As a nationally recognized leader and one of Canada’s largest and most established technology law teams, Fasken has built a legacy of resolving our client’s most challenging legal issues. We excel in delivering tailored legal solutions and regularly advise on complex, multi-vendor outsourcings, SaaS and system implementation agreements, digital transformation, e-commerce and consumer protection, data protection, new technology regulation and Tech M&A.
Operating at the intersection of legal and business issues, we collaborate with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging tech firms across all sectors, including banking, insurance, health, technology, software, and e-commerce. Additionally, we advise governments and public sector institutions on procurements, contracting and a wide range of advisory matters. Our extensive experience with diverse stakeholders in technology gives us deep insights into a broad range of technology- related matters, enhancing our collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to resolving client issues.
Whether your tech legal needs involve traditional software or services (SaaS and XaaS), e-commerce, or cutting edge tech like artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, health tech, or crypto , the strength of our team ensures that our clients' interests and assets are protected and compliant with evolving legal requirements.
With dedicated team members across Canada, we help clients with issues including:
- Launching technology infrastructure initiatives, conducting RFIs/RFPs or procurements, and negotiating agreements with customers and providers.
- Drafting and negotiating technology development (agile/waterfall), licensing and cloud agreements.
- Developing cloud and outsourcing strategies.
- Acquiring and divesting technology assets.
- Ensuring compliance with applicable Canadian and provincial laws, particularly in cross border and e-commerce matters.
- Addressing data security, privacy, AI governance, and anti-spam issues, and creating appropriate technology governance policies.
- Developing commercialization strategies, including tech transfer and joint ventures.
- Formulating strategies for dataset acquisition and managing cyber-security initiatives.
Commercial Technology Transactions
We help clients navigate the landscape of commercial technology, where we advise clients across a wide range of industries. We understand the complex challenges of outsourcing arrangements – we ‘wrote the book’ on this topic – and have helped clients successfully execute technology implementations, software licensing and SaaS/XaaS agreements, privacy compliance, intellectual property rights protection and enforcement, e-commerce solutions, and public sector and private technology procurements.
Tech M&A
Our experienced team addresses the unique challenges of Tech M&A, from mitigating deal risks arising from new technologies to the protection of, and protecting the transfer of, key digital and other tech assets. Whether you are pursuing an acquisition, sale, amalgamation, joint venture, or strategic alliance, we are your tech deal team to facilitate your most ambitious transactions. Our leadership in this area is underscored both by our top tech practitioner rankings and our consistent top rankings in volume of Canadian M&A activity across major league tables.
Data Protection and Commercialization
Data is a strategic asset with significant compliance risks. We help clients build data protection programs, facilitate cross-border data flows, manage vendor risk, and respond effectively to incidents and regulatory scrutiny. We also design and de-risk data commercialization strategies, and support loyalty and rewards programs, data-driven partnerships, and data licensing and analytics models. We provide practical advice to help organizations accrue and unlock value while meeting consent, transparency, security, consumer protection, and other data-related legal requirements.
Tech Advisory & Regulatory
Our technology practice is grounded in a sophisticated understanding of Canada’s regulatory environment and the legal, commercial, and industry forces shaping the design, development, protection, and deployment of technology products and services. We advise clients across their technology lifecycles, helping them anticipate risk, comply with evolving legal requirements, and align innovation with sound governance. Our lawyers closely monitor legislative, regulatory, and market developments so clients can move beyond reactive compliance and take a forward‑looking, strategic approach—often helping to shape emerging norms. With deep experience in areas such as open‑source software governance, compliance with Canada’s anti‑spam legislation (CASL), cloud computing and SaaS models, digital platforms and internet regulation, and the legal implications of IoT, blockchain, Web3, digital assets, big data, quantum computing, and other emerging technologies, we support clients in navigating complexity and building resilient, future‑ready operations in a rapidly evolving digital environment.
Artificial Intelligence
With deep backgrounds in data, IP, cybersecurity and privacy, our technology lawyers work to guide clients in developing and implementing their AI strategies, including development of governance policies, advising on commercial agreements, and acquiring, using and developing data and outputs generated by AI applications. We regularly advise on copyright, and privacy and cybersecurity, issues surrounding datasets and AI outputs, as well as applying existing and developing laws pertaining to AI across different industries.
Recognition and Leadership
Our technology team is active in shaping the next generation of technology lawyers. As leaders in this field, many of our lawyers extend their expertise into the classroom at leading law schools, including McGill and Osgoode, and other legal organizations.
We pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge of technology law, and our team's insights and contributions are highly sought after in founder and executive roles through organizations such as the Canadian Technology Law Association (CAN-TECH), the International Technology Law Association (ITechLaw), and the International Federation of Computer Law Associations (IFCLA), as well as technology committees in the Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, and the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association.
Our team is consistently recognized in Chambers, Lexpert, Legal 500, Lexology Index, Best Lawyers and Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer.
