We are often asked to provide opinions regarding “customs and practices” in the software industry, particularly for SaaS companies and e-commerce companies involved in disputes.
This work provides context related to “standard of care,” “commercial reasonableness,” “reasonable measures” and other management issues related to software development, sales and distribution, licensing, project management, trade practices, and valuation.
We draw on our expertise, particularly our extensive, on-the-ground experience in the software industry, including SaaS and e-commerce, along with independent, third-party sources and reliable and replicable methodologies in this work.
Representative Engagements
- We were retained by a leading publicly traded e-commerce company to assess their software development practices, particularly in regards to the architecture and code used for artificial intelligence and machine learning. We were also asked to evaluate their marketing, sales, and other management practices relative to e-commerce customs and practices.
- We were asked by counsel to assess the actions by one of the world’s largest web hosting companies related to a partnership agreement with a website security software company. Our work focused on the parties marketing, sales, and payment practices relative to SaaS customs and practices. Our analysis set context and provided information for the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the defendant, a former CEO of a software company, to provide opinions regarding industry customs and practices in the sales, implementation, and support of the company’s enterprise software used for SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS, in response to allegations from the SEC. Our analysis set context and provided information for the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the defendant in a dispute regarding management practices, specifically, marketing/sales and compensation, by an Asian-based, technology company. Our analysis included consideration of industry customs and practices to set context and provide information for the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the defendant, one of the world’s largest computer software companies, in a licensing-related dispute. Our analysis included consideration of industry customs and practices to set context and provide information for the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the defendant, one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment companies, in a patent and contract dispute related to the distribution and marketing of mobile devices. Our work included analysis of the ecosystem for mobile applications and broader distribution issues, including sales and marketing to assist the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the plaintiff in a dispute regarding the license sale and implementation of a software product in the financial services industry. Our analysis included consideration of industry customs and practices regarding sales, customization, and support of ERP software in vertical markets for context to assist the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the defendant, a leading provider of software and related services to the hospitality industry, in a dispute related to marketing and sales relative to industry customs and practices to set context and assist the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the plaintiff, an investor and company founder of a software and e-commerce company focused on financial trading services and exchanges, in a contract dispute. Our work analyzed the similarity of two software products and businesses relative to business metrics and industry practices to set context and assist the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for the plaintiff, a Latin American-based distributor of enterprise software, regarding industry customs and practices in software industry partnerships involving marketing and distribution to set context and assist the trier of fact.
- We were retained in a bankruptcy matter of a major retailer to analyze software development processes, licenses, and other issues to set context and assist the trier of fact.
- We were retained by counsel for one of the nation’s largest university systems in a matter related to customs and practices with open source software and software development to set context and assist the trier of fact.