Technology transactions and outsourcing

We have a highly regarded and top-ranked technology practice, providing strategic advice and negotiation support for both suppliers and users of technology. We have advised on some of the largest and most complex deals in the UK, US, Switzerland, India, South Africa and elsewhere, striving always to strip away legalese and to create documents which tell the story of the deal, rather than crushing the parties’ relationship into a legal straight-jacket.

Our expertise covers:

• Outsourcing, re-sourcing and procurement, including setting up systems and services integration structures that work.
• Network management outsourcing for telcos and the creation of MVNOs.
• Reviewing the health of existing deals and fixing any problems we find.

To date, the team has advised on over US$50 billion of deals, in the private and public sectors.

We often work closely with a client’s in-house team and other professional advisors, and project-manage legal support in multiple jurisdictions (for example, relating to employment and data privacy issues). Many of our deals are “bet the company” transactions or have no precedent – which is where clients demand clear, pragmatic legal advice.

We have introduced an innovative “Health Check” for existing technology services transactions, providing a report for the concerned party as to:

• Whether the existing contract documents support the deal in the real world,
• Whether perceived service failures amount to actionable breaches,
• What needs to be put right, and how we recommend this is done.

This gives the user (or service provider) the right information to be able to judge whether to renegotiate, exit or continue with a deal that is proving problematic. Our dispute resolution expertise (see below) is often deployed in renegotiating deals where the relationship between the parties has broken down.

For details of the cost of the Health Check service, please contact Rory Graham.