Jim FitzSimons

I am Of Counsel to our Commercial and IT Groups in Sydney, where I use my extensive experience to provide advice on commercial and corporate law, particularly as it applies to intellectual property and other intangible assets. I also assist start-ups to get off on the right foot.

With dual qualifications in law and computer science, I specialise in technology and telecoms law, outsourcing and systems integration contracts, IP ownership and licensing and e-commerce with a particular emphasis on start-ups. I act for both the users and suppliers of TMT and related services in the public and private sectors.

I am a former President of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, the leading organisation for commercial lawyers in Asia Pacific, and regularly work with its members throughout Asia-Pac and globally to provide relevant expertise. Before joining the team at Bird & Bird, I was the head of the Corporate Technology and IP Groups at one of Australia's largest firms.

The intersection of technology, innovation and law inspires me. I enjoy collaborating with clients to find legal and commercial solutions in novel areas, including for start-ups and inventors keen to grow and scale up their businesses. Equally, I am comfortable working with large and complex organisations, especially on technology and telecommunications issues.

As a senior lawyer for over 30 years, I have been involved in some of Australia's largest and most complex IT and Telco deals. I was a pioneer of outsourcing contracts in Australia, and worked as principal adviser to one of the main telecommunication companies in Australia, assisting with some of the most complex roll-outs of government projects, involving vast amounts of complex contractual documentation and protracted negotiations.

I have learnt to be nimble, versatile and timely to adjust my work to a rapidly changing landscape. With such a diverse range of innovative, inventive and technologically-driven clients, I am consistently using my many years of legal experience in dynamic and creative ways.

• One rapidly evolving area is Blockchain, and I've helped clients on Blockchain-related matters relating to cryptocurrency and regulatory registry services, as well as to proof of provenance and supply chain integrity for products as diverse as wine and fish.
• Similarly, I worked with an inventor client to help him develop an innovative funding method for his unique anti-malware system; the result is, we believe, a breakthrough method of securing funding for innovation.
• Another client regularly seeks my advice on legal issues relating to its invention for revolutionising the container shipping sector. I also advise a financial venture capitalist tapping into China's vast e-commerce ecosystems and related start-ups.

• Idaps v People Bank