Internet and digital
Internet or digitally enabled businesses are inspired by the challenge of predicting and riding continuous waves of rapid change. So are we.
Pouring new internet and digital wine into old legal bottles (to adapt John Perry Barlow) is a passion for our specialised team. Internet and digital law is a focus because it allows us to work with entrepreneurs and fast-moving clients who are as passionate as we are about what they are doing. We love seeing and assisting great new ideas and business models take shape and become commercially successful.
To do that, we stay up to speed with the latest legal developments and innovations. We are tapped into international networks in major jurisdictions. We rely on them to be ahead of the market on innovations and changes that might arrive soon in New Zealand and to provide a ready source of advice for Kiwis moving into offshore markets.
The other great thing about IT law is that it is multidisciplinary. It involves:
- Capital raising, particularly using innovative structures like Limited Partnerships and trust ownership right through to listing and NZX-ASX securities law compliance.
- Shareholding arrangements and investment structures mixed with high-end employment advice.
- Intellectual property with a real focus on understanding the industry itself, including telecommunications, internet structure and governance, web strategies, viral and social networks, online advertising or payment methods, collaborative development, ISPs, blockchain, tokens or other new distributed technologies, software and hardware licensing, SaaS, cloud computing or any of the other myriad buzzwords that describe a growing and changing industry.
- Related law, such as copyright, trademarks, fair trading and competition, privacy, media rules, censorship, licensing, confidentiality, security, ISP liability, trusts, company and securities laws.
- General business sale and purchase, takeovers, mergers and acquisitions.
- Dispute resolution - with passionate people, you get disputes. We are experienced negotiators and advocates focussed on the best outcomes for our clients. We can facilitate settlements but also provide strong litigation support and advice, together with the right expert barrister if necessary.
We have the luxury in a top niche corporate, commercial and IT law firm of being able to weld all of this into a real focus. We get a buzz out of it and we find our clients do too.