Technology transactions

Outsourcing and alliancing

Government procurement

Contract management

Commercial transactions

Business practices

Intellectual property

  Our People

Pym’s Technology Lawyers: ‘Lawyers the ICT Industry Trust’

Mike Pym Director, Solicitor

Areas of Expertise

• Contract Law
• Major Technology Contracts
• Government Procurement
• Outsourcing and Technology

Mike is the legal practitioner director of Pym’s Technology Lawyers Pty Ltd (PTL) and has over 18 years experience in major technology contracts. Prior to founding PTL Mike was National Practice Group Leader of the Technology, Intellectual Property and Outsourcing Group at one of the top 15 law firms in Australia for three years.

Mike gained his commercial experience as in-house counsel for major technology and consulting companies between1990-2003. His most recent in-house position was as Government Operating Group Asia Pacific Lead Counsel for Accenture (formerly Anderson Consulting). Mike’s primary areas of legal advice within this role included major technology contracts (>$100m USD), systems integration agreements, software licensing, consulting contracts, government procurement and ‘value based’ and ‘alliancing’ contracts.

Mike also led Accenture’s Asia Pacific contract managers who provided post contract administration and advice to major project teams in order to minimise project risks that arise during the performance of a contract, e.g. managing change control and variations, monitoring continued compliance with business realisation goals, managing subcontractors’ contract responsibilities, running IP registers to ensure clarity of IP ownership, and managing risk registers to ensure risks are properly understood and managed by the project team.

Significant Projects

• Acting as Project Director leading a team of more than 20 specialist lawyers on the procurement process and contract arrangements for WorkCover NSW’s major scheme design for workers compensation in NSW. This arrangement will see more than $1.5 billion in insurance premiums collected, and a similar amount of benefits paid, each year, with performance based service fees in excess of $300m p.a. paid to 7 providers. The project involved complex issues of statutory interpretation, contract and agency law, and public procurement issues;
• Leading the legal team representing a listed IT provider on an innovative managed services agreement in the financial services sector where a leading bank transferred its EFTPoS terminals to the IT provider who will service and upgrade them according to detailed service levels. The transaction was valued at more than $100m over five years and involved complex issues of company structuring, taxation, balance sheet treatment, multiple subcontracts and thousands of agreements with retailers;
• Leading the legal team representing a global organisation proposing an Indian based 1000 seat call centre solution to a leading Australian telecommunications company, with a deal value of more than $75m over three years. The transaction involved complex legal issues surrounding personnel, assets and contracts in three jurisdictions;
• Advising and negotiating in respect of a Federal Government Department’s innovative $40 million change program “alliancing” contract, which was the first “alliancing” contract in Australia for professional services;
• Advising a major NSW Department on “alliancing contracts” for a multi-million dollar change program;
• Advising a university on procurement policies, standard IT contracts and contracting standards. Drafting RFT documentation and IT contracts.
• Advising and negotiating on the multi hundred million dollar Change Program tender and contract for a major Federal Government Department;
• Advising on responses to EOI, RFT and RFQ, and subsequent contract negotiations on successful responses, for bids to major Federal Government Departments;
• Advising, drafting and negotiating major systems integration contracts, each worth more than $15 million with multiple subcontractors, including:
  • A major NSW Department, State-wide implementation of a financials applications suite.
  • A major NSW Department, State-wide Licensing application
  • A Queensland Department, a student administration system.
    This included advising, drafting and negotiating the terms and conditions, and service level agreements, as well as ensuring the operational schedules were highly integrated and consistent with the terms and conditions, and that all the subcontracts were consistent with the head contract.
• Resolving significant IT project disputes, including one with a Federal Government Department in respect of a mission critical military aircraft maintenance application where there was a potential claim in excess of $50 million involving multiple parties, including overseas companies;
• Drafting suites of standard IT contracts for clients, including multi nationals and SMEs
• Advising ASX list IT company to business practices, licensing and distribution models to maximise its intellectual property.
• Representing the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and Information Technology Contractors and Recruitment Association (ITCRA) on a cross jurisdictional project lead by the Australian Procurement and Construction Council (cross jurisdictional Ministers for Procurement) to harmonise the standard contracts for governments to procure ICT goods and services from suppliers. Mike is on the Steering Committee and the key working groups.

External Bodies, Seminars and Publications

Mike is an active member of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) legal committee, and has been representing AIIA extensively in negotiations with the State and Federal Government, over the last 10 years. Mike is a regular presenter on topics including Government contracting, major commercial contracts and alliancing contracts.

Mike is a regular contributor to the Computers and Law journal, and has written articles on government contracting.

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