General Counsel Capstone for Software & App Publisher

This capstone simulation course places students in the general counsel office for an international publisher of software and mobile device applications. Students are expected to assist the client as it acquires underlying content to create the applications, manage personnel and trade secrets, address industry standards, compliance and governmental regulatory compliance, adivse on trademark issues, draft user policies, assess user data privacy conerns, then structure a transaction on behalf of the client for sale of the application on one or more mobile platforms. As a simulation capstone, students work in small groups on a series of sequential exercises that provide practice-based experiences integrating law, business and technology from the professional and ethical considerations of in-house counsel.

The course emphasizes problem-solving and written and oral communications with technology focused clients, third party intermediaries (e.g., Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Blackberry), government regulators such as the FTC, customers and the public. At the outset, students are provided wtih detailed company information, financial statements, management structure, product information, and software development objectives. Substantial additional material will then be provided to the students as the simulation progresses, including simulated internal company correspondence, external correspondence, government actions, and simulation events. Students are expected to assess the factual information provided and determine the legal requirement (such as data privacy and security implications of software) and risk management issues (which may be presented through non-disclosure agreements, joint development agreements or other transactional documents).