Canadian Lawyer InHouse

41 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE MAY 2016 ferent subject mat- ter experts to go to the cloud. I've never been in sales before. It's great because I learn a lot about sales, and they learn a lot about law." Beyond mapping out contract terms and ensuring Microsoft cer- tifi cations align with what the ten- ants of those new cloud data cen- tres are asking for, Leibtag says another important aspect of his team's work is infl uencing public policy and ensuring legislators recognize Microsoft as a thought leader in the space. "Because technology constantly evolves and legislation is often a lag- gard, it's a matter of working hard to stay on top of the concerns," he says. "We're hearing about mass data breaches, which really started with Edward Snowden. Security is really a C-suite issue now." It's also an issue that's getting more com- plex by the day, with companies like Apple fi ghting the FBI in the U.S. over demands for increased access to consumer technol- ogy. The cloud is also helping create global, massively disruptive competitors to es- tablished industries, whether it's Uber in transportation or Airbnb in the hospitality sector. Canadian companies want to gain the same competitive advantages that others have seen through moving to the cloud, but they also don't want to introduce unneces- sary risk into their organization. Leibtag says what motivates him is the opportunity to be proactive in meeting cloud computing challenges head-on, rath- er than scrambling to explain the ramifi ca- tions after problems have already emerged. "In a lot of other in-house roles, you're re- ally focused on things like limitations and li- abilities — this is not just that," he says. "I'm looking at helping make the business case for cloud computing to our customers." IH P r o f e s s i o n a l P r o f i l e SECOND SNAPSHOT T H E L A W Y E R Jonathan Leibtag T H E C O M P A N Y Microsoft Canada • Attended McGill Law School • Sits on the board of directors for Mt. Sinai Hospital • A member of the Toronto Computer Lawyers • Got his start as a summer stu- dent at Yigal Arnon & Co. ferent subject mat- te ter r ex expe pert rts s to to go o to to th the e cl clou o d. d I'v ' e ne neve ver been in sales before. It's great because I learn a lot about sales, and they learn a lot about law." Beyond mapping out contract terms and ensuring Microsoft cer- tifi cations align with what the ten- ants of those new cloud data cen- tres are asking for, Leibtag says another important aspect of his team's work is infl uencing public policy and ensuring legislators recognize Microsoft as h h l d i h and d S T H Jon T H E Mic • Att • Sit for M • A m Co • Go de Who do you think are the most infl uential lawyers in Canada? Vote in Canadian Lawyer's poll TOP 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL LAWYERS IN CANADA V i s i t W W W. C A N A D I A N L A W Y E R M A G . C O M f o r d e t a i l s VOTING IS OPEN MAY 23 - JUNE 7 Untitled-3 1 2016-04-05 2:24 PM

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