Joe McClendon works with clients at every stage of growth, emphasizing pragmatic legal guidance combined with clear and actionable counseling to help them make informed decisions regarding risk in their complex technology and data-driven projects.

As a former information technology professional with over a decade in the field managing IT support and enterprise technology initiatives, Joe applies his technical know-how to navigate legal and regulatory challenges for clients. Joe focuses his practice on negotiating complex and high-stakes commercial technology agreements, including for software licensing and subscriptions (both software-as-a-service and on-premise), development and reseller arrangements, artificial intelligence (AI), strategic partnerships, end-user licensing (EULAs), and other inbound and outbound licensing and purchasing initiatives.

Joe’s commercial and technology transactions practice has given him the opportunity to represent the largest health care systems in the United States, regional and national financial institutions and banks, and national education systems — all of whom trust Joe to aggressively advocate for them in business-critical commercial and technology ventures.

A trusted confidant in the digital infrastructure sector, Joe also works with data center owners and operators to facilitate development and sales of cloud and colocation services, helping clients navigate the legal and contractual complexities surrounding leasing and operating data centers, networks, scalability, disaster recovery, and continuity.

Additionally, Joe has deep experience in data privacy and information security and guides clients in developing and implementing compliance programs that align with U.S. and international privacy regimes, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). As a subject matter strategist in privacy and security, Joe counsels clients in developing, implementing, and maintaining AI, information governance, data retention, disaster recovery, information security, privacy, business continuity, and data breach response policies.

Joe is praised for his down-to-earth approach to providing legal services. Clients frequently note that Joe’s value and experience far exceed the legal counsel he provides. His decade of real-world, on-the-ground experience as an IT professional allows him to speak the same language as them, understand their pain points, and work as a trusted advisor and business consultant. Where other outside counsel is disconnected from the client, Joe embeds himself with in-house legal and business teams to deliver practical advice that drives client projects forward.