IT AND TELECOMS

Chambers has extensive experience of these fields.

IT Disputes

A number of members have spent time as programmers, designers of commercial software and managers of technical software and electronic systems development. They bring that experience to bear in disputes in the field.

IT disputes typically take place in the Technology and Construction Court, a specialist Court of the Queen's Bench Division, but also in the general lists of the Queen's Bench and Chancery Divisions. They are mainly contractual disputes and frequently involve issues concerning:

• Contractual interpretation
• Pre-contractual misrepresentation
• Fraudulent misrepresentation
• Negligence and contributory negligence
• Exclusion and limitation clauses
• Statutory and contractual limitation periods
• Quantification of loss
• Technical aspects of the IT systems involved
• Functional aspects of the IT systems involved

Members of chambers who undertake this kind of work are particularly aware of the procedural and cost constraints involved, and are experienced in the case management powers and procedures of the TCC, such as schedules of defects, selection of sample defects for trial, meetings of experts and, where appropriate, the instruction of single joint experts. We also bear firmly in mind the suitability of this kind of dispute for ADR, whether by expert determination, mediation, or otherwise. We pride ourselves on our ability to work closely and effectively with the variety of expert witnesses typically involved, whether as to the technology, the commercial requirements of the systems under scrutiny, or as forensic accountants.

Fields in which members of chambers have experience of IT disputes include (with some sample cases):

Members of chambers also advise extensively on IT matters, in relation to existing disputes, disputes which may arise in future, and in relation to the drafting of IT contracts including software design and development agreements, publishing agreements, licence agreements, facilities maintenance agreements, hardware and software supply and maintenance agreements, and so on.

Telecoms

A significant number of the IT disputes and issues on which members of chambers act have a telecoms aspect to them, and in addition we have frequently undertaken work which relates purely to contractual aspects of telecoms systems.

Members of chambers also have a particularly good understanding of the commercial and technical aspects of the telecoms industry from their involvement in patent cases in those fields, with recent examples including Nokia v. Interdigital, Samsung v. Ericsson, Ericsson v. Sendo and RIM v. Inpro.