The commercial and technology team at A&L Goodbody Northern Ireland LLP is well-equipped to handle technology-related litigations which are high value, sensitive, and cross jurisdictional in nature. The team is jointly led by Brendan Fox and Mark Thompson
. Fox heads the litigation services, while Thompson leads the non-contentious side, where he assists clients in drafting IT technical agreements, including end user licence agreements for both the UK and EEA markets. Also on the contentious side, Ciaran O’Shiel is well versed in advising on defamation, privacy, and data protection matters. Senior associate Keith Dunn often provides support in drafting and negotiating contracts.
IT and telecoms in Northern Ireland
A&L Goodbody Northern Ireland LLP
Practice head(s):
Brendan Fox; Mark Thompson
Other key lawyers:
Ciaran O’Shiel; Keith Dunn
Key clients
Axial Medical Printing Limited t/a Axial3D
MJM Marine
CatalystPay Limited
Bedford Consultancy Services Limited
Irish Football Association
Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
Kelsius Ltd
ABP Food Group
HALO Technologies Europe Limited
Irish Rugby Football Union – Ulster Branch (‘Ulster Rugby’)
Work highlights
- Assisted Axial3D to negotiate several high-value technical IT agreements.
- Instructed by the MJM Marine group to negotiate the terms of a three-year full-service IT outsourcing agreement with Nostra Technologies Limited.
- Instructed by CatalystPay’s UK and EU entities to draft end user licence agreements (one of the UK market and one for the EEA market) relating to the provision, by CatalystPay, of payment services to business customers in the UK and EEA via an online payment platform that would be hosted through CatalystPay’s website.
Arthur Cox Belfast
The Arthur Cox Belfast technology and life sciences team is a market leader in providing corporate advice to technology companies. The team is led by William Curry, who is well trusted by a number of high-profile clients in the public and private sectors, notably including the Department of Finance Land and Property Services. Curry is supported by Lynsey Mallon, a specialist in commercial and corporate matters who is well-versed in counselling clients concerning commercial contracts and transactions. Richard Armstrong also lends strength to the practice on procurement and acquisitions.
Practice head(s):
William Curry
Other key lawyers:
Lynsey Mallon; Richard Armstrong
Key clients
Department of Finance – Land and Property Services
Musgrave Retail Partners NI Limited
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Authority
Sonrai Analytics Limited
SONI Ltd
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council
Mutual Energy Limited
Accenture UK Limited
Align Capital Partners
Teamworks Innovations, Inc.
Work highlights
- Advised Department of Finance – Land and Property Services on all stages of the competitive dialogue procedure for the Landweb procurement competition.
- Advise Musgrave Group on an ongoing basis in respect of all its IT commercial contracts with retailers in Northern Ireland for the provision of till equipment and accompanying software.
- Advised Teamworks Innovations, Inc., a key global player in the provision of operating systems for high performance sports and tactical organisations, in its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Kairos Sports Tech Ltd.
Carson McDowell
Carson McDowell’s technology sector team is adept at providing IT providers with a wide range of advice. Dawn McKnight leads the practice. Notably, McKnight was recently instructed to complete a procurement for the Education Authority, which included drafting the contract and advising on the terms of a gain share mechanism between the Education Authority and Fujitsu. Declan Magee
has around thirty years of litigation experience; he provides support on the contentious aspects of some of the practice’s most sensitive matters. At the associate level, Helen Cosgrove specialises in contractual telecommunications disputes, while James Milliken provides ‘meticulous attention to detail and insightful strategies around master service agreements.’
Practice head(s):
Dawn McKnight
Other key lawyers:
Declan Magee; Helen Cosgrove; James Milliken
Testimonials
‘Leading media firm in Northern Ireland by some distance.’
‘The Carson McDowell team are very experienced in all areas of IT law including commercial, regulatory and procurement law matters. They were able to provide a professional cross-disciplinary team that were able to bring their own particular strengths and experience which was invaluable when assisting us.’
‘Dawn McKnight and Declan Magee were very professional, experienced, personable and very pleasant to work with.’
‘I am delighted to provide an excellent reference for Carson McDowell, whose outstanding service has exceeded expectations. Their commitment to people is evident in the personalised approach they take with their clients, fostering a sense of trust and understanding. I recommend this exceptional team for their unparalleled excellence in legal representation.’
