Practice Areas | IT & Telecommunications Disputes

SJ Berwin’s IT and Telecoms dispute resolution team is a dedicated group operating within the litigation department.  It is composed of specialist lawyers who understand the IT and telecoms sectors and who seek to build deep and enduring relationships with their clients.  The group's primary aim is to help its clients to solve problems and realise their business objectives.

The group is led by Michael Bywell who, since 1992, has worked on some of the largest and most complex technology cases to come before the English Courts.  He is one of a small number of senior UK litigation lawyers whose practice is dedicated to these sectors.

Because the group is located in the firm’s litigation department it has the ability to expand (by calling on resource from the wider department) depending on the size of case involved and volume of work being undertaken at any given point in time.

The group also works closely with the firm’s commercial and outsourcing lawyers, particularly where support is required on larger re-negotiations or the finalisation of complex settlement agreements.  

Work undertaken includes:

• commercial/IT disputes;
• outsourcing and offshoring disputes;
• software licence disputes;
• telecoms disputes;
• IT security breach investigations;
• litigation arising out of the illegal use of the internet;
• privacy, data protection and ICO disputes;
• mediation work; and
• arbitration work.

The group itself endorses the use of technology to resolve disputes.  This includes internally developed case budgeting software, especially useful in larger disputes.  It is also expert in dealing with and understanding the issues and challenges that arise in large e-disclosure exercises.  It works closely with the firm’s full-time IT litigation support team and external litigation support bureaux. 

Other features of the wider litigation practice at SJ Berwin include the well-established and unique mediation experience that the firm possesses.  Mediation is a core discipline at SJ Berwin, with all litigators receiving specialist mediation training and being experienced as mediation advocates.  The mediation group is led by David Shapiro, one of the world’s leading mediators.  David has worked, in a consultancy capacity, on a number of technology matters with Michael and his group.

Examples of recent work undertaken by the group (in the past 12 months) include:

• advising a US-based global IT supplier in relation to a number of matters arising out of large-scale outsourcing agreements in the public and private sectors;
• advising a leading European-based global IT supplier in relation to a dispute with a regional government transport body in relation to an outsourcing agreement;
• advising in relation to a number of “white-labelling” disputes between software suppliers and their customers; 
• advising a New Zealand-based leisure industry software company in a dispute with its European distributor and resulting in proceedings being issued by the distributor in the High Court in London; 
• advising a UK operator of sports content and betting websites in a dispute with a US-based supplier of content management software;
• advising a global provider of services and supply chain solutions to the airline industry in a dispute with a business management software supplier; and
• advising a telecoms company in relation to a range of contractual, data protection, privacy and international trade issues. 

 

Contact names

Bywell, Michael Partner
+44 (0)20 7111 2375
michael.bywell@sjberwin.com

Brocklesby, Nick Partner
+44 (0)20 7111 2366
nick.brocklesby@sjberwin.com

 

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