Tech & Data Transactions

Holland & Knight's Tech & Data Transactions Team helps clients structure, draft and negotiate agreements for technology and data-driven relationships, capitalizing on business opportunities, managing risk allocation and ensuring compliance with legal obligations.

We are here to provide counsel when clients need a streamlined approach to contracting, such as templates, checklists and negotiation playbooks, to reduce risk through consistency and reduce capacity burdens on their legal and sales teams. In addition, we assist with guidance when sharing data with a third party or to help establish a third-party risk management program to manage governance, due diligence, contracting, monitoring and termination of commercial relationships.

Holland & Knight at a Glance

• 22 | experienced tech and data transaction attorneys
• 59 | percent of our team members who are diverse
• 9 | offices where we have team member coverage
• A deep bench of industry-specific practitioners supports our team, including in Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Retail & Consumer Products, Technology & Telecommunications, Real Estate, Hospitality and Transportation & Infrastructure
• Our clients are of all sizes and in all stages of development

Your Goals, Our Strengths

We partner with clients to closely integrate legal needs with business objectives and operational realities. Our Tech & Data Transactions Team advises on all forms of transactions related to technology, data, digital solutions and services, including software, a variety of as-a-service solutions, distributed ledger and blockchain, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other digital assets, the metaverse, artificial intelligence (AI) and open source software.

Using or Providing Cloud Services and Business Outsourcing

Engagements for cloud services and cloud-based applications are a constant focus for our team, where we represent customers and providers in services agreements that allow customers to leverage data centers and cloud infrastructure in various capacities (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), with attention to intellectual property (IP) and data rights, privacy, cybersecurity, risk allocation and service-level agreements.

Our attorneys represents clients in all aspects of strategic outsourcing transactions, including information technology outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO). Depending on the nature and scale of the client's needs this can include preparation of a request for proposal (RFP), guidance through the vendor-selection process, negotiation of terms sheets and a definitive agreement, life cycle management, and contract enforcement and dispute resolution. By outsourcing functions to service providers who have the experience, scale and leverage to perform the functions more effectively and efficiently, our clients can focus resources and attention on their core business objectives.

Developing, Sharing and Licensing IP and Data

Our Tech & Data Transactions Team includes professionals experienced in IP, patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, other legal protections and the effective use of contracts and licensing arrangements to obtain, protect, leverage and monetize innovations and nontangible assets in a fiercely competitive global market. In transactions of virtually any nature, our attorneys inherently aim to grow our client's assets and protect their investments and innovations.

Generating, Using, Monetizing and Protecting Data and Data Insights

Our team includes attorneys experienced in data commercialization and analytics projects, with deep technical and legal proficiency leveraged daily in the transactional context to craft contractual data rights that support business strategies and are consistent with the mandates of numerous privacy laws. We also negotiate privacy and cyber risk allocation between the parties, align contractual obligations with commercially reasonable security standards, manage audit rights and address numerous other provisions that are critical to tech- and data-driven agreements.

Launching Online and Data-Driven Products and Services

We guide clients in their launch of new digital and technology products and services as well as the adaptation of existing products and services to facilitate compliance with new legal and regulatory requirements. Our team's work includes analyzing complex multiparty data flows and conducting end-to-end assessments of information risk, negotiation of agreements for partnerships involving technology integration and data sharing, and drafting required consumer-facing agreements and disclosures.

Managing Risks and Identifying Opportunities with New Technologies

The rapid technical advancements in leveraging data and technology present legal challenges and require legal counsel who keep pace, track evolving regulatory and legal landscapes, and offer pragmatic advice in the face of change. Obligations concerning ownership and rights, legal compliance, data quality, documentation and traceability, transparency, human oversight and accuracy vary depending on the use case.

Our Tech & Data Transactions Team brings together a mix of technical skills and legal experience in intellectual property, privacy, cybersecurity, commercial transactions, regulatory compliance, government relations and innovation. From small startups to multinational energy products manufacturers, our attorneys have experience advising clients on going to market with their online products and services, including through drafting and negotiating license agreements and developing nimble, easily understanding online terms. We offer practical advice, assess legal risk, identify opportunities, and provide our clients with a sound legal basis for their integration of data and AI assets in their business activities, including in agreements reflecting inbound and/or outbound sales and licensing, use cases, allocations of liability and indemnification, and flow-down obligations.

Leveraging AdTech/MarTech and Third-Party Integrations

We advise clients on advertising and marketing technology (AdTech/MarTech) in various capacities, including due diligence, transactions and compliance. We assist with counseling on technical implementations, negotiating agreements and interpreting evolving legal requirements that implicate highly complex AdTech/MarTech ecosystems.

Our digital advertising and marketing experience includes paid search, display ad, search engine optimization, pay-per-click (paid advertisements and promoted search results), social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, marketing analytics and affiliate marketing arrangements. Our lawyers also assist clients with content licensing and distribution, digital advertising, sponsorships and promotions, and similar arrangements. We have supported clients in preventing or investigating ad fraud, and in some instances, pursuing legal action for breach of contract in regard to misrepresentations and fraud concerning digital ad services.

Recent Honors and Accolades

• Nationally ranked in Band 1 for Privacy & Data Security: Highly Regarded category in the 2022 Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide
• Ranked in the inaugural edition of Global Data Review (GDR) 100 in 2022
• Ranked in the Leaders League USA – Best Law Firms guide for Data Protection & Cybersecurity in 2020
• Attorneys routinely ranked in Chambers USA guide for Nationwide Technology & Outsourcing, Intellectual Property, Privacy & Data Security: Litigation and New York Technology