I am happy to recommend James Milliken whose exceptional qualities truly set him apart in the technical IT legal field. His unparalleled dedication to client success is evident through his meticulous attention to detail and insightful legal strategies around master service agreements. What I value most is his proactive communication style, ensuring I felt informed and supported at every stage of my workings with him.’
Key clients
Education Authority
Queen’s University Belfast
Ulster University
Modern Democracy Limited
Connected Health Limited
Kilwaughter Minerals Limited
Nostra Technologies Limited
Spatialest
Alchemy Technology Services
Clearpool
Work highlights
- Advised the Education Authority on the procurement for the provision of strategic partner services and school management system solution for the Education Information Solutions Programme, with final contract value being £485,000,000.
- Advised Kilwaughter Minerals Limited on a support agreement with a supplier who developed, supports and maintains various software and hardware which the client uses to operate its entire production plant.
- Advised Connected Health Limited on the terms of a suite of documents pursuant to which the client obtains a sophisticated staff rostering and finance management solution from a third party provider.
Tughans
The Tughans technology team assists a number of clients in the technology, healthcare, and robotics clients. Department co-lead Adrian O’Connell provides ‘well laid out, and easy to understand’ transactional advice, while managing partner Patrick Brown heads the disputes side of the practice. Other key contacts include Andrew Kirke, who often leads matters concerning licensing terms for healthcare and software companies and Paul Eastwood, who provides strategic and commercial advice, such as advising upon and negotiating technology supply agreements. On the associate level, Aoife Murray provides support on a variety of the practice’s matters, including assisting clients with updating and preparing the terms for their IT services.
Practice head(s):
Adrian O’Connell; Patrick Brown
Other key lawyers:
Andrew Kirke; Paul Eastwood; Aoife Murray
Testimonials
‘Great range of advice and expertise internally, giving us confidence for a wide range of queries and services.’
‘Extremely friendly individuals who offer really helpful support and appropriate advice. In particular would like to thank Paul Eastwood for his timely and thorough support.’
‘I have worked with Adrian O’Connell on a number of assignments, and he brings a rare quality in a lawyer in that he brings commercial considerations into his advice. The advice is well laid out, and easy to understand, and directly related to the contracts in questions.’
Key clients
Invest Northern Ireland
Techstart Ventures LLP
Business Growth Fund
Kernel Capital
Randox Group
Fusion Antibodies plc
OCO Global Limited
CIS Oncology
B-Secur Limited
First Derivatives PLC
Work highlights
Cleaver Fulton Rankin
The in-demand Cleaver Fulton Rankin IT and telecoms team often advises large telecommunications companies, including BT, Virgin Media O2, and Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, on telecoms sites and real estate issues. Joe Marley leads the team on the practice’s most significant telecommunications real estate matters. Aaron Moore, hailed by clients as having ‘a wealth of knowledge with the Lands Tribunal and County Court’ advises IT clients with commercial disputes. Meanwhile, Shane Conlan provides support on both transactional and contentious matters.
Practice head(s):
Joe Marley
Other key lawyers:
Paul McBride; Aaron Moore; Shane Conlan
Testimonials
‘The team I deal with is great at providing advice and recommendations. They always deal with matters promptly and are available to be reached via emails or phone if anything needs to be discussed.’
‘The team members I work with are diligent, approachable, and very helpful. They always make sure that they keep other suppliers they work with up to date with the progress.’
‘Pro-active, knowledgeable team who are always willing and able to engage positively.’
‘Shane Conlan has a “can-do” attitude and will always respond to communications professionally and promptly. He is extremely knowledgeable, providing professional advice and options where they exist.’
‘Aaron Moore confidently leads with clear, succinct and commercial advice. He also has a wealth of knowledge and experience with the Lands Tribunal and County Court and can guide clients through the litigation with confidence. His experience in the telecommunications sector is second to none.
‘Cleaver Fulton and Rankin has been a long standing very experienced telecoms solicitor practice of more than twenty years. They are well versed in all the changes to the legislation. Very proactive and offer a first-class service second to none.’
