023.
Mel is ranked as an Associate to Watch for Charities Scotland in Chambers UK Guide to the Legal Profession 2022-2024. Mel regularly works with third sector clients in a variety of areas including governance, data protection, fundraising practices and brand protection.
Mel has a particular interest in data protection, and regularly assists clients with advice on data subject access requests, personal data breaches, marketing practices, contractual protections for data processing, and provides tailored training in these areas.
Article
UK Biobank's Data Breach: Lessons Learned for International Sharing of Health Data
UK Biobank, a UK health research charity holding decades of de‑identified participant health data, recently discovered that datasets shared with approved academic researchers were listed for sale on a Chinese shopping website.
Podcast
Charity Compliance Update: ICO Enforcement, Soft Opt‑Ins and Legitimate Interest
This podcast explores the impact of some of the changes introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, lessons emerging from recent ICO action, how charities can approach soft opt-in with confidence, the wider implications of the Birthlink case and data protection considerations when carrying out prospect research.