A Guide to IT Contracting

Even leading organizations with sophisticated IT infrastructures and teams of lawyers can find themselves unprepared to deal with the range of issues that can arise in IT contracting. Written by two seasoned attorneys, A Guide to IT Contracting: Checklists, Tools, and Techniques distills the most critical business and legal lessons learned through the authors’ decades of experience drafting and negotiating IT-related agreements.

In a single volume, readers can quickly access information on virtually every type of technology agreement. Structured to focus on a particular type of IT agreement, each chapter includes a checklist of essential terms, a brief summary of what the agreement is intended to do, and a complete review of the legal and business issues that are addressed in that particular agreement. Providing non-legal professionals with the tools to address IT contracting issues, the book:

• Contains checklists to help readers organize key concepts for ready reference
• Supplies references to helpful online resources and aids for contract drafting
• Includes downloadable resources with reusable checklists and complete glossary that defines key legal, business, and technical terms

Costly mistakes can be avoided, risk can be averted, and better contracts can be drafted if you have access to the right information. Filled with reader-friendly checklists, this accessible reference will set you down that path. Warning you of the most common pitfalls, it arms you with little-known tips and best practices to help you negotiate the key terms of your IT agreements with confidence and ensure you come out on top in your next contract negotiation.

Michael R. Overly is a partner in the Technology Transactions and Outsourcing Practice Group in the Los Angeles office of Foley & Lardner LLP. As an attorney and former electrical engineer, his practice focuses on counseling clients regarding technology licensing, intellectual property development, information security, and electronic commerce. Mr. Overly is one of the few practicing lawyers who has satisfied the rigorous requirements necessary to obtain the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) , Information Systems Security Management Professional (ISSMP), and Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) certifications. He is a member of the Computer Security Institute and the Information Systems Security Association. Mr. Overly writes and speaks frequently regarding negotiating and drafting technology transactions and the legal issues of technology in the workplace, e-mail, and electronic evidence. He has written numerous articles and books on these subjects and is a frequent commentator in the national press (e.g., the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, ABCNEWS.com, CNN, and MSNBC). In addition to conducting training seminars in the United States, Norway, Japan, and Malaysia, Mr. Overly has testified before the U.S. Congress regarding online issues. Among others, he is the author of the best selling e-policy: How to Develop Computer, E-mail, and Internet Guidelines to Protect Your Company and Its Assets (AMACOM 1998), Overly on Electronic Evidence (West Publishing 2002), The Open Source Handbook (Pike & Fischer 2003), Document Retention in The Electronic Workplace (Pike & Fischer 2001), and Licensing Ling-by-Line (Aspatore Press 2004).