Twenty years ago this year, I earned my Juris Doctorate and then took and passed the New York bar exam. Since then I have worked in a variety of fields, capacities, and with all sorts of talented people. I have worked as a lawyer and on the business side. During a large chunk of that time, I have drafted and negotiated lots and lots of contracts, and to be quite frank, at this time in my career arguing a liability clause or typing “for avoidance of doubt” or “including without limitation” or “arising out of or in connection with” or “which shall not be unreasonably withheld” are not what get me out of bed in the morning.
What does get me up in the morning is being part of the action, helping to find solutions and identifying new opportunities. In other words, I love playing the part of lawyer as business partner. But in order to be an effective business partner, you need to know your client’s business and you need to be in the loop.
With that in mind, in my current role as Senior Legal Counsel at Amadeus IT Group, I have assumed the leadership of a virtual team called “Tech Watch” where my colleagues and I in the legal department discuss and monitor new technologies and innovation in order to be better business partners. In doing this, we have also sparked an increased interest in following the trends in our marketplace (and of course, one of the most important things about being good at what one does professionally is enjoying the subject matter of one’s work).
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT NOTHING THAT I PUBLISH IN THIS BLOG REFLECTS THE VIEWS OR OPINIONS OF AMADEUS IT GROUP. ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN. THIS BLOG IS NOT ABOUT AMADEUS AND CERTAINLY NOT ABOUT GDSs.
In particular, I have been looking a lot at Blockchain, Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence and how user generated data can be used both for our benefit and our detriment. There is already so much about Blockchain, for example, as it applies to Fintech but not in relation to other use cases, so I seek out news on these topics in different contexts. With this blog I hope to share some of what I find. Sometimes I will simply re-post articles that I think are interesting for those who wish to learn more, and other times I will write about my own impressions about how these technologies may shape the market, the law or society.
Finally, this blog is not exclusive to lawyers and isn’t focused on legislation or regulation. Its main link to the legal profession is that its author is a lawyer who believes that lawyers should be better acquainted with new technologies in order to be more effective entrepre-lawyers and business partners.
The Entrepre-Lawyer 
Very well articulated Eric. As a Contract Director, I sit on the business side of these comments. I certainly appreciate the legal terms, clauses, and protections written into every agreement I negotiate. I also appreciate the thoroughness my legal partners exhibit to protect our business interests while helping craft the final solutions. I also know that some of my legal partners share your thoughts. Looking forward to keeping up with the blog and learning from your learnings. Best regards Dave
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