What I do:

I draft and negotiate commercial contracts and other specialised agreements, terms, conditions and policies. I commonly write contracts involving new tech, such as the provision of reinforcement learning algorithms as services, ethereum contracts, automated pen testing, et cetera.

I advise businesses that develop, license and sell software, software as a service, or services related to software such as development, consulting, training, maintenance, integration and outsourcing.

I advise investors and companies that wish to acquire stakes in technology businesses, with a serious focus on the commercial viability of the product in question. I use my unique technical insight to ensure they know exactly what is being invested in - even down to the technology stack being used.

I advise technology companies on how to develop products, how to raise finance, how to ensure compliance with privacy laws and how to minimise risk when trading with customers and commercial partners.

What I don't do:

I do not advise on anything contentious or conduct any litigation.

I do not review and amend draft documents provided by clients.

I do not fill out templates and expect your business, product or service to fit into the variables.

How I work:

I will learn about your specific situation, research the law that is relevant to solve your problem, advise you on what you should do and draft the necessary documentation depending on how you decide to proceed. Every project I take on is treated like a greenfield project.

I will provide clear explanations about your situation in plain English. Any question that you may have is a valid question. I want you to understand the law as it applies to you, not just sign a document.

I will understand what is important to you and the rest of your team. I will get to know your product, your business and your approach. And then I'll give you my opinion about all of it.

I work on a per-project basis for limited scope work, which can be on a pre-agreed fixed rate basis. Alternatively, I will bill hourly. For clients that really value my input, I can work on a flat monthly fee to provide an outsourced in-house general counsel service.

I work best with clients who understand the value of rock solid legal advice, but also need an advisor who understands their core domain.

About me:

I am a 10+ year qualified and SRA-regulated solicitor in England & Wales. I operated my own SRA authorised and regulated law firm for 7 years. It became clear that most of my work does not involve regulated legal services, so now I work exclusively as a private consultant advising only on non-reserved legal activities.

My practice focuses on commercial contract law and corporate transactions. I have worked on many different types of deals ranging from early stage investments to enterprise licensing agreements. I have advised many different types of client. Insurtech, Edtech, Medtech, Lawtech; it's still corporate and commercial law, just applied to the exploitation of technology.

I have a deep understanding of the technology market and software. I have been programming for over 20 years. I started with C and Tcl, and now I like using Python. I have designed and built domain driven backend systems, content management systems, RESTful APIs and SPAs. I use some of those technologies to assist me in my legal practice.

How you'll feel if I advise you:

You'll feel like you have a good understanding of the law and common practice that relates to the problem you want to solve.

You'll be able to make informed decisions, which can only be good for your business and its owners.

You'll love that your advisor has truly understood what your business does and what its owners want to achieve.

You'll have peace of mind that the boring legal stuff has been taken care of properly.

Get in touch:

I don't know what your previous experience has been with lawyers. But I can promise that it'll be a smooth ride with me. Are you interested? Let's have a conversation. Send me an email.

Clients' comments:

• "Zarek has worked with Data Language for over a year. He has advised us on investment funding, on IP protection, and has drafted complex SaaS (AI-as-a-Service) agreements for us. He is extremely practical and pragmatic, quickly understands problems, and can provide rock solid advice on technology and IT law. I can highly recommend Zarek to any tech startup or scaleup."

  - Paul Wilton, MD, Data Language

• "We have worked with Zarek on our funding rounds and continue to for our commercial insurance tech work. He has been a brilliant and trusted antidote to the larger law firms operating on behalf of our investors. I would happily recommend him to anyone in need of practical, cost effective legal advice."

  - Becky Downing, CEO, Buzzmove

• "We have used Zarek, over the last four years, for advice, legal assistance and to draft new terms of service for our SaaS business. He did a fantastic job consolidating our various service agreements into one simple to understand terms of service which covered all aspects of our business. He is great to deal with, is extremely knowledgeable, is clear and concise in his advice, and is quick to respond to any queries that we have. I would recommend him without hesitation."

  - Martin Parkinson, Director, Influence

• "Zarek drafted our complex SaaS terms and came up with solutions to keep our contractual complexity low while giving us enough flexibility to cater for the specific needs of our on-premise customers. He took the time to genuinely understand what we do, answers all questions no matter how trivial, is 100% reliable, sticks to timelines and never needs chasing. An absolute pleasure to work with."

  - Björn Stiel, Founder, xltrail

• "Our company is a fast-growing startup breaking info unfamiliar territory requiring delicate legal safeguards. Zarek is timely and thinks around the actual problem instead of being a cookie cutter. He also adapted well to our way of working – it often feels like we have our own legal department! Highly recommended."

  - Sajeev S, CEO, Medify

• "We are engineers. Our customers ask us to price their jobs before giving us their custom. We ask for a clear specification, and if necessary we help our customers build one, which we then use together with our knowledge and professional judgement to give our price. We do not always get the job. Imagine my delight to find Zarek saying up front that he works in the same way. Working with him has been easy and timely. His explanations are straightforward and logical. We work from our laptops wherever we are. Low overheads, functional, effective and friendly. I like that."

  - Rory Carter, Chairman, CompoTech