Outsourcing From A to Z

Stuart D. Levi is co-head of Skadden’s Intellectual Property and Technology Group. He has a broad and diverse practice that includes outsourcing transactions, technology and intellectual property licensing, technology transfers, strategic alliances and joint ventures. Mr. Levi also counsels clients on a variety of issues, including Web site and technology policies, intellectual property matters, privacy issues and legislative compliance. His background in computer science and the information technology industry allows Mr. Levi to understand the technology and business drivers underlying agreements and transactions in this area. 

Prior to joining Skadden, Mr. Levi was director of intellectual property for Reuters America Inc. and a vice president of Reuters NewMedia Inc. In these positions, he was responsible for all of Reuters’ technology and intellectual property matters. He also negotiated Reuters’ early stage investments in Yahoo!, Infoseek and Sportsline.

Brad Peterson focuses on business process and information technology outsourcing, strategic alliances and information technology transactions. Brad has represented clients in all major types of outsourcing transactions and has negotiated opposite all of the first-tier and most of the second-tier providers. He has also assisted clients in renegotiating and terminating major sourcing arrangements. He has represented customers in dozens of large outsourcing agreements with, cumulatively, over $9 billion in contract value. 

Brad has also represented information technology buyers in hundreds of technology transactions, such as ERP implementations, software licensing, software development agreements, hosted services agreements, and telecommunications transport agreements. With respect to ERP agreements, he advised the customer in the largest ERP implementation in the US in 2008 and the largest ERP implantation agreement in 2009. 

Brad is ranked as a Band 1 individual in Chambers USA 2010 (Illinois Technology and National Outsourcing) and as a Tier 1 individual Best Lawyers in America 2010. He has been included in Legal 500, Which Lawyer?, Lawdragon 500 New Stars, New Worlds; the Lawdragon 3000 and Leading Lawyers (Illinois). Brad’s clients have said that he is “astonishingly talented” (Chambers USA 2010). Legal 500 reported in 2009 that “One enthusiastic client says ‘considering what you get with him in terms of brains and dedication, you know that whatever the price, he’s the guy that you have to have on your team.” Brad "deserves his ‘fantastic reputation,’ sources agree. While he is ‘an excellent theoretician,’ he is also skilled in handling the practicalities of a transaction" (Chambers USA 2008). His clients have also called him "best of the best” and said that he has the “capacity to mastermind real-world solutions to very complex and difficult issues" (Chambers USA 2006).

George Kimball is Senior Counsel at Hewlett Packard and a member of the legal team that supports HP's worldwide outsourcing business.  Before joining HP in March 2010, he spent more than 30 years in private practice, including partnerships at Latham & Watkins, Arnold & Porter LLP and Baker & McKenzie LLP, and seven years leading a Los Angeles technology boutique, Kimball & Weiner LLP.  Since the early 1990s, he has advised both customers and suppliers in the negotiation and re-negotiation of long term contracts to outsource information technology and business processes in a wide range of industries.  His book, Outsourcing Agreements: A Practical Guide was published in January 2010 by Oxford University Press. While in private practice, George was ranked as a leader in the field by Chambers Global, Chambers USA and Legal 500.  He is a graduate of UCLA, the University of London and the University of Michigan Law School.

David Kane is a director in KPMG’s Shared Services and Outsourcing Advisory group with over 12 years of professional services experience. David specializes in assisting clients with shared services transformations, and has extensive experience working globally, including in Latin America, and across a variety of industries.

Previous types of projects he has advised on includes developing outsourcing strategies for organizations; helping clients develop broad G&A cost reduction strategies; conducting build versus buy analysis, vendor analysis, and RFP creation to support outsourcing; assisting clients with vendor selection and deal structuring; conducting feasibility studies and location analysis; and integrating shared services functions across functional areas (IT, HR, and Finance, etc.). David has worked with global, Fortune 500 organizations as well as governments on their shared services and outsourcing strategies.