David Sant

David is a senior commercial solicitor at Harper James, specialising in technology and data protection.

I have taken an unusual path to my legal career.  I entered the job market at the height of the dot com boom, and worked as a software developer for California-based start-ups and UK webshops. 

I co-founded an early, immersive project to display photographs of the real world in a simulated 3D world… shortly before Google Streetview did exactly that.

I became interested in models of licensing content on the internet and decided to retrain as a lawyer.

David qualified as a solicitor in 2009. Prior to joining Harper James in 2020, he worked in the in-house legal teams at the BBC and Oxford University Press.  

At the BBC, David supported the BBC’s Future Media and Technology Division, advising on significant technology service agreements with suppliers.  He also worked in the BBC’s Intellectual Property legal team, advising on copyright and trade mark matters.  

I find that my technology background allows me to understand how clients’ software-based services are structured.  And that helps me give relevant and practical advice on legal risks and solutions

Following his time at the BBC, David worked in-house at Oxford University Press, advising the global publishing business on digital collaborations, copyright, licensing, and general commercial matters, including setting up self-service contract templates.

I have spent a lot of time in-house, working directly with directors and commercial managers.  I understand the pressures and the competing priorities.  I work with clients to solve legal problems, and to help structure products and business models.

David has particular experience in the following areas:

• Drafting and negotiating a wide range of commercial and technology agreements including software licences and SaaS agreements, software development agreements, software reseller agreements.
• Advising on data protection issues relating to all aspects of client businesses, with a particular emphasis on digital collaborations.
• Advising on legal issues in the creative industries, particularly publishing and copyright issues.

David’s clients praise him as approachable, practical and a good communicator.

Away from the office, David enjoys discovering (and occasionally writing) music, continually trying to take up running, and hiking and cycling with his family in Oxfordshire.