MILWAUKEE – Lisa M. O’Donnell, co-chair of the Software, Technology and Licensing Team at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. (Reinhart) and a member of the firm’s Business Law Practice, is Wisconsin’s first and only Black Duck Certified Legal Professional.
Black Duck Software developed the certification program for legal professionals who have clients interested in acquiring technology companies or are software companies preparing themselves for sale or divesture. The program trains intellectual property and mergers and acquisitions lawyers to understand the methodology of open source software audits. This allows them to better interpret and provide clients with legal guidance on the audit results.
“The training provided useful knowledge regarding Black Duck’s open source software audit process and technology,” said O’Donnell. “Understanding this process brings added value to the legal services we provide to our technology clients. Whether our client is a software company preparing itself for sale and wants to better position itself for a strategic buyer, or our client is acquiring a new company and wants to evaluate the target’s open source liabilities, an open source software audit can be an extremely useful part of the due diligence process. With this training, clients know that I can interpret and provide them with an understanding of the legal aspects of an open source audit. The results of an assessment allow clients to evaluate the risks and make important decisions about how to increase company value.”
Reinhart’s Software, Technology and Licensing Team includes a multidisciplinary group of lawyers who provide effective and knowledgeable advice to solve clients’ software, technology and licensing issues. The attorneys on Reinhart’s team have a deep background in software and technology based legal matters and have represented both purchasers and vendors of software and technology.
O’Donnell, who is also a member of the firm’s Product Distribution and Franchise Legal Team, works with a range of local, national and international clients with a particular interest in companies engaged in the software and technology industries. She represents and advises businesses on a variety of corporate and technology legal issues including drafting and negotiating software and technology licensing agreements, reseller, distributor and supply agreements and also has a deep background in mergers and acquisitions.
She earned her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Loras College and her J.D., with distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law. Prior to law school, O’Donnell spent a year as an assistant professor of English at Sapientia University in Amagaski City, Japan.
ABOUT REINHART BOERNER VAN DEUREN s.c.
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. is a full-service, business-oriented law firm with offices in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Madison, Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois. With more than 200 lawyers, the firm serves clients throughout the United States and internationally with a combination of legal advice, industry understanding and superior client service.
