Cooley LLP is one of the country’s leading technology firms, a fact reflected by its multi-faceted transactions practice. The team is firmly embedded in the market and represents recent household names, such as Zoom, through to emerging companies and start-ups. The firm’s expertise covers a wide range of business sectors including fintech, cloud computing, digital and social media, healthcare, space, cybersecurity and nanotechnology. Corporate and outsourcing attorneys work closely with IP lawyers to advise on a wide range of issues including M&A, joint venture and business service agreements, as well as the buying, selling, licensing and development of technology-based services. Key partners include Washington DC’s Adam Ruttenberg for outsourcing matters and Keith Berets in Denver for IP transactions and related M&A. New York partner Len Jacoby has established an extremely strong track record in advising technology companies, asset managers and investment banks in IP-driven corporate transactions. The team is led from the firm’s Palo Alto office by TJ Graham, and includes Charles Haley and Tracy Rubin, who was recently recruited from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Goodwin has a ‘phenomenal‘ technology transactions practice, noted for its ‘exceptionally talented lawyers‘ and for being ‘extremely helpful across the board‘. The firm offers an impressive platform that supports clients through all stages of the lifecycle, including strategic and corporate finance issues as well as domestic and cross-border licensing, collaboration and joint venture agreements. The cross-practice group also advises on related data privacy and cyber-security issues. At the top end of the scale, it has an extremely good track record on major M&As, SPAC mergers and equity and debt capital markets listings. The team boasts an deep bench of lawyers and is co-chaired by ‘stand out‘ corporate partner Anthony McCusker  in Silicon Valley, and Boston-based partners Kenneth Gordon and John Egan. Other key individuals include IP transactional expert Stephen Charkoudian, corporate finance partner Joseph Theis,  Silicon Valley’s ‘exceptional‘ capital markets partner Bradley Weber, and the ‘invaluable‘ Jacob Osborn in Washington DC, who is experienced in digital currency and blockchain. All partners based in Boston unless otherwise stated.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP‘s technology transactions group provides critical support to the firm’s market-leading corporate and private equity teams, which regularly act on IP and technology-driven corporate acquisitions, sales, SPAC mergers and IPOs. The volume of deal activity is unmatched by most firms and might lead to the team’s standalone skillsets being overlooked. The practice has long had a major focus on business process and technology outsourcing agreements, and its lead lawyers are equally adept at IP licenses, collaboration agreements and strategic alliances. A notable example was the firm’s advice to McDonald’s on its deal with IBM concerning the development of its Automated Order Taking technology and subsequent spinoff of McD Tech Labs. Key partners include Seth Traxler, Neil Hirshman and Matthew Lovell in Chicago for IP and technology-related outsourcings and transactions. San Francisco-based partner John Lynn is also highly experienced in related corporate and technology transactions.

Latham & Watkins LLP has a hugely experienced team that is praised for bringing 'a deep bench of expertise and market knowledge to each transaction, along with a pragmatic approach to reaching the best outcome'. The scale of the practice and the firm's global reach ensures complete coverage across a range of transaction types, including cross-border IP diligence and monetization deals, M&A support, outsourcing and strategic collaborations. The practice saw activity across an equally wide selection of industries including aviation, agtech, robotics, fintech, digital and social media, and AI. The firm's work in the semiconductor space was particularly notable, including advising Nvidia on its proposed $40 billion acquisition of Arm, which was ultimately abandoned for competition reasons, and assisting Advanced Micro Devices on its $35 billion takeover of Xilinx. The team also advised Beyond Meat on its PLANeT Partnership joint venture with PepsicCo, including support on commercial IP and operational matters. Key partners include Boston-based global vice-chair Sarah Gagan, and in Silicon Valley, Anthony Klein who is 'nothing short of amazing'. Los Angeles partners Alex Voxman  ('responsive, professional, thoughtful and knowledgeable') and the 'extremely knowledgeable' Ghaith Mahmood  come highly recommended. JD Marple   (Silicon Valley) and Jeremiah Wolsk (Washington DC) are also noted for their outsourcing work.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has an ‘exceptionally hard working and diligent‘ team that covers the full suite of M&A, restructuring and standalone technology transactions. The dedicated practice represents a mix of technology and life sciences companies, as well as banks and private equity investors, on their most business critical deals, including domestic and cross-border strategic alliances, IP acquisitions and disposals, research and development agreements, outsourcing transactions and licensing agreements. Key to the team’s popularity is its ‘deep knowledge and experience in the technology field’ including its ‘ability to deal with challenging personalities in stressful negotiations‘. The largely New York-based group is co-chaired by the versatile Jeffrey Osterman and the ‘outstanding‘ Charan Sandhu, who took over from former global practice head Michael Epstein, a partner with over 30 years’ experience in the market. Other key individuals include recently promoted partner Adam Dennis, and Silicon Valley-based partner Karen Ballack who is noted for her ‘great expertise, creativity, and good judgment‘.

