Sycamore Legal, PC
David Tollen

David Tollen testifies on software licenses, SaaS and other cloud services agreements, and other information technology contracts. He also testifies on tax and legal malpractice issues related to those contracts. His topics have included:

• Legal and business differences among (a) SaaS and other cloud services, (b) on-premise software, and (c) IT professional services
• How the categories above are often confused, including related to state and federal tax questions
• Use and misuse of “licenses” in SaaS and other cloud services agreements
• Standards of care and competence for software licensing and other IT contract work; related legal malpractice and negligence issues
• Industry custom and practice surrounding software licensing and other IT contract drafting, including terms of art and negotiation practices
• Interpretation (where admissible) of artificial intelligence contracts, cloud services contracts, on-premise software licenses, and other agreements about IT

David Tollen’s qualifications include:

• Author of the American Bar Association’s bestseller, The Tech Contracts Handbook: Software Licenses, Cloud Computing Agreements, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers and Businesspeople (ABA Publishing 2021)
• Adjunct faculty-member for the UC Berkeley Law School, teaching Advanced IT Contracts
• Contracts trainer for attorneys and businesspeople
• Silicon Valley attorney with experience dating back to 1994
• Frequent speaker and author on IT and IP law
• Expert in multiple depositions and at trial, both in court and in arbitration

As one example, David Tollen was cited and relied upon as an expert witness in a December 2021 Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board decision, Akamai v. Commissioner of Revenue. David testified for Akamai, the prevailing party.

Mr. Tollen began his career litigating technology and intellectual property cases at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco. So he has an unusual understanding of the process, including strategies surrounding deposition, trial testimony, and use of expert witnesses.