Mishcon de Reya’s Technology Disputes team is a dedicated team of contentious lawyers that sits within the firm’s Innovation department.
We work alongside colleagues who advise technology businesses on funding rounds, IP, data, commercial contracts and regulatory matters every day. That proximity means we understand how technology businesses are built, how software is developed and commercialised, and how IP and data-rich companies are funded and scaled. We know where disputes arise and how to resolve them.
Technology disputes are often technically complex and require fast and precise action. Whether the dispute involves a disagreement between founders, a failed tech transformation, an AI system that has not performed, or a licensing claim against a major vendor, the potential consequences can be significant.
Our technology disputes expertise
Our work generally spans five key areas:
- Technology contract disputes: claims arising from software development, software licensing, software failures, IP ownership disputes, under-licensing and over-deployment. We act for suppliers and customers.
- Technology implementation disputes: IT transformation projects including ERP and CRM systems, HR and business process transformation, cloud and infrastructure services, and IT outsourcing failures.
- Strategic and competitor disputes: misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information, IP enforcement, regulatory disputes, and claims to assert or defend competitive position.
- Founder, investor and funding disputes: shareholder and boardroom disputes, equity conflicts, disputes between founders or with early investors, and claims arising from departures including IP and code ownership.
- Technology M&A disputes: breach of warranty, earn-out and completion accounts claims arising from technology transactions.
Technology disputes across sectors
We act for a broad range of clients within the Innovation space such as technology businesses, data infrastructure companies, AI providers, automation and defence tech ventures, fintech platforms, and the investors - from seed funds to growth-stage private equity). We also act for large organisations in financial services, defence, manufacturing, retail, energy and healthcare sectors.
Strategic advice for complex technology disputes
We bring a practical understanding of how technology is developed, commercialised and procured. We understand how software systems are specified and deployed, and how transformation programmes are structured, governed and documented. That shapes everything from how we assess a claim at the outset to the strategy we develop.
Our approach is practical and commercial, but where litigation is the only way to achieve the right outcome, we will not hesitate to pursue it.
A leading technology disputes practice
When people turn to our team, it is usually because something has gone seriously awry: a programme that has consumed tens or hundreds of millions of pounds and gone fundamentally wrong, a business that is exposed, or a reputation that is on the line. Our mantra is: it's business, but it's personal. Behind every major dispute there are individuals whose careers and livelihoods depend on the outcome. We never lose sight of that.
We are a dedicated, partner-led team, which means that the people who develop your strategy are the same people who complete the work. We have the scale of Mishcon de Reya's wider disputes practice behind us — over 350 litigators — but our technology disputes team are deliberately tight. Everyone on your matter is there because they bring something specific that will make a difference to the outcome.