Resource Library

Parties often use letters of intent at the start of a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal to outline material terms and establish negotiation parameters. Letters of intent can reduce the time and expense of finalizing a transaction but often have unintended consequences. A major risk of entering a letter of intent is that the document will later be declared binding, even though the parties intended it to be preliminary and non-binding, thus resulting in unsatisfactory or incomplete deal terms. Letters of intent need to be carefully crafted to ensure that the parties’ intent is truly documented and a map to the final deal is determined. The panel of internal and outside M&A attorneys will (1) review the latest legal developments regarding letters of intent, (2) provide best practices for parties negotiating preliminary terms, and (3) discuss proven ways to engage management and internal development teams to maximize the benefit of such letters.

Covers mediation processes and the difference between mediation and arbitration.

Contracting with the US government is subject to a complex set of laws and regulations. This session will address rules and regulations governing intellectual property rights in federal government contracting. A panel of experts will discuss the laws and regulations applicable to funding, licensing, and commercial transactions with the US government. The panel will review myths and misconceptions and provide practical guidance for addressing ownership and control of IP rights under government contractual arrangements.

Do you find yourself with both an ethical and business dilemma when forced to negotiate with your customers’ buyers, supply chain managers, procurement analysts, or other non-lawyers? Are you frustrated because people in such roles have limited authority to make changes but refuse to put you in touch with their law department? Do you have a product that is unique, yet the customer — who is always right! — rejects your carefully tailored terms and insists on using its own standard template that requires a major overhaul for your particular product or services? You are not alone! This session will be facilitated by both big- and small-company lawyers who share their tips and best practices for situations like these. Learn how to navigate your customers’ supply chain roadblocks ethically and effectively while using your sales and business team to facilitate the effort.

Effective support of a company’s sales function requires striking the right balance between making it easy and efficient for the company and its customers to contract with each other, while appropriately protecting the company against key risks. Legal departments are required to do more with less, so the approach taken to supporting the sales function must be efficient. The panelists will discuss strategies for achieving these goals, including identification of different customer types and approaches for each type, clear identification of key risks and tolerances, contract simplification and the use of plain English, sales force training and self-help tools, and processes to streamline the collection of information, drafting, negotiation, authorization and tracking of contracts.

A methodology for prioritizing initiatives to optimize investments in people, processes and tools to achieve savings.

Partnering with universities is key to many research endeavors. Understanding the issues that both public and private universities encounter is crucial to ensuring great partnerships. This session will seek to address some of the recurring legal issues from the viewpoint of the universities and those organizations that contract with them.

705 Mergers! Acquisitions! Integrating the Law Departments after It Happens. A discussion on the merger process, integrating legal departments, and post merger culture.

This session focuses on how to structure the transaction, what to watch out for when conducting IP due diligence and which contractual protections are advisable to ensure that such risks are mitigated.

Which form of dispute resolution is best for your contract? Hear from in-house counsel and experts the pros and cons of different methods of dispute resolution from their experience and help inform you as you decide which form to use in your contracts.