The audit section in a services agreement contains the provisions that specify a party’s right to access and review another party’s information in order to determine such party’s compliance with the agreement. Depending on the scope of audit rights, the audit section can range from a single paragraph to an entire exhibit to the contract.

Many considerations go into drafting appropriate audit rights, including the types of services that the customer is receiving, and the industry in which the customer’s business operates. In many cases, the customer is the auditing party and the service provider is the audited party, but there are situations where the roles will be reversed. Below is an overview of several key issues to consider when drafting audit rights for services agreements.

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China introduced a new Foreign Investment Law on March 15, which, among other things, aims to encourage cross-border technological cooperation. In this LawFlash, Shanghai partner Todd Liao discusses related amendments to various Chinese regulations that affect technology transfer deals between foreign technology owners and Chinese licensees.

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London partners Mike Pierides and Simon Lightman and Dubai partner Rebecca L. Kelly recently authored the article “Contracting for RPA” in The Oath, wherein they share insights on the deployment of robotic process automation (RPA) for businesses in the Middle East.

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Join Morgan Lewis at our Philadelphia office on April 11 for a discussion on hot topics impacting services contracts in the digital economy. Morgan Lewis labor and employment partner Sarah Bouchard, litigation partner Greg Parks, together with technology, outsourcing, and commercial contracts partners Barbara Melby and Michael Pillion, and associates Christopher Archer and Katherine O’Keefe will speak at the event.

Topics will include:

• Ethical considerations for lawyers working in a digital world
• Common issues to consider when using vendor cloud agreements
• Industry updates
• Contracting for automation solutions

A networking reception will follow the discussions. We hope you can join us!

Register here.

Morgan Lewis partner Peter Watt-Morse (Pittsburgh) and associate Eric Pennesi (Pittsburgh) will be participating in the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s 2019 Cyberlaw Update, which will address trending topics, including blockchain and cryptocurrency and security and privacy concerns related to social media, in addition to GDPR.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Social Media Ethics – Its Use and Impact on the Practice of Law
• IP in the Age of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence
• Responding to Data Breaches – Legal Update and Practical Counsel

The event will be hosted at the PBI Professional Development Center (Heinz 57 Center, 339 Sixth Avenue, 7th Floor, Pittsburgh PA, 15222) on Tuesday, April 30 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is requesting comments on proposed amendments to two rules addressing the privacy and security of customer information under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The FTC plans to publish the notices in the Federal Register in the near future.

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Russia’s Central Bank, the financial markets regulator in Russia, might soon receive the right to block websites. On 24 January, the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, approved amendments in the first reading to the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information" and the Civil Procedure Code (the Proposed Amendments).

The Proposed Amendments are designed to give the Central Bank the right to block websites violating financial market legislation or used to maintain fraudulent activities.

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Forbes has listed its top outsourcing trends in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for 2019. The APAC region has long been the dominant region for outsourcing, although it is facing competition from emerging outsourcing markets in other regions. Trends include the growing presence of outsourcing in Malaysia, shifting resource models, and personnel shortages.

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Morgan Lewis partners Ksenia Andreeva (Moscow), Anastasia Dergacheva (Moscow), and Simon Lightman (London) will host a webinar, Outsourcing Across the Globe: Focus on Russia, discussing how best to localize your global outsourcing contracts for operations in Russia.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Outsourcing issues facing multinational companies and vendors
• Tips on efficiently implementing services agreements for Russian companies
• Considering regulatory compliance for Russian transactions

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, March 20, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am (ET)/2:00 pm to 3:00 pm (GMT)/5:00 pm to 6:00 pm (MSK).

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March is a busy month for webinars at Morgan Lewis. Check out the Morgan Lewis website for a number of webinars coming up in March that are of interest to technology and sourcing lawyers and professionals. A few that caught our eye:

• March 12 - Cyber Insurance: Is Your Company Covered?
• March 12 - M&A Academy: Bridging the Gap with Transition Services Agreements
• March 13 - Global Public Company Academy: Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Developments

For a complete listing of firm events and CLE opportunities, visit our Global Events Calendar.