Why attain certification

This course enables you to bring more value to your M&A clients.

When clients evaluate a potential acquisition where software assets are a key part of the deal valuation, it’s essential to assess what’s in the code they are acquiring. Identifying open source in the target’s software is key to mitigating any potential open source risk in M&A transactions. Sellers, too, need to understand their code issues before beginning an M&A process. The Black Duck audit services group has performed thousands of M&A-related software audits to identify open source code and associated licensing and security risks. Audit clients typically need legal assistance to guide their negotiation and remediation efforts.

Practical skills for your open source legal practice

The certification program is based on a two-hour live web training course. In this course you’ll gain skills to assist client companies in efficiently and effectively navigating and interpreting the output of a Black Duck analysis. After becoming certified, you will thoroughly understand:

• The importance of analyzing code and how to relate that to clients
• When organizations need to analyze their code
• How Black Duck analyzes code
• Where code analysis ends and legal counsel takes over
• Tips and tricks for reading Black Duck analysis reports
• How to ensure smooth discussions with acquirers and targets
• Remediation options when an issue is discovered
• How to use Black Duck analysis in M&A negotiations

Additionally, the course will allow you to interact with a Black Duck subject matter expert and fellow legal professionals who also work with Black Duck. For attendees from legal firms, you may have your name and your firm added to the list of certified legal professionals on the Synopsys website so that companies can find you when they need assistance. 

Please note: In-house counsel will not be added to the list on our website to maintain confidentiality of any current or potential corporate M&A transactions.

Prerequisites

The course is aimed at IP attorneys, but we welcome M&A lawyers as well. A number of in-house counsel have participated in the past and found it valuable. Participants must hold a J.D. and be in good standing with a state bar association.

Before attending the certification training, you should be familiar with open source licensing. You can fulfill this requirement by viewing prerecorded training videos from our legal webinar series. We recommend the following webinars in particular:

• Introduction to Open Source Software Licenses
• Successfully Navigating Open Source Software Issues in M&A

Cost

This course is provided free of charge to all applicants who are accepted, based on prerequisite qualifications.