Case Experience 

Our experience includes matters involving: 

• Software project failures and non-functional systems  

• Contract disputes involving software scope, delivery, or quality  

• Intellectual property (IP) ownership disputes  

• Fraud, data tampering, and unauthorised system changes  

• SaaS and platform performance or reliability failures  

Our involvement has supported: 

• Litigation through technical evidence  

• Clarification of responsibility in disputes  

• Out-of-court settlements through clear technical findings  

• Stronger legal arguments through defensible reporting 

Led by Werner van der Vyver, CTO and co-founder of {type}DEV:  

{type}DEV has been directly involved in multiple court cases in a technology advisory capacity, providing expert guidance at the intersection of software systems, digital evidence, and legal process. 

Our combination of engineering leadership and court-case experience means {type}DEV can engage with the legal sector at a level of technical and procedural depth that generic software consultancies cannot match.  

Werner van der Vyver has over 20 years of experience in software development and systems architecture across: 

• Enterprise systems  

• SaaS platforms  

• Custom software solutions  

• Fintech and data-driven systems  

His experience includes: 

• Deep involvement in building and analysing production systems  

• Practical debugging and failure analysis  

• Reverse-engineering complex system behaviour from incomplete or conflicting data  

• Tracing issues across full technology stacks, including backend systems, integrations, databases, and APIs  

• Identifying non-obvious failure points such as race conditions, logic flaws, and data inconsistencies  

He has extensive experience producing litigation-ready technical analysis and supporting legal teams in complex software disputes. 

Case examples 
 

1. Expert Opinion – Legal Arbitration (Webber Wentzel) Apr 2018 – Jan 2019

In 2018, {type}DEV was engaged via a cyber forensics channel partner to provide an expert opinion in a legal matter handled by Webber Wentzel. The case involved the analysis of a software solution developed for a long-term insurance company, including the project management methodologies applied during development. The matter proceeded to arbitration and was ultimately settled in 2019. 

2. Expert Opinion – Legal Arbitration (Webber Wentzel) May 2018 – Jun 2019

Webber Wentzel Attorneys contacted {type}DEV to provide expert input into another, higher profile matter than the previous one. After a consultation with the legal team and a first site inspection, we compiled and supplied an export opinion on the matter and await further instruction on the matter. 3 site inspections later and a formal report on the matter, the matter was settled during arbitration in 2019. Our responsibility was to interrogate a database involved in the matter and provide an opinion on the quality of data and processes and software inherent in populating the database. 

3. Expert Opinion – Legal Arbitration (Webber Wentzel) May 2018 – Jun 2019
   
   Between 2018 and 2019, {type}DEV provided expert technical input in a legal arbitration matter handled by Webber Wentzel. Our role included conducting site inspections, interrogating a database central to the dispute, and delivering a formal expert report on the quality of the data, software, and processes used to populate it. The matter was ultimately settled during arbitration in 2019.
    
4. Expert Opinion – Legal Arbitration (Norton Rose Fulbright) Mar 2021 – Jun 2021

In 2021, {type}DEV was engaged through a referral from Cyanre to provide expert technical analysis in a legal arbitration matter handled by Norton Rose Fulbright. The matter involved allegations of intellectual property theft relating to two mobile applications. {type}DEV conducted interviews, analysed source code, reviewed development timelines and methodologies, and delivered an expert opinion to support ongoing legal proceedings. 

5. Expert Opinion – Legal Arbitration (Cyanre) Jul 2021 – Sep 2021

In 2021, {type}DEV collaborated with Cyanre on a legal matter involving alleged copyright infringement within a specialised and sensitive industry. Our role was to analyse the development processes, timelines, and recreated system functionality to provide an expert opinion on whether the development and deployment constituted copyright infringement. The matter remained under investigation at the time. 

6. Expert Opinion – Legal Arbitration (Cyanre) Jul 2021 – Nov 2021

In 2021, {type}DEV worked with Cyanre on a legal matter involving alleged copyright infringement within the logistics industry. Our role included analysing and comparing a legacy software application with a rewritten version built on newer technologies to assess potential intellectual property infringement. The matter was in the investigative and expert opinion formulation stage at the time. 

Legal Advisory Capabilities 

• Software forensic investigations  

• Code authorship and provenance analysis  

• Intellectual property (IP) ownership disputes  

• Contract failure and delivery analysis  

• System failure root cause analysis  

• Technical due diligence in disputes  

• Independent expert reporting 

Outcome 

• Clear, defensible technical evidence  

• Stronger legal positioning  

• Reduced ambiguity in disputes  

• Faster path to resolution (litigation or settlement)