As digital solutions continue to evolve, legal and procurement teams must stay ahead of key trends and risks. This session explores industry best practice for procuring digital products and services, common contractual structures and pitfalls in SaaS and other digital engagements, and practical ways to manage institutional and commercial risk. Gain valuable tools to support your teams and strengthen your organisation’s digital procurement approach.
Tuesday, 2 September 2025
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD Hour
Chair:
Dr Maria Pozza, Director and Principal, Gravity Lawyers
1.00pm to 2.00pm Approaches to Negotiating Digital Engagements From a Customer Perspective
- Trends in digital product and delivery methodology
- Best practice procurement for digital solutions
- Common types of digital contracts and the common risks associated with them
- Useful approaches to managing commercial and institutional risk across SaaS engagements
Presented by Meghan Pinfold, Senior Legal Counsel – Commercial & Digital, Christchurch City Council
Learning Objectives:
- Gain improved confidence when negotiating digital contracts and learning what is best industry practice
- Learn common risks associated with digital engagements and ideas for documenting and managing them
- Gaining insight into ways to build a risk management structure within a digital ecosystem
- Be able to provide practical support to your procurement teams around best practice digital procurement
Presenters
Dr Maria Pozza, Director and Principal Lawyer, Gravity LawyersDr Pozza is the Director and Principal lawyer of Gravity Lawyers. Her expertise includes: Commercial international space law, international military space law, domestic legislative frameworks over military and commercial uses in space as well as international law space law dealing with armed conflict and aggressive uses. She provides expertise in legal and technical frameworks concerning cybersecurity and IT, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and technology laws. She has been the course coordinator for the University of Victoria’s Cyber Security and International Relations, as well as a lecturer for the International Relations course. As a prolific publisher, Dr Pozza has edited and published a book on Risk Management in Outer Space Activities – An Australian and New Zealand Perspective, as part of her Book Series titled Space Law and Policy. She has been involved in the development of numerous space law publications that range from academic articles, professional publications, guidance materials, and books. Dr Pozza has supervised at master’s level and is currently supervising at the PhD level with the University of Otago. Her expertise on international and national space law, is often called upon by a wide range of domestic and international clients and institutions.
Meghan Pinfold, Senior Legal Counsel – Commercial & Digital, Christchurch City Council
Meghan is Senior Legal Counsel – Commercial & Digital at Christchurch City Council, where she leads legal strategy for digital transformation and technology procurement. With experience across public and private sectors—including roles at ANZ working within the digital product portfolio and as lead legal on ACC’s ICT Transformation project—Meghan specialises in negotiating complex digital contracts and managing stakeholder engagement and delivery. Meghan works across Christchurch City Council’s Digital team, supporting SaaS and infrastructure deals through to AI, automation, and machine learning initiatives. She has also advised on and guided the development of digital solutions. Meghan brings deep expertise in aligning legal frameworks with digital strategy, making her an ideal guide for navigating the challenges of IT contracting and risk management
This seminar is part of a series
In-House Counsel Lunchtime Learning
In-House Counsel are under more pressure than ever with expanding workloads, shrinking budgets and increasing regulatory complexity. Sign up for this lunchtime series of webinars to ensure that you are across the latest developments and gain essential strategies, practical tips plus vital legislative and case law updates - all aimed to assist you to reduce risk and meet regulatory requirements. Make it easy & save by registering for the full series or just the sessions that interest you. Watch each session live online or as an on-demand recording to watch at a time convenient to you.
Description
Attend all 5 sessions and earn 5 CPD Hours
If you register for the full series as a live online product after the date of an individual session, you will be sent the recording for the sessions that have passed. Alternatively, you can register for individual sessions by following the links below.
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