World’s biggest gathering of in-house counsel thrives on virtual platform
WASHINGTON (October 21, 2020) – Over 2,500 attendees from around the world and 40 legal solutions vendors took part in the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)’s first virtual Annual Meeting, peaking at 2,046 unique visits in a single day. The meeting exceeded 2019 attendance numbers, underscoring both the meeting’s critical importance to the international in-house community, and the willingness of lawyers to continue meeting virtually in large numbers. All on-demand programs remain available to attendees through the end of January for viewing. Registration remains open for those who would like access to on-demand educational programming, but could not attend live.
“ACC’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting was an unqualified success,” said Veta T. Richardson, president and CEO of ACC. “From all the engaged attendees, wonderful speakers and panelists, and incredible sponsors, everyone came together to make this conference an informative and enjoyable experience. The COVID-19 crisis has shown just how crucial a well-prepared general counsel is to a company. This year’s annual meeting showed just how much in-house lawyers still need the community of their peers to share, learn and grow together. I am proud of our ACC team, and thankful to our attendees and sponsors, for making this event happen.”
The meeting lasted the week of October 12-16 and spanned international time zones. Attendees had access to daily keynote addresses, interactive workshops, roundtables, special sessions for the ACC CLO Club, CLE/CPD courses, a virtual exhibit hall of legal service vendors, and a networking lounge.
In addition to the world-class keynote speakers, attendees heard from:
• Sunny Hostin, Emmy award-winning journalist and co-host of ABC’s The View, who discussed diversity and inclusion, her career as an in-house lawyer and journalist, and motivation for writing her new book, I Am These Truths.
• Jessica Fries, executive director, the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S), who spoke on sustainability and the law department.
• Lily Brown, PhD, assistant professor of psychology and director, Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, who spoke on finding peace in a burned-out world.
Over 100 legal and technical sessions were also held, and covered topics such as COVID-19 and the law department; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues; intellectual property (IP) law; legal ethics; deepfakes and in-house law; business strategy for in-house counsel; legal operations and law department management; and diversity and inclusion.
Wellness and networking sessions were also offered each day and were well-attended. They included team trivia, yoga, speed networking, and “ACC’s Got Talent!”, a talent show organized by the ACC Foundation – an informal chance for ACC members to showcase their creativity. Catrin Prys-Cummins, director of legal services at Accenture in Dublin, Ireland and an accomplished singer, won first prize. The celebrity judges were Paula Boggs, musician, TED speaker, and former executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of law and corporate affairs at Starbucks Corporation; Don Liu, executive vice president, chief legal and risk officer at Target; and Dee Dee Bridgewater, the 2017 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, a three-time Grammy award winner and a Tony award winner, and UN Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
About ACC: The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is a global legal association that promotes the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations and other organizations through information, education, networking, and advocacy. With more than 45,000 members in 85 countries employed by over 10,000 organizations, ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for both personal and professional growth. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.® For more information, visit www.acc.com and follow ACC on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.