The IT sector has matured since the tech bubble at the turn of the millennium.

"After the unwarranted euphoria of the dot.com boom, the sector has moved into a much more rational phase of growth," commented Rajah & Tann partner Rajesh Sreenivasan.

The second wave of technology companies is focused on business fundamentals and a thorough business model, rather than the hype and excitement of new technology, he said.

The result is that IT legal teams have to be a mix of both IT/telco-focused professionals and corporate lawyers, or individuals with a diverse range of these skills.

The nature of the sector is that it is always changing, and one of the most noticeable trends lawyers have been assisting in has been the hot topic of 'convergence'.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Asia practice group head Jeanette Chan commented that lawyers "are becoming matchmakers".

"Basically we're seeing more and more cross-ownership - the telcos getting into the content side and the content guys getting into the delivery side," she said.

Increasingly, companies are seeing the future lies in having both the delivery platform and the content to pipe through it. The pursuit of this goal has become a race.

"We are very busy and we are seeing more and more investment. Increasingly our role is trying to bring these people together, coming up with suggestions and matchmaking."
 
The end result is more demands being placed on lawyers working in the area. They are forced to adapt quickly and come to grips with the legal issues surrounding emerging and varied types of technology.

Lawyers have to adapt to the new technology and concepts brought about by technology, Sreenivasan said. "You can never stagnate. It is a dynamic industry, and your practice has to be equally nimble as well.

"We are seeing mindset changes that are not easy if you're set in legal rules - you have to look for the possibilities within the realm of legal norms," he said.

In South Asia, IP procurement activity has been booming, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, as lawyers help clients to draft contracts for their procurement arrangements, such as outsourcing their IT services.

Some outsourcing projects, such as a recent one by CIMB (a large bank in Malaysia) can run into millions of dollars, and require detailed contract drafting and lead negotiation, keeping a team of three or four lawyers busy for some months.

The end result of such a high level of procurement activity is the resultant growth of procurement-related dispute resolution work.

The roll-out of Singapore law contracts around the region is a precursor for Singapore becoming a venue for increased dispute resolution cases, Sreenivasan said, with lawyers proactively marketing Singapore as a venue for this IT-related work.

He warned that firms will have to focus on finding new niche areas of growth for IT legal services that can sustain revenue, rather than following the trends and spikes of the market, and that there is potential for work in new areas such as Vietnam.