M&A and capital markets are natural sweet spots for Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, but the firm’s technology transactions expertise goes well beyond pure corporate finance. The group’s transactional credentials cover a broad range sectors and emerging technologies including fintech, blockchain, artificial intelligence, open source software and robotics. This includes advice on technology licensing and development agreements and the strategic management of technology assets and related commercialization programs. Much of this is underpinned by partner David Kappos, the firm’s leading IP lawyer who regularly assists corporate and banking clients on IP heavy transactions, such as Amazon’s $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM. Additional support from lawyers in key areas such as antitrust adds further weight to the offering. Corporate partner George Schoen has an extremely strong reputation for M&A and joint ventures across all corners of the technology market. Corporate partner Keith Hallam is also recommended.

DLA Piper LLP (US) has a good spread of experience that covers high-end corporate finance transactions as well as standalone technology matters. The multi-faceted practice is spread throughout the firm’s impressive domestic network of offices, with active partners practising out of the West and East Coasts, and the central states. The lawyers are well-versed in providing support on high-end corporate mandates including SPAC mergers, IPOs and financings. Open licensing contracts, strategic relationships, outsourcing negotiations, data privacy, digital transformations and collaboration agreements all feature prominently on the agenda, with the team operating comfortably across a range of technologies, including blockchain, fintech, semiconductors, insurtech, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles. The global team is also highly experienced in cross-border transactions and is co-chaired by Victoria Lee in Silicon Valley and Chicago-based Vincent Sanchez. San Diego’s Mark Lehberg is experienced in outsourcing, cloud computing and software as a service. John Gilluly in Austin is also highly active.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has a good pedigree in technology and strategic sourcing transactions where it represents a broad mix of providers and end-users. This includes advice on offshoring and shared services agreements, as well as restructurings, strategic alliances and joint ventures. Recent highlights include assisting the pharmaceutical company Janssen, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson, on the build-out of a product platform with IBM. The firm also advised the global hotel chain Marriott International on its digital transformation project. Hewlett Packard is a major client on the technology front, which the firm advised on the development of a private cloud solution and a related agreement with Infosys. Key partners include New York-based technology transactions co-chair Daniel Angel, and strategic sourcing and commercial transactions co-chairs Stephen Nordahl and William Peters, respectively based in New York and Los Angeles.

Hogan Lovells US LLP combines a strong domestic and international network to support multinational clients on a wide range of technology transactions. This includes advice on IP licensing agreements and related corporate finance work. Audrey Reed and John Brockland, respectively based in Washington DC and San Francisco, are two of the firm’s lead partners.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP has an experienced multi-disciplinary technology group that serves the industry with an impressive range of expertise. The bulk of the firm’s work is done through the technology, outsourcing and commercial transactions group, which coordinates with colleagues in the M&A, TMT and IP teams on related strategic and corporate issues. The lawyers are trusted by numerous household name clients to assist with major strategic alliances, services agreements, technology transfers, licensing, outsourcing and M&A mandates. This is built on a cross-practice foundation that includes data security, privacy and employment. Global technology co-head Barbara Melby, and the team’s founding partner Michael Pillion, both work out of Philadelphia and share over 50 years’ experience in the market. Other key partners are well positioned throughout the US, including Rahul Kapoor in Silicon Valley, Doneld Shelkey in Boston, and Vito Petretti and corporate partner Sheryl Orr  in New York.

The lawyers at Morrison Foerster bring ‘excellent advice and insight‘ on an impressively broad range of technology related transactions. M&A deals and other forms of corporate finance feature prominently, but the firm also impresses with its embedded expertise in strategic matters, including joint development, distribution and supply agreements, as well as global outsourcing projects and all forms of IP licensing and commercialization. This extends to all corners of the technology market, including artificial intelligence, AR/VR, blockchain, fintech, healthtech, semiconductors and the internet of things. Recent work highlights include advising the gaming and animation company Unity Technologies on its $1.6 billion acquisition of the technology division of Weta Digital. A team led by San Francisco-based Tessa Schwartz assisted Salesforce on the IP, privacy and regulatory aspects of its $27 billion takeover of Slack Technologies. Aaron Rubin  heads the practice from San Francisco, with other highly experienced partners including William Schwartz and Justin Haan also based in the Bay area. A well-stocked New York office includes outsourcing head Vivian Hanson and of counsel Anthony Ramirez.

