Trent Skanes

About Trent

• Print Bio

Trent practices in the areas of commercial technology and privacy law. He assists high-growth companies with commercializing their operations, and works with mature organizations across all sectors to implement new technology-related projects and initiatives. Trent has particular expertise in drafting and negotiating technology-related agreements and helping companies comply with data protection and data management obligations. His work in this area includes:

• Drafting vendor side software-as-a-service (SaaS) agreements, and negotiating the specifics of SaaS agreements for both vendors and customers to maximize value and protection for his clients;
• Drafting master services agreements, service level agreements (SLAs), and other forms of IT agreements related to an organization’s outsourcing of tech needs and solutions;
• Advising on the contractual considerations and regulatory compliance aspects of implementing third-party, cloud-based solutions in both the private and public sector;
• Drafting data sharing, software licence, and other forms of services agreements that involve the collection, use, disclosure, and analytics of sensitive data, including personal data and personal health data;
• Providing strategic legal advice on an organization’s privacy law compliance and exposure to contractual risk, including the adequacy of cybersecurity safeguards to protect stored sensitive data; and
• Helping high-growth tech start-ups start and organize their businesses the right way to maximize their chances of scaling up and attracting angel and venture capital investment.

Trent also has extensive experience with complex, multi-year commercial arbitrations and litigation cases in the energy and construction sectors. This experience provides him particular clarity when it comes to assessing and mitigating contractual risks at the drafting and negotiation stage, helping him triage and resolve commercial disputes before they escalate beyond control. In addition to his experience in dispute resolution, he helps public and private sector clients comply with regulatory aspects of privacy and access to information laws, and assists clients when dealing with regulators in this area.

Trent is a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Bar Association. He is the past chair of the CBA-NL Privacy and Access law section, and a current member of techNL – the industry association at the forefront of NL’s thriving tech ecosystem.

Outside of the office, Trent competes in various sports – especially curling. He is currently President of the St. John’s Curling Club Association, has represented Newfoundland and Labrador on the national stage multiple times. He still strives to compete at the Brier one day.