Giles Whittaker
Senior Associate
Melbourne
Australia
Giles is a transactional lawyer with a focus on technology, outsourcing and intellectual property (IP).
Giles advises on a broad range of technology transactions, including large technology procurement and implementation projects in various sectors including resources, energy and health, and has assisted during multi-vendor negotiations, including for enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. In addition to ERP and CRM projects, Giles supports his clients' procurement of various technology systems and platforms, including negotiating the procurement of managed services, outsourcing, support services and cloud based solutions. He also advises on software licensing terms with key software vendors that support his clients' technology procurement strategy.
Giles also provides technical and commercial advice regarding the commercialisation and licensing of his client's IP and has experience advising various clients with respect to its IP protection and commercialisation strategy within the financial technology, logistics and education sectors.
Background
Giles graduated from Deakin University with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours). Giles is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia.
Prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills Giles worked for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, during which time he assisted with the preparation of various administrative hearings and gained experience in regards to various corporate governance issues.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- acting for EnergyAustralia in relation to its Enterprise System Transformation project for the design, implementation and support of a SAP ERP, including supporting negotiations with various tier 1 IT service providers
- acting for Oil Search with respect to its ERP procurement of a suit of SAP products (Project Vara) and implementation services with UXC Oxygen (now DXC Technology)
- acting for Origin with respect to various IT procurement projects, including negotiating and drafting agreements supporting its procurement of IT infrastructure, software and other IT services
- assisting a government funded body corporate established under Royal Charter with the modernisation of its business critical IT systems, including assisting through the documentation of its RFP procurement requirements, assisting during negotiations with various vendors and advising on overall project risk with respect to vendor accountability
- assisting a Victorian government agency with its separation from a key IT service provider and advising on the re-solutioning of its system by providing procurement strategy and implementation advice with respect to a replacement system.
