Canadian Lawyer 4Students

Practising IT/Tech law LIsA R. LIFsHItZ, torkin Manes LLP, toronto eLOÏse GRAttOn, McMillan LLP, Montreal + PROS: + POUR: • Working in an incredibly fast-paced and changing environment. Both the legal issues and the technology are constantly changing so you had better be the kind of person who thrives in that kind of pressure and is willing to keep up. Tech law issues are complex and the learning never stops. • Having to constantly create new forms of innovative legal agreements that are responsive to changes in technology. You can't rely on �ive-year-old precedents and clients are always looking to you to make agreements shorter and more understandable yet give them the same level of protection. • You don't have to hide your inner geek; it's OK to be excited about your client's technology/inventions. • Our clients are smart and interesting people who expect us to provide them with both excellent and cutting-edge technology and strategic business advice, which is great. • Tech law is global and complex so you have to stay abreast of legal trends in other jurisdictions (especially the U.S. and Europe) as well as Canada (which I really enjoy doing). In addition to Canadian tech law organizations such as the Canadian IT Law Association, joining non-Canadian legal organizations such as the American Bar Association or Itch Law and/or subscribing to foreign publications is very helpful. • Since the technology bar is small in Canada, it is generally collegial/respectful and most technology lawyers avoid acting too badly to one another. – CONS: • Tech clients can be demanding. If I don't respond to my e-mail/ texts immediately I will de�initely hear about it. Response time has shrunk to nanoseconds. • Just because tech lawyers have the technology to react quickly doesn't mean that we don't need to take the time to carefully craft our agreements or think about issues. Unfortunately some technology clients think we can just push a button and provide them our standard "boilerplate" agreement(s) without understanding the importance/necessity of creating customized documentation. • Some technology clients undervalue the importance of lawyers to their organizations and think we just push paper. We are seen as deal-killers rather than business advocates. It is important to dispel this myth and show how we can add strategic value to enable clients to get what they want while protecting their intellectual property, core assets, etc. • Certain tech clients are fee adverse and do not want to spend much money on their legal services. They think that they can pull any necessary "precedents" from the Internet (often from other jurisdictions) and use them in Canada without any problem — not so much. • Incitatif pour l'avocat à s'assurer de bien comprendre les nouveautés technologiques, ce qui est un avantage pour tout individu curieux, créatif et early adopter (dans le jargon de la consommation). • Domaine en expansion, qui inclut souvent le fait de devoir se pencher sur des questions de droit nouvelles et intéressantes, et de représenter des géants du web dans des questions touchant à leurs nouveaux produits, services ou modèles d'affaires. • Permet de toucher à un large éventail des secteurs de droit appliqués à de nouveaux médias tels que l'Internet : questions touchant les contrats en ligne, les contrats spéciaux, le droit de la consommation, les questions de responsabilité des divers intervenants sur le web, la propriété intellectuelle, la réglementation en matière publicitaire, ainsi qu'aux aspects touchant à la protection de la vie privée et à la protection des renseignement personnels des clients et employés. • Les mandats ont souvent une portée internationale, étant donné le fait que les technologies sont souvent déployées dans plusieurs juridictions à la fois. – CONTRE: • Les technologies et l'industrie des TI ainsi que le cadre légal applicable étant en constante évolution, un avocat pratiquant dans ce domaine doit prendre le temps et s'assurer d'être constamment à jour, tant sur le plan des nouvelles technologies disponibles et des nouveaux joueurs de l'industrie que sur les nouvelles lois, réglementations, lignes directrices de l'industrie, standards et jurisprudence pertinente. • Les lois sont souvent mal adaptées aux réalités, ce qui fait en sorte qu'un avocat pratiquant dans ce domaine doit souvent émettre des opinions et donner des conseils sur de nouvelles questions juridiques pour lesquelles il n'y a aucun précédent. • Il y a de plus en plus de compétition des cabinets internationaux et des bureaux de comptable pour les mandats en TI d'envergure. C A N A D I A N Law yer 4 students fall 2013 35

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