The Legal 500

Work Department

IT and outsourcing, commercial practice.

Position

Partner and head of the commercial practice. Has worked on some of the first and largest IT, communications, outsourcing, shared service and managed services projects around the world. For over 27 years, he has represented public and private sector organisations in local, regional and cross-border IT, outsourcing, shared service and managed services projects, including some of the largest in Europe and Asia and notable firsts, such as Europe's first internet lottery. His experience includes all forms of advanced IT systems projects, cloud computing, IT outsourcing and all variants of business process outsourcing, shared service and managed services, including finance and accounting, procurement, customer services, human resources and knowledge processes. Experience of specialist BPO transactions in the banking and insurance, life and pensions, investment operations, property management and healthcare sectors. His transactional and advisory experience covers on-, near- and offshore outsourcing. He has much experience in the use of offshore and near shore captives and build-operate-transfer structures. One of the legal pioneers of offshoring to India. His clients, from a variety of industry sectors, comprise customers and a number of the leading IT and outsourcing service providers globally. The latter are typically Fortune 500, UK FTSE 100/250 and Indian Nasscom Tier 1 providers, but he also represents smaller, niche, outsource providers. He therefore has a balanced perspective on the client/supplier relationship in any IT, shared service, managed services and outsourcing transaction. He works extensively for Indian companies in the IT and IT-enabled services sectors, as well as for UK and European companies offshoring to India. He is co-chair of his firm's India group and leader of Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP's cross-firm outsourcing sector group. Mr Lewis was formerly the non-executive chairman and later a non-executive director of Morgan Chambers plc (now EquaTerra, a KPMG company), a leading global sourcing consultancy.

Career

Called to Bar of England and Wales, Lincoln's Inn 1982 (Hardwicke Scholar); admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales 1991. Assistant Parliamentary Counsel in the Parliamentary Counsel Office, senior legal counsel to HM Treasury, and also served other UK government departments 1983-89; senior associate at Warner Cranston, London 1989-1991; senior associate and later partner and head of the intellectual property group at Stephenson Harwood, London 1991-97; founding partner, senior partner, joint-senior partner and chairman of Arnheim Tite & Lewis (on merger of Tite & Lewis and Arnheim & Co) and Tite & Lewis and global leader of the IT and e-commerce law network of PwC 1997-2004; partner and head of the IT and outsourcing practice at Lawrence Graham LLP, London 2004-06; partner, head of outsourcing practice and latterly head of the commercial practice at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP, London 2006 to date. Publications include co-authoring the information systems chapters of two manuals on outsourcing: 'The Outsourcing Practice Manual' (general editor Angel, Sweet & Maxwell, London), and 'Technology Outsourcing, A Practitioner's Guide' (general editor Angel, The Law Society, London, 2003). Also the author of the information technology outsourcing and services arrangements section of the seventh edition of 'Computer Law' (editor Reed), OUP 2011 and 'Legal and Contracting Issues' in 'Negotiating and Managing a Successful Outsourcing Arrangement' (Anne C Rouse), Ark Group 2012.

Member

Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn; Law Society of England and Wales; International Technology Law Association; Honourable Society of Knights of the Round Table.

Education

University of Cape Town (1976 BA); University of Warwick (1980 LLB Hons); London School of Economics and Political Science (1981 LLM).

Practice Areas

Corporate and commercial; Information technology