IT lawyers say the spate of moves within the IT legal fraternity indicates that as a specific legal discipline, IT law is getting increasingly competitive. Law firms are also making more use of IT.
Former Buys Inc employee Francis Cronje has moved to The Forest Group, headed by Lance Michalson, to spearhead the firm`s new business development.
Michalson says IT law is becoming a recognised legal discipline of its own. "Until a few years ago, IT law was seen as a subset of intellectual property law. However, now it is standing on its own two feet."
The Forest Group has been established to reflect the multi-disciplinary skills needed by a firm that specialises in IT law. "That is why we are appointing people who are experts in archiving, document management and IT governance," Michalson says.
Cronje left Buys Inc several months ago, when another former member, Pravesh Singh, joined Cape firm Jan S de Villiers.
Meanwhile, Buys Inc has gained a new employee in the form of Gerrit van Gaalen, who recently returned to SA after spending five years in the employ of ABN Amro Bank in London.
"There is definitely more interest by companies in technology law," says Helaine Leggat, head of Buys Inc`s Johannesburg office. "The technology people who implement systems are also having to answer if their systems are legally compliant."
Tammy Bortz, who used to head the IT law department at Johannesburg-based Werksmans Attorneys, left the firm about a week ago to start her own practice, TKB Attorneys.
"Privacy will become more and more of an issue in SA as we try and meet international standards regarding it. This will impact directly on other issues such as spam and how companies deal with it," Bortz says.
Nicci Ferguson Inc Attorneys has joined the growing list of law firm Web sites that have a blog service. Buys Inc and The Forest Group have already set up theirs.
Steven Ferguson of Nicci Ferguson Inc says that even a traditional service industry like law has been hit by a new breed of "vigilante consumer", who is informed, impatient and extremely individualistic.
"In order to maintain a competitive advantage in today`s crazy times, you need to do things differently. The Web offers so many new opportunities for lawyers to communicate with clients and develop their knowledge; there is no excuse for staying stationary," Ferguson says.
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