Rachel Glass

I am a specialist commercial litigation and dispute resolution lawyer, focusing on telecomms and technology disputes at Bird & Bird.

Last year, I co-authored the only published English law book on technology project disputes, 'IT Contracts and Dispute Management – A Practitioner's Guide to the Project Lifecycle' (Edward Elgar, 2018). It combines first-hand insights from my 12 years' experience as a solicitor in this field with practical advice and guidance.

"This work should become a primary resource not only for in-house and external practitioners but also for project directors responsible for IT contracts." Atanu Sarkar (Group General Counsel), Tech Mahindra Group

One of my first cases was working on one of the largest IT project cases to go through the English courts in recent years, the litigation between BSkyB and EDS. Since then I have not looked back and regularly advise on complex technology project disputes and software licensing disputes both in relation to the merits of the parties' positions and in relation to strategy for resolving the dispute. I act both for customer-side and supplier-side clients.

I like getting involved with a client as early as possible in the process so that we can give the right type of advice at the right phase of the dispute, meaning that as well as providing advice on merits and strategy I often support and guide clients through an escalation, renegotiation or settlement process.

I have taken disputes to the Court of Appeal and the High Court, particularly the Commercial Court and Technology and Construction Court, as well as international arbitration. I prepare and respond to court applications, including expedited trials and interim injunction applications, which frequently involve the preparation of complex technical witness statements. I also have experience of several different forms of ADR including expert determination and mediation.

This role keeps me up to date with the cutting edge of technology in a fast-evolving and fascinating field.

• Advising SAP (UK) Limited in relation to a licensing dispute with Diageo Great Britain Limited valued at c. £50m concerning the meaning of direct or indirect use or access of products licensed to Diageo. SAP UK Ltd v Diageo Great Britain Ltd [2017] EWHC 189 (TCC).
• Advising a UK mobile network operator in relation to defending applications for interim injunctions and an ongoing claim brought by a radio transmission site provider in the Technology and Construction Court arising from the introduction of national roaming services.
• Advising in relation to an appeal against various aspects of the Technology and Construction Court's findings (unreported). Arqiva v Everything Everywhere Ltd & Ors [2011] EWHC 1411 (TCC) and [2011] EWHC 2016 (TCC).
• Advising a UK bank on in relation to a dispute with its IT infrastructure provider under a Transitional Services Agreement concerning proposed hardware and software updates for its data warehouse, in particular in relation to the possibility of obtaining emergency injunctive relief.
• Advising an international restaurant chain in relation to the delayed implementation of a Point of Sale system across multiple jurisdictions.
• Advising a FTSE 100-listed company in relation to a project for the implementation of enterprise resource planning software valued at c. £7m, in particular regarding our client's rights in relation to delay by the service provider and settlement terms.