Genevieve Watt

Genevieve Watt is a counsel in Goodwin’s Business Law Department and a member of its Strategic Technology Transactions and Licensing group and Privacy & Cybersecurity group.

Genevieve’s technology transactions practice reaches across a broad range of industries and sectors and includes advising on IT services agreements, cloud computing, commercial contracts, e-commerce, and protection and licensing of intellectual property rights, as well as data protection compliance, including the GDPR and e-Privacy Directive.

Genevieve also advises on intellectual property, IT, and data protection issues and competition law compliance in mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions relating to companies in industries including software development, education, energy, finance, telecommunications, data analytics, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Genevieve was in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications teams at a leading international law firm and at a tier one Australian law firm, focusing on technology, IT, outsourcing and telecommunications projects including digital transformation, cloud computing, procurement, commercial contracting and protection of intellectual property rights.

Genevieve’s experience includes:

• Advising TA Associates in its significant minority investment in Apex Group Ltd, a global financial services provider to asset managers, financial institutions, family offices and corporates
• Advising Partners Group with regards to the loan to own acquisition of UK high street restaurant chain, Côte Restaurants, by way of a pre-pack administration sale and related restructuring
• Advising on the protection of intellectual property rights, commercial contract issues, data protection and competition law compliance on a range of mergers and acquisition and private equity deals, relating to companies in the software, education, energy, finance, telecommunications, data analytics, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries
• Drafting and negotiating various agreements for bespoke technology solutions, software licences, cloud subscription services, and general commercial contracts, for clients in the retail, hospitality and leisure, education and technology sectors
• Preparing data processing agreements for a range of clients leading up to, and following, the implementation of GDPR
• Advising a financial services institution on a project for the development and implementation of a core banking platform, operating on a cloud-based, platform-as-a-service basis; including advising on the legal aspects of the design, build and implementation of the new IT platform, the transition from the bank’s existing IT infrastructure to its new IT platform, and the provision of ongoing IT services*
• Acting for a public sector entity on the procurement of London-wide network services, including negotiating with multiple vendors and drafting contractual documents*
• Advising an Australian credit union on the procurement of a core banking platform, including negotiating with multiple vendors, drafting contractual documents and advising in relation to regulatory rules*
• Acting for the New South Wales Government on the procurement of telecommunications infrastructure for key services*

*Denotes experience prior to joining Goodwin.

Genevieve is a member of the Law Society of New South Wales and the New York State Bar Association.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Genevieve completed client secondments at an Australian telecommunications provider, a New South Wales government department, and the London office of a French bank.