Oliver Belitz

As an IT lawyer specialising in Emerging Technologies, in particular Artificial Intelligence (AI), I help companies navigate the complex landscape at the intersection of technology and law. Based in our Frankfurt office, I counsel a wide range of national and international clients, from innovative start-ups to large multinational corporations.

One of the main areas of my practice is contract law – drafting, reviewing and negotiating complex IT agreements for both service providers and customers. Further, I provide advice on regulatory requirements for outsourcing and cybersecurity in the financial sector (such as MaRisk, EBA Guidelines and DORA). There I assist banks and IT service providers in translating these critical regulations into contractual constructs.

Moreover, I have a long-standing tech focus on AI and am a recognised expert when it comes to the legal aspects of the enterprise use of generative AI. Here I advise large companies developing AI compliance systems to meet regulatory requirements, such as those outlined in the AI Act – or support innovative tech adopters, such as marketing agencies, integrate generative AI into their core value creation in a legally compliant manner.

Besides my legal work, I am deeply passionate about technology and utilise a broad stack of AI tools on a daily basis. Accordingly, I am actively involved in our firm's national and international Legal Tech strategic committees, where I explore how generative AI will shape the future business of international law firms – e.g. by testing new AI tools, developing training concepts for our employees, and working on new AI-enabled legal services.

On a regular basis I share my AI-related insights through client workshops, industry conferences and university lectures – having delivered around 100 presentations on the subject in the past 2 years. I am also a co-editor of the International Handbook of AI Law published at Wolters Kluwer, contributing as lead author for the sections on the AI Act and Legal Tech.

• Advised on AI-related aspects during due diligence for a $300 million investment in the German AI company DeepL.
• Provided comprehensive multi-year support to one of Germany's largest banks in a dispute regarding the failed international procurement of a software solution (both out of court and in litigation).
• Managed multiple major AI Act implementation projects for international corporations, including a leading provider of image-generating AI.
• Implemented regulatory requirements for outsourcing in contractual frameworks for a DAX-40 international software company and several banks; negotiated relevant provisions against customers and suppliers (including U.S. hyperscalers).
• Counseled various marketing agencies on the implementation of generative AI, including retrieval-augmented systems, fine-tuning, and Low Rank Adaptation (LoRA) for diffusion models.
• Assisted a U.S. hyperscaler on cybersecurity matters, including encryption techniques and protection against cyberattacks.
• Advised other large law firms on the professional regulatory implications of cloud and AI use in legal practice.