Resource Library

The Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor found unconstitutional the definition in DOMA that only persons of the opposite sex can be married for the purpose of federal law, and courts and administrative agencies recently have approved claims by transgender individuals. Issues ranging from extending benefits to same-sex partners to confusion about what sports a transgender individual can play (and which bathrooms and dressing rooms can be used), provoke impulse reactions. In-house attorneys need to address these issues. Unfamiliarity with the law can expose a business to both legal liability and terrible press.

Game thinking is being used throughout the business world to stimulate innovation and bold management approaches. Sharpen your business acumen and stretch your strategic thinking and leadership skills in a high-level test of wits with your colleagues and peers. In this team-learning game, a new global competitor disruptor makes a bold move, and the landscape changes overnight for an entire industry. Some players will thrive, some will not. You’ll lead the business strategy as well as the legal strategies. Winning will demand risk-taking, risk management, teamwork and leadership.

The European Unified Patent Court (UPC) – which centralizes patent litigation throughout most of the EU – is on track to go live in late 2016 or early 2017. The new UPC is expected to rival and potentially surpass US courts as the preferred venue for major patent disputes, as US companies will be able to obtain an EU-wide injunction via a single litigation, instead of having to litigate in each jurisdiction. This will drastically reduce costs and improve enforcement, but it won’t be easy. The new system and the changes in procedure and process are complex. Companies must assess multiple factors to decide in advance whether to participate or opt-out. This panel comprised of lawyers dually qualified in the US and UK will focus on how the UPC will impact IP filing and enforcement strategies of US companies, and answer questions such as: What strategic planning should US companies be doing now to prepare for the UPC?; What are the best practices to protect US companies’ patent portfolios in Europe?; What are the commercial advantages of opting-in or out of the UPC?; How will early UPC participants shape the new court system?; How do US companies decide whether to opt-in or opt-out?; How do US companies approach product clearance and FTO in Europe, particularly as applied in licensing and acquisitions?; What are the options for mitigating significant competitor patent risk before it is exacerbated by the UPC?

Many have taken the challenge and implemented new management practices from value-based fee structures to project, process and knowledge management and learned much along the way. This material contains discussions of the lessons learned along the way.

The participants will go through a mock crisis management exercise. This session will explore the complementary roles of legal, communications and PR, and business continuity management, presenting best practices in crisis management planning, stakeholder management, and proactive communications management.

This panel will discuss what goes into planning and managing significant litigation that has the potential to be successful or ruinous to your company, with no middle ground. Topics will include informing your board of directors, setting strategy, managing the public relations aspects of such a case and how the amounts at stake impact settlement strategies (e.g., whether to hire jury consultants).

Implementing new pricing, management practices and technology to control spending requires sound "change management" to ensure adoption and make it stick. This workbook provides prompts on deciding what to do, setting the stage, articulating the vision and action plan, defining roles, and continuous improvement and more.

An overview of risks related to third party relationships, such as regulatory compliance risks, service delivery risks, and reputation risks, and how companies can manage those risks.

Brief overview of global codes of conduct.

An overview of various negotiation styles, techniques, and tips.