Technology & Commercial - Information and Communications Technology

Our Services

The McGrigors Technology and Commercial team specialises in all aspects of the law relevant to Information and Communications Technology, including the supply/procurement of end to end IT systems; software development and licensing; system infrastructure procurement; managed service and software as a service arrangements; IT outsourcing (onshore and offshore); telecommunications regulation and associated service arrangements; together with all aspects of the law applicable to the Internet, websites and ecommerce. Our specialists also specialise in the related areas of database ownership, data protection, data retention and freedom of information.  Our team is top ranked in Legal 500, containing lawyers qualified in both English and Scots law.  We advise across a wide range of industries including financial services, healthcare, local authorities, oil and gas and retail. We understand our clients' priorities and in particular recognise the need to ensure that:

 

  • contracts are flexible and scalable enough to operate in an IT landscape which is rapidly evolving at both a technical and commercial level.
  • contractual mechanisms are workable in practice, tailored to an IT environment, avoiding complex arrangements which look good on paper, but are unworkable in real life.
  • the risks associated with the design, development, implementation and operation of systems/services are correctly apportioned between the supplier and customer, so that each party's responsibilities are clear and the party better able to manage a given risk, bears it.

 

Our skills

We are:

  • commercially focused: we are clear that the commercial and technical aspects of an arrangement must drive the contractual discussions, avoiding the contract acting as a straightjacket into which the arrangement has to fit.
  • pragmatic: we will work hard to get the job done and provide advice which is practical and relevant.
  • supportive:  we will have a view on any particular point/issue and we will recommend a way forward, supporting our client through the difficult decisions.
  • team workers: we will seamlessly provide a cross disciplinary team (involving specialists in relation to employment, regulatory, property and other relevant areas) as required to complete the task.