George S. Takach is a senior partner in the firm’s Toronto office. George brings significant value to clients in their tech company M&A/financing deals, their sophisticated tech licensing, IT procurement and other tech commercial transactions, and their more challenging e-commerce activities, including projects involving privacy law, cloud computing, big data and social media.

McCarthy Tétrault is Canada’s pre-eminent firm for technology law. Since its inception in 1997, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory has found McCarthy Tétrault to have the strongest computer and information technology law practice in Canada. In the 2017 edition of Chambers Global, McCarthy Tétrault is listed in Band 1 for Information Technology.

George’s deep experience in tech M&A/financing allows his clients to get deals done more quickly and cost effectively. Past deals where he has brought his value-added skill set to clients include:

• IPO and multiple acquisition transactions for Constellation Software Inc.;
• multiple acquisition transactions for Aastra Technologies Inc., including purchase of Telepo, and purchases from Ericsson, Nortel, EADS, DeTeWe and Ascom; merger transaction between Aastra and Mitel;
• multiple sale transactions acting for private Canadian technology companies being sold to multi-national public tech companies, including: Modiface to L’Oreal SA; IndustryBuilt Software to Aptean; Kroll Computer Systems Inc. to Telus Corporation; Non-Linear Creations Inc. to Valtech S.E.; Dataimage to Metasource, PriceMetrix to McKinsey & Company; Intelliresponse Systems, Inc. to 24-7 Customer, Inc.; Optical Systems Group, Inc. to Ocuco Ltd.; CPAS Systems to Xerox; Kobo Inc. to Rakuten Inc.; Kanetix Ltd. to Monitor Clipper Partners; Opalis Software to Microsoft; Cybermation Inc. to CA Inc.; Chantry Networks to Siemens; InSystems to Standard Register; and Jewelstone Systems to AGF;
• multiple acquisition transactions acting for Canadian, American and European acquirers of Canadian or other technology companies, including: TouchBistro acquiring TableUp; Techwyse acquiring Spark Internet Marketing Corporation; Solidifi acquiring Linear Title & Closing Limited; Euronet Worldwide Inc. acquiring XE.com Corporation; Hitachi acquiring Ideaca; acquisition by Kobo of Aquafades; Rockwell Automation acquiring Rutter Hinz; Exact Software acquiring Longview Solutions;
• venture and related-type financings of earlier stage Canadian tech companies, including Kira (Insight Venture Partners); League, Inc. (OMERS Ventures; Real Ventures); Kobo Inc., Fresco Microchip (Celtic House, Ventures West); CPAS Systems (Tier Technologies); Cube Route (CIBC);
• a range of other M&A/financing transactions involving technology companies and tech-related assets, including the sale by Scotiabank of its fixed income indices business to TSX Group.

In the area of sophisticated tech licensing, IT procurement, SaaS and cloud deals, and other tech commercial deals, George’s creativity and broad experience allows clients to resolve difficult issues more quickly and to get the relationship off on the right foot. In the tech commercial area, George has a national practice with the following illustrative clients whom he has assisted with a broad range of agreements:

• a Montréal-based bank;
• a Calgary-based energy company;
• a Montréal-based transportation company;
• a Toronto-based retailer;
• three Toronto-based banks;
• a Montréal-based communications company;
• a Toronto-based public sector agency;
• a public sector consortium with members in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec; and
• an Atlantic Canada provincial government.

George helps clients craft sensible and workable solutions to complex e-commerce-related legal and compliance challenges, including in the privacy law space as well as in respect of “Big Data”; AI and cryptography projects. He brings a steady and experienced hand to bear on the invariably unprecedented legal issues generated by novel e-commerce business processes. In the e-commerce/Internet law area, his extensive practice includes:

• advising companies on how to create legally compliant online customer experiences, including enforceable “click consent agreements,” workable electronic voting processes, etc.;
• advising governments on law reform initiatives aimed at facilitating e-commerce;
• helping organizations comply with privacy and data protection laws, and advising clients experiencing a data breach; and
• crafting and negotiating SaaS, cloud, data distribution and other e-commerce-related agreements.

George regularly wrote articles on the subject of computer and tech law for a national lawyers magazine. Below is a list of his most recently published articles in the magazine:

• “CASL 2.0 – From Bad to Perhaps Worse.” Lexpert Magazine, July/August 2017
• “Big Data and the Law.”Lexpert Magazine, September 2017
• “Tech Tuck-Ins, Part 1.”Lexpert Magazine, October 2017
• “Tech Tuck-Ins, Part 2.”Lexpert Magazine, November/December 2017
• “Happy Tech New Year.”Lexpert Magazine, January/February 2018
• “GDPR: The Next Chapter in Data Protection.” Lexpert Magazine, March/April 2018
• “Post-Employment Non-Competes after the Ceridian case: When Less is More.” Lexpert Magazine, May 2018
• “ 1, 2018 – D-Day for Completing Privacy Breach Preparedness.”Lexpert Magazine, June 2018
• “Four Key Drivers of IT Project Success.” Lexpert Magazine, July/August 2018
• “Our Innovation Civilization.” Lexpert Magazine, September/October 2018
• “Jobs and Our Innovation Civilization”. Lexpert Magazine, November/December 2018
• “Niche Tech.”Lexpert Magazine, January/February 2019
• "Reasonable Expectations of Privacy after the Jarvis Case.”Lexpert Magazine, March/April 2019
• "Strategic and Tactical Thinking about Digital Innovation.” Lexpert Magazine, May 2019
• "Software Development Risk 2.0.”Lexpert Magazine, June 2019
• "Tech_Finance_101"Lexpert Magazine, July/August 2019
• "One Year Of The GDPR: Heightened Enforcement", Lexpert Magazine, September/October 2019
• "The Digital Economy And Competition Law", Lexpert Magazine, November/December 2019
• "Contracting For Medical IT Systems - Part 1.", Lexpert Magazine, January/February 2020
• "Contracting For Medical IT Systems - Part 2", Lexpert Magazine, March/April 2020

George is the author of three books: Computer Law, second edition; The Software Business, second edition; and Contracting for Computers. For 20 years he was an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, where he taught an evening course in Computer Law. George is in demand as a speaker to legal and technology industry audiences and a regular writer on legal technology topics.

George received his BA and his JD (Dean’s Honour List) from the University of Toronto. He also has his MA in international relations from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University in Ottawa. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1985. George has been on the Board of, and continues to raise money for, Lake Scugog Camp, an organization serving underprivileged and “at risk” children/youth and their families (a camp that George attended when he was a child).