Resource Library

Review recent case law on the business judgment rule and discuss the elements as they apply to the board. Learn ways to educate and guide the board regarding the business judgment rule and its application. Discuss the role of institutional investors and whether sophisticated shareholders are held to a different standard. Hear a litigator’s perspective on governance litigation, including drafting appropriate board minutes, collecting directors’ notes, purging board books and retaining records.

An experienced panel of experts will provide an overview of the 2014 top ten trends and issues in employment and labor law and practical in-house perspectives for dealing with them. This annual session is always a hit and will deliver another lively, informative survey of the year’s trends in labor and employment law. The focus will be US law but significant international issues will be covered.

You have made it to the top. Whether you are a new chief legal officer or one who has years of experience, managing the department effectively is your goal. With budget cuts, being directed to do more with less and the goal to retain good talent, managing a law department has never been more challenging. Panelists will provide you with tips to successfully manage your legal department. Whether you are managing a department of one or one hundred, these tips will make you a better manager.

Major global corporations and smaller companies alike are increasingly turning to Saudi Arabia for business opportunities. Saudi Arabia touts major economic development programs and an increasingly accommodating business environment. Panelists will discuss the Saudi judicial reforms that were imposed in late 2013, the process for working with the Board of Grievances (the tribunal tasked with handling most commercial disputes) and the 2012 Saudi arbitration law. They will compare and contrast the Saudi dispute resolution system with that of its neighbor, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Viewed by many as a thought leader for dispute resolution systems in the Middle East, the UAE has a federal system of laws and courts, and an arbitration system that reflects significant input from leading Western judges and lawyers. The panel also will address the role that monarchic rule, local culture and Sharia law play in the dispute resolution process.

Companies spend billions of dollars to associate their products or brand with celebrities, athletes, and sports franchises. This session will provide in-house counsel an opportunity to learn the critical components of sponsorship and endorsement agreements. It will cover the cornerstones — grant of rights, category exclusivity, use of marks, indemnification, term and termination, IP ownership, reps and warranties, delivery of elements, activation, and ambush marketing — as well as strategies for avoiding common negotiation pitfalls. The panel will discuss applicable sports and entertainment union coverage and rules that may affect your bottom line as well as frequent deal terms that may trip you up when engaging high-profile talent to endorse or advertise your brand or product.

Why do corporations lose in high-stakes litigation before juries? A number of factors may be to blame — including plaintiffs portraying corporations as uncaring monsters long before any parties set foot in the courtroom. In this program, we will address how to overcome Ball and Keenan’s Reptilian Theory by transforming the perception of the company from the inception of the case. Our panel will focus on the use of themes (including company mottos and corporate vision statements), proper preparation of the corporate representative, and innovative approaches to voir dire, opening statement, closing argument, and demonstrative exhibits, all focused on portraying the corporation in the most favorable light possible and contributing to the best outcome at trial.

This program will focus on effective information security and data privacy assessment programs for third-party vendors—including practical tips for effectively assessing information security practices and procedures of third-party vendors, such as law firms and other professional consultants — from the