Venable LLP  is commended for its ‘deep knowledge of the tech industry‘ and ‘ability to convey complex concepts and structures to non expert audiences‘. The standalone team provides invaluable support to other departments within the firm, including related advice on M&A deals. Core to its offering is a strong focus on domestic and international systems procurement and strategic sourcing deals, built on an understanding of relevant technologies, including Saas and cloud agreements, AI, and the internet of things. This spans various sectors including healthcare, financial services, pharma, retail, energy and manufacturing.  Key partners in Washington DC include the ‘attentive, kind and pragmatic‘ Nora Garrote who co-chairs the IP transactions group, experienced TMC co-chair William Russell, and Armand Zottola. San Francisco partner Jim Nelson is active on the IP transactional and outsourcing side. The ‘charming, creative and detail-oriented‘ trade mark partner Rebecca Liebowitz (Washington DC) and Baltimore-based corporate partner Anthony Rosso  are also singled out.

WilmerHale has a long history representing technology companies and end-users on the full range of corporate and standalone technology issues. Licensing, outsourcing and services agreements all feature prominently on the agenda, as does advice on big data and related cybersecurity and privacy issues on cross-border development and distribution deals and IP portfolio development. The team’s ‘broad capabilities‘ are key to the firm’s wider corporate offering in related M&A, venture capital financings and IPOs. This expertise extends to areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, health-tech and the internet of things. Lead partners include Jeff Johnson and Sarah Hogan in Boston for life sciences and related digital health matters. Ashwin Gokhale in San Francisco regularly assists with transactions in the software and hardware industries, while New York’s Robert Finkel handles outsourcing and technology service agreements. Up-and-coming Boston-based partner Ariel Soiffer is noted for his’ excellent responsiveness‘ and ‘cutting edge legal advice‘.

Baker Botts L.L.P. has strong credentials for the full suite of technology driven transactions, with lawyers well-placed throughout its US office network. In addition to support on M&A and capital markets related transactions, the team has a good grounding in negotiating licensing, development, distribution and outsourcing agreements. The firm’s strong links to the energy industry also makes it an obvious choice for expanding areas such as energy-tech. The well regarded team is co-chaired by corporate partner Samantha Hale Crispin in Dallas, which is a key hub for Texas’ booming tech industry. Co-chairs Brian Lee in Palo Alto and Jonathan Gordon in New York round out a strong leadership team. Clients also rate New York corporate partner Lee Charles   who 'exhibits extraordinary patience and does an excellent job in breaking down complicated contractual language for the laymen'.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP‘s clients benefit from a strong team of ‘subject matter experts’ who ‘provide comprehensive and pragmatic guidance’. The firm has invested heavily in its technology transactions team in the past two years, and in 2021 recruited former Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP counsel and commercial IP lawyer Daniel Forester to its New York office. His addition adds weight to an already strong team that represents a mix of start-ups and public companies on related issues including M&A, joint ventures, outsourcing and servicing agreements, and transactional IP and licensing. Recent transactions have covered a range of sectors including digital special effects, carbon capture, autonomous driving, and blockchain. The team is led by global co-chair Daniel Yost from Silicon Valley, who alongside San Francisco’s Sarah Schaedler brings a huge amount of corporate and IP licensing experience to key hubs on the West Coast, with strong support from recently promoted partner Ramin Tohidi (San Francisco). Boston-based IP licensing partner Shana Solomon is popular with biotechnology companies.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has a top tier outsourcing practice that also has extremely good credentials for broader technology transactions and related service agreements. Clients include major end-users operating across several key sectors including health insurance, banking, credit cards, retail, and technology. Clients appreciate the firm’s ‘unique team approach‘ and its ‘capabilities across all areas of outsourcing – complex technology, employee and HR matters, data privacy, GDPR‘. Washington DC-based partner Aaron Oser leads the ‘incredible‘ team, which includes fellow DC partner Mario Dottori, and Austin’s Elizabeth Zimmer, who is noted for her ‘first-class client service,‘ and John Barton  (‘makes you feel like you are his only client’). Other key individuals include Vipul Nishawala in New York and Silicon Valley’s Shaalu Mehra, who stands out for his market-leading IP licensing expertise.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has a highly experienced New York-based team that is ‘very quick in understanding complex technological and legal issues‘. The practice provides critical support to the firm’s highly active corporate finance team, with good experience of M&A, financings, capital markets listings and restructurings. This is in addition to an active standalone offering that is regularly involved in significant IP, technology and privacy/cybersecurity transactions, including collaboration and licensing agreements. The IP transactions department is led by the highly regarded and versatile Lori Lesser who also co-chairs the firm’s privacy and cybersecurity practice. Other key individuals include counsel Genevieve Dorment and associate Alysha Sekhon, who is singled out for praise by clients.

White & Case LLP is a popular choice with clients who praise the firm’s ‘exceptional customer focus and speed of advice,‘ and its ‘tremendous breadth of knowledge and skills’. Clients come from across a range of sectors including social media, e-commerce, software and hardware manufacturing. The US team works closely with colleagues in key hubs such as Frankfurt, and advises on a range of IP licensing, partnership, outsourcing and supply and distribution agreements. The lawyers also offer critical support on high profile corporate transactions, including M&A and SPAC combinations. A team including highly-rated former partner Daren Orzechowski left to join Allen & Overy LLP in late 2021, but the firm retains several high quality lawyers. Clients ‘unhesitatingly recommend‘ New York partner Arlene Hahn, who has an extremely good track record on IP and technology driven transactions and now heads the global technology transactions and outsourcing practice. Erin Hanson, who handles technology and outsourcing agreements, is praised for her ‘wonderful attention to detail‘.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has an ‘extremely knowledgeable‘ team that is ‘always extremely responsive to requests for assistance‘. The Palo Alto office has an experienced group, including practice head Matthew Berger and partner Tiffany Lee, who are praised for their ‘keen understanding of the industry, its trends and the constantly evolving business landscape‘. The firm represents a selection of household name technology, social media and e-commerce companies, including Salesforce and Spotify. The team has had a longstanding relationship with Facebook/Meta, assisting with numerous development, services and infrastructure agreements. On the hardware side it represents LG Display on its agreements with consumer electronics companies for the manufacture and supply of displays. New York partner Eugene Chang also has an active IP licensing and outsourcing practice.

Eversheds Sutherland has built an extremely strong pedigree for software and pharmaceutical licensing work, including outsourcing, cloud, and software as a service agreements. The firm's expanded international footprint has also made it an attractive choice for cross-border technology transactions where it represents a broad mix of technology, communications, universities (and their spin-offs), and end-users. Atlanta-based partner Peter Quittmeyer has impressive credentials on the licensing side and has practised in the market since the early 1980s. Corporate partner and US TMT head William Dudzinsky in Washington DC is also noted for his expertise in the automotive and mobility sector. Other key individuals include corporate co-head Robert Pile and partner Brian Murphy, both based in Atlanta.

McGuireWoods LLP represents a broad mix of technology companies and end-users on transactional and strategic matters. This includes dedicated support to companies, private equity funds and banks in M&As, joint ventures, financings and IPOs where the IP assets are a key driver. Coupled with this is a good track record for strategic advice on outsourcing agreements and software-as-a-service business models, as well as the implementation of premisis and cloud-based software. Other areas of expertise include artificial intelligence, open source software and blockchain. Charlotte-based practice head Rakesh Gopalan is an experienced technology and securities lawyer who also co-chairs the firm’s fintech practice. Corporate partner James Anderson in Richmond brings plenty of sector knowledge.

Proskauer Rose LLP has good credentials across a wide variety of technology and e-commerce transactions. The team’s experience spans most established technologies and it has developed especially good expertise in emerging areas such as blockchain, biometrics and big data. The workload includes corporate support on M&A, joint ventures and financings, as well as standalone mandates such as production, distribution, rights and licensing agreements. Other core industry groups include financial services, healthcare and media and entertainment. Jeffrey Neuburger and Robert Freeman jointly lead the team from New York, with strong support from recently promoted partner Wai Choy.

Ropes & Gray LLP has an experienced technology transactions team that is extremely busy on the corporate acquisitions front. The team provides strong support on major strategic M&As, private equity investments and SPAC combinations, where it represents a broad mix of funds and technology companies. The practice also advises clients on standalone technology transactions including collaboration and shared service agreements as well as licensing arrangements. The multidisciplinary group represents clients across several key markets, including fintech, software, transport, hardware, big data and communications. The team is led by Edward Black in Boston, while Silicon Valley-based IP transactional partner Megan Baca is particularly experienced on the digital health side.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP has a ‘business savvy‘ team working at the intersection of various industries operating within the technology sphere, including entertainment, sports, retail, digital media, consumer products and healthcare. Clients benefit from good credentials in IP licensing and commercialization agreements, privacy and data security law, and other forms of outsourcing and strategic collaboration projects. The team also provides crucial support on IP and technology driven corporate matters including M&A, restructurings, capital markets, and antitrust. Brian Anderson  and Michael Orlando, respectively in San Francisco and San Diego, co-lead the team with the ‘amazing‘ Daniel Schnapp in New York, who also heads the firm’s eSports industry team. Other key partners include Washington DC’s James Gatto, music and entertainment lawyer Sidney Fohrman in Century City, and the recently promoted Alexis Robinson in New York.