Company: DLA Piper
Job title: Special counsel
Nick Valentine leads DLA Piper New Zealand's intellectual property and technology team, having been recruited from King & Wood Mallesons in Sydney in 2018. In the time he’s been with the firm, Valentine has built a thriving IPT practice with an impressive client list and some of the most significant technology transactions currently in the New Zealand market. He is a highly regarded lawyer with extensive experience in transactional technology, media and telecommunication matters. He specialises in large-scale business process and IT outsourcing and systems integration; software development and licensing; data protection and privacy; telecommunication services agreements and infrastructure rollouts; and media rights and online content distribution. Valentine also contributes significantly to DLA Piper's diversity and inclusion and community outreach programs, including chairing the firm's 'Flex' (flexible work committee) and volunteering at the Community Law Centre. He is a frequently sought-after speaker at conferences and seminars. Just recently, he chaired the Privacy and Data Protection Morning Briefing at which the privacy commissioner and CIOs and heads of data protection from some of New Zealand's largest corporates spoke.