‘Shane Conlan is very professional and proactive to having agreements completed in a timely and professional manner. They are one of the better solicitors practices in the whole of the UK for completing agreements.’
‘Shane Conlan’s attention to detail has been essential in our client’s ability to continue to reach their targets. He is professional, punctual and play a major role in our client’s push to reach agreements with numerous landlords in Northern Ireland
Key clients
BT Plc
Vodafone Limited
Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (“CTIL”)
Telefonica
Virgin Media o2 (VM02)
Invest Northern Ireland
Urban Innovation Company (UIC) limited
Treliant (formerly Vox Financial Ltd)
IRP Commerce Limited
Logicearth Learning Services
Work highlights
- Advising Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited on all aspects of its telecommunications sites throughout Northern Ireland.
- Acting as Counsel for BT on all real estate issues for BT’s Northern Ireland portfolio.
- Acting as Virgin Media O2’s sole external legal advisers in Northern Ireland, including a number of matters relating to the management of their real estate portfolio throughout Northern Ireland.
Lewis Silkin
The ‘extremely pragmatic’ information technologies team at Lewis Silkin are well experienced in supporting clients during contract negotiations. Rory Campbell is well experienced in advising on the contractual terms of software and services supply arrangements for IT providers. Mary Traynor has a ‘very practical approach’ and provides commercial advice on various issues, including matters of GDPR obligations in the UK and EU.
Practice head(s):
Rory Campbell
Other key lawyers:
Katey Dixon; Mary Traynor
Testimonials
‘Knowledge and insights into the tech sector and specifically how it applies to software development and IP ownership including complexities around Open source software’
‘Rory Campbell is very knowledgeable about the sector and takes time to understand concerns as they arise.’
‘The people make this practice unique. A collection of experienced solicitors who are engaging and add value through their breadth of knowledge.’
‘We love Mary Traynor for her practical approach and warm style of engagement. We are constantly reassured by Mary’s presence in any commercial matter. She understands our company and needs very well.’
‘We have found the team at Lewis Silkin LLP (particularly the Belfast office) to be extremely pragmatic when they support us during contract negotiations. Their approach has been a benefit both to us and our customers.
‘Rory Campbell has been a real asset to us. His approach is always based on common sense and real-world explanations so that the non-legal representatives in the meeting understand the context of the points being discussed. His approach is one of collaboration between both parties and seeking an agreement that is balanced.’
Mary Traynor has provided expert advice on GDPR obligations across UK and EU boundaries and within our supply chain. Although a dry subject to most, Mary is clearly passionate about this area, which comes out in the way she has worked with us and our customers.’
Key clients
Dexia SA
Sensoteq
Analytics Engines
Aura Commodities
Inflyte
Fingerprint Learning
Instil Software
Telefonica Tech
Supponor Limited
TMT Finance
Work highlights
- Advised Telefonica Tech on multinational-euro contracts for Children’s Health Ireland.
- Advised Northern Ireland based music promotion platform, Inflyte, on the terms of use and data protection provisions of their platform.
- Advised Fingerprint Learning on licensing its intellectual property into software and the distribution of the application.
Millar McCall Wylie LLP
The information technology team at Millar McCall Wylie LLP has a strong presence in the media sector, often advising clients on drafting contracts, licensing, and terms and conditions. Damian McParland leads the practice with strong experience in media and entertainment related corporate and M&A matters. Abbie Long regularly supports IT and private technology clients on various agreements for licensing of rights and exploitation arrangements.
Practice head(s):
Damian McParland
Other key lawyers:
Abbie Long
Key clients
Northern Ireland Screen
Fast Forward Fuel
Employee Wellbeing Ltd
JF & H Dowds Ltd
Nimbus Computer Solutions Ltd
Retinize Limited
Learning Pool Limited
Cirdan Imaging/Cirdan Ultra
Work highlights
- Advised Learning Pool Limited in putting together a new master services agreement in relation to use of their services including online platform, digital services, e-learning, module creation tools and more.
- Advised Northern Ireland Screen in relation to an interactive content project provisionally entitled “History Essentials” with producer Makematic Limited and including various arrangements for licensing of rights and exploitation arrangements.
- Advised Retinize Limited on the drafting of terms and conditions on proprietary technology for use in cinematic virtual reality and augmented reality animation and environments.