This white paper provides an introduction to what to look out for in lawyering the organisation's Tech procurement, deployment and governance.
Download the white paper here.
DEMYSTIFYING TECH LAWYERING1
A. AUDIENCE, PURPOSE AND SCOPE
1. Who should read this white paper? The primary audience for this white paper is the in-house lawyer who is not an IT specialist and who works at an organisation that is not an IT provider company, but which acquires IT. The secondary audience is the in-house lawyer at an IT acquirer company looking after IT and related aspects of the business. The note may also be useful to the in-house lawyer at an IT provider company on the sales side who wishes to understand what her or his counterpart at their IT acquirer customer will be thinking about or looking out for.
2. Purpose and scope. This white paper provides an introduction to what to look out for in lawyering the organisation's Tech procurement, deployment and governance:
- Section B considers the remit and role of the legal department and the IT lawyer in lawyering the organisation's IT.
- Sections C to F provide practical pointers and tips in the areas of intellectual property rights (C), IT contracting (D), IT regulation (E) and IT governance (F).
Previous editions of this white paper have considered Tech types and trends and the Tech lawyer's role in the organisation in a single white paper. In this edition, we have separated Tech types and Tech trends into a stand-alone white paper which is available on our website at www.kempitlaw.com .
This practice note is an introduction. It is not legal advice and is not intended to be comprehensive. In this white paper, we use 'IT' and 'Tech' interchangeably.
B. LAWYERING THE ORGANISATION'S IT
3. Lawyering the organisation's IT: Legal's remit and role. Each organisation will approach how it lawyers its IT functions and operations in a different way. For example, will all IT contracts be reviewed by the Legal Department or only contracts above a certain materiality threshold, whether established by price, duration or other criteria? Equally, to what extent will Legal be involved in Tech regulatory compliance and Tech and information governance? Clarity on these issues will enable the legal group and the in-house IT lawyer to properly understand and carry out their remit, role, responsibilities and authority levels.
4. Working with other functions in the business. In particular, the in-house IT lawyer will need to understand remit, role, responsibilities and authority in her or his relationship with each of:
a) the General Counsel;
b) the Chief Information Officer and the IT Department
c) the Procurement Group;
d) the Chief Financial Officer and the Finance Department;
e) the HR Department; and
f) the Sales Department.
Download the white paper here.
Footnotes
1 This is the fifth edition of our white paper on Demystifying Tech Lawyering. It replaces the earlier editions: 4 th – March 2021; 3 rd – June 2018; 2nd – January 2017; and 1st – January 2016. This edition splits out Demystifying Tech for Lawyers and Demystifying Tech. Demystifying Tech for Lawyers is now a separate white paper available on our website at www.kempitlaw.com .
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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