Information Technology Lawyers: Adding Value in Corporate Transactions

Published in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, March 2004

Transaction teams involved in buying or selling a business, or part of it, need to fully understand the value and complexity of the information technology assets that form part of the deal. Technology transfer issues are commonly overlooked in the purchase, sale or restructuring of a business. This article explains why it makes good business and legal sense to include in the transaction team a technology lawyer who understands the business and the role that technology plays in it.

A number of critical technology-related issues must be resolved early in the transaction process to help ensure the success of the transaction, minimize each party’s risks and reduce technology transfer costs. At a minimum, each question set out below should, ideally, be settled before the parties begin negotiating the purchase and sale, but in any event, before the agreement is signed by the parties.