Lukas Morscher

Lenz & Staehelin

Zurich www.lenzstaehelin.com

lukas.morscher@lenzstaehelin.com Tel: +41 58 450 80 00

Biography

Dr Lukas Morscher is head of the technology and outsourcing practice group in Zurich and an expert on corporate M&A and financial services. He advises regularly on international and domestic transactions, and is considered a leading lawyer in technology, digitisation and business sourcing in Switzerland. He is a frequent lecturer at seminars and conferences. Dr Morscher is an alumnus of Harvard Business School (AMP) and board member of several companies in the technology, telecoms and fashion industries. He is author of multiple publications in the fields of technology, outsourcing, software and data protection/ privacy.

What do you enjoy most about working in the TMT space?

TMT related work is in its very nature interdisciplinary and almost always involves technical, commercial and legal issues alike. Our technology practice is often closely involved in our clients’ business operations in order to create new business models and value chains along with practicable, effective solutions.

What makes Lenz & Staehelin’s practice in this area stand out from the competition?

Supporting clients across the full TMT spectrum requires a deep understanding of the business models and underlying technologies on top of legal expertise in a wide range of areas, including regulatory, corporate and transactional, contract, intellectual property, competition, technology-enabled innovation and data protection/privacy. We provide tailored services through a dedicated and multidisciplinary team. Drawing from experts of various practice groups, as required in the individual case for effective and costefficient advice, we strive for long-term trusted relationships with our clients.

How has the growth of technology and a greater focus on issues of data protection impacted the world of corporate transactions?

Data analytics and data-based services are driving digital disruption of the physical world. This not only impacts data privacy triggering new legislation around the globe (see also the seventh question below), but also has major effects on the corporate structure of multinational groups and their transfer pricing as well as customer and intra-group contracting. The dependency on physical locations is more and more reduced, service delivery geographically flexible, and revenue streams modified and more centralised. I usually refer to such new corporate structures as “star designs” that can be seen in any industry.

How has the technology and data space evolved since you began your career?

System and service availability have strongly increased (low latency, high redundancy) and service offerings became far more attractive (collaborative tools, platform businesses etc.). Important drivers of technological advancement and actual use by businesses are also encryption technologies, interoperability of cloud services (easy data retention and retrieval, easy migration) and availability of multiple cloud suppliers (plug-and-play).

What risks and benefits have been generated by the growth of outsourcing?

The business risks involved with outsourcing have generally decreased over the last years, mainly as a result of standardisation and increased interoperability. Thus, also project requirements and transaction costs even for complex outsourcings (infrastructure and data management as well as business process outsourcings such as securities custody and execution, finance & accounting, HR payroll, network communication, facility management and other managed services) have decreased to (almost) plug-and-play.

Fintech is playing an increasingly crucial role in financial services. What is its future?

Technology in finance is not at all new, but rather the financial industry has been a frontrunner in technological advancement and value chain perfection. FinTech (as usually understood) however brings new features to the financial industry through small and agile players, and will have a bright future mainly through further development and implementation of business models based on blockchain and enhanced customer experience. Still, the cooperation between fintech startups and established players will eventually make fintech not more than (but still) an important part of (further developed) technology in finance.

As a lawyer practising in the sector, what one aspect of data privacy law would you like to see improve within the next five years?

Data subjects must be empowered to (re)gain control over their privacy and personal data. Individual data protection rights, such as the ones granted under the GDPR, should be further developed and implemented within the companies’ and large organisations’ standard operating procedures around the world, making the GDPR almost a global privacy standard. New applications will so empower the data subjects and at the same time also help companies to fulfil their duties and to grant their customers’ individual rights.

What advice would you give to aspiring lawyers who are interested in building a career in the data and TMT space?

Be and think interdisciplinary (tech/business/legal), stay curious, understand IP rights and transactional contracting aspects as well as corporate matters, follow technological advancement, try to understand software development and the relevant technology features such as convergence, data analytics, mobile internet applications and platforms – and, of course, blockchain!