Technology and Sourcing Transactions


Technology is the bedrock of business in the 21st century. Whether your company seeks to expand operations or become more efficient, you need a cutting-edge understanding of technology marketplace, the technology transactions, and the underlying technology to reach your mission-critical operational goals.

We wrote the book on technology transactions.

Mark G. Malven, leader of the technology and sourcing transactions practice, is the lead author of the best-selling treatise Technology Transactions: A Practical Guide to Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Agreements published by Practising Law Institute.


Our team has handled more than 2,000 technology transactions involving:

  • outsourcing
  • licensing
  • cloud services
  • development
  • consulting
  • distribution
  • sponsored university research
  • manufacturing, value-added reseller, acquisition, and joint venture relationships

This includes serving as a primary negotiator for some of the largest outsourcing transactions of their kind ever undertaken, which have involved billions of dollars in services.

We take a hands-on approach starting from the RFI/RFP process through the negotiation of the main agreement and all the schedules (and later using the signed agreements as leverage when needed to get appropriate performance from the vendor). 

Preparing the schedules requires us to work closely with the applicable stakeholders to get a thorough description of what they are expecting from the vendor and turning that into contractual requirements in the schedules. 

We represent a broad range of clients in structuring and negotiating transactions involving the acquisition of technology-based products and sourced services. This includes everything from information technology sourcing and business process sourcing (BPO), to software licensing and development agreements, to cloud computing services agreements.

Since large technology and sourcing transactions can be a relatively rare event for the customer, our industry knowledge and transaction experience can "level the playing field" with experienced vendor business negotiators and legal counsel. We also provide leadership in dealing with the sometimes conflicting needs and wants of the customer’s internal and external stakeholders.

For sourcing transactions, we assist with strategy and preparation, the RFQ/RFP process, vendor evaluation and selection, contract negotiations, and management and dispute resolution after execution. Our attorneys have experience with some of the largest “bet-the-company” transactions, as well as tactical BPO transactions.

We have handled thousands of IP-oriented agreements and transactions, and our knowledge of the marketplace is extremely valuable to our clients. Our team assists with:

  • patent and technology licensing
  • joint ventures
  • cloud computing
  • privacy, data security, and related compliance

We have many years of experience serving as trusted advisors to technology-based businesses, representing them in customer negotiations, as negotiators of significant industry transactions, in financing and acquisition transactions and as outside general counsel. We help with:

  • customer negotiations
  • preparing customer agreement forms
  • industry transactions (including structuring distributor relationships, value-added reseller agreements, OEM agreements, strategic alliances and joint ventures, patent and technology licensing, Internet and e-commerce agreements, and university technology transfer)
  • finance and acquisition transactions
  • outside general counsel services

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