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Sarah Thorley

Senior Associate

What can I do for you

Sarah advises on data protection, privacy and information law matters. She assists organisations to navigate requests, regulatory investigations and wider compliance challenges.

Sarah works with broad range of clients, particularly those in heavily regulated sectors, to provide pragmatic advice on data protection obligations, including handling sensitive disclosures, managing risk, and responding to regulatory scrutiny. Sarah also advises on privacy governance, policy development, impact assessments and international data sharing.

Sarah’s experience includes supporting clients with large-scale and complex DSARs, including those arising in the context of disputes, litigation or media attention and advising on the application of exemptions and privilege.

Sarah often advises clients on the use of technology and its intersection with data protection matters, including the use of facial recognition, vehicle tracking and biometric mapping technologies.

Sarah is experienced in supporting organisations facing data breaches and cyber incidents, she has worked on multi-jurisdictional incidents guiding clients through incident response, regulatory reporting, and risk mitigation to minimise legal and reputational impact.

Sarah also advises on Freedom of Information matters.

Supporting your ambitions

Sarah takes the time to understand your organisation, your objectives, and your appetite for risk so that she can provide advice that is both legally robust and commercially practical.

Whether supporting you with a one-off issue or working as an extension of your in-house team, she focuses on delivering solutions that are proportionate, workable and aligned with your wider strategy. She regularly helps clients balance legal compliance with reputational and operational considerations, particularly where issues are sensitive or fast-moving.

Sarah also supports clients in developing sustainable data protection practices, including training, developing internal procedures, contractual terms and governance frameworks.

What else should you know

Before qualifying, Sarah worked within the education sector for a large charity as a project manager.

Alongside advisory work, Sarah enjoys delivering training to clients to help build confidence in managing data protection obligations internally.

What our clients say about us

  • I think Mills & Reeve are a wonderful firm. The support they have provided to us in a really difficult area has been brilliant, collaborative and commercially minded. The team were absolutely wonderful and a joy to work with. Amazing advice and support and a real collaborative effort with us. I can't thank them enough for getting us through some really tough times and doing so with an amazing can-do attitude.
  • They are friendly, fast, always available and always on top of the game. I tend to judge my legal team against the other side's legal team and never doubt Mills & Reeve is the better of the two.
  • All interactions have been very clear. Responses to questions have always been very swift and unambiguous. Our company, and my family, have used various services in Mills & Reeve with the same level of satisfaction.
  • I value the fact that Mills & Reeve are recognised as a good place to work in the UK Best Companies survey. This aligns with the values of our business and means that Mills & Reeve can share what is required to achieve this status with our business.

As many clients will testify, too many lawyers deliver the required legal expertise but fail to deliver an outstanding client experience. Which is why we always listen to our clients and constantly ask ourselves what we can do to deliver the results you expect.

You expect a close and attentive working relationship, with a lawyer that is responsive and available when you need them. You also want clear, pragmatic and commercial advice tailored to your needs, and transparency and certainty on costs. We completely agree. That’s why every day, through our culture and approach we are committed to delivering the exceptional results and service our clients expect of us.

Related sectors and services

  • Education
  • Further education and skills
  • Charities and social enterprise
  • Life sciences
  • Insurance
  • Health and care
  • Regulatory
  • Information, data protection and privacy law