Legal opinions for IT projects
An opinion does not answer a single question. It sets the frame within which a project is lawful, so that planning can start instead of asking again at every step.
Larger IT projects rarely fail on a single legal question. They fail because nobody has an overview of which questions arise at all, and because answers from different directions contradict each other. An opinion writes the legal position down once, in order, and turns it into a roadmap.
Short answer or full opinion
Short answer
- One contained question, usually spoken or in a few lines
- Fast, inexpensive, without working up the facts
- Holds as far as the assumptions hold
- Hard for anyone else to follow
Legal opinion
- The facts are established together first
- Every area of law involved is examined systematically
- The result is reasoned, traceable and citable
- It ends with what to do, not only with how things stand
How we work
Step 1: Establish the facts
First we clarify with you what is actually planned: systems, data flows, parties, contracts. Most misjudgements start here rather than in the legal assessment.
Step 2: Define the questions
We record in writing what is examined and what expressly is not. That guards against an opinion later being relied on for something it was never meant to cover.
Step 3: Work through the law
Statute, case law, administrative practice and, where they exist, guidance from supervisory authorities. Where the position is unsettled, the text says so and assesses the risk.
Step 4: Recommend a course
What is permissible outright, what only under conditions, and what is not? The recommendations are ordered by urgency and name who has to act on them.
What gets examined
Which areas come together depends on the project. For a larger IT project these recur:
- Contract law: obligations, acceptance, remedies for defects, limits of liability
- Data protection: roles, legal bases, processing agreements, third country transfers
- AI Act: classification of the system, role as provider or deployer, resulting duties
- Copyright and licensing: rights of use in software, data and results
- IT security law: requirements from NIS2, the Cyber Resilience Act and from contracts
- Trade secrets: what may go into third party systems, and on what conditions
- Public procurement, where public bodies are involved
- Employment and co-determination, where staff are affected
What the result is good for
- Assess the riskNot every risk can be removed. An opinion says which ones remain and how heavily they weigh.
- Get a roadmapThe assessment turns into an order of work, what must be settled before launch and what can run alongside.
- Strengthen a positionIn negotiation a reasoned legal view counts for more than an assertion.
- Convince the boardManagement, supervisory boards and councils want a basis for a decision, not a footnote.
- Evidence the care takenWhoever examined the question before deciding stands differently later than someone who did not.
- Approach the regulatorAn ordered account is the better way into a conversation with an authority.
Scope and cost
We agree the depth of the examination beforehand and name the price before we start. For smaller projects a short opinion is often more economical than a series of individual answers. How we bill is set out under fees.
One project, many open questions?
Tell us what it is about. We will say whether an opinion is the right route and what it would cost.
Describe the projectFrequently asked questions
When is an opinion worth more than a short answer?
As soon as several areas of law meet, several bodies decide together, or the result has to hold for months. A short answer addresses the question that was asked. An opinion shows which questions were sitting next to it, unasked.
How long does it get?
That follows the project, not a standard format. A few pages are usual for a contained question, considerably more for a project with several systems and parties. We agree scope and depth beforehand and say what it will cost.
Is the result binding on authorities or courts?
No. An opinion binds nobody but us to the view taken in it. It does serve as a basis for decisions, as evidence that the question was examined, and as an argument towards contracting parties and supervisory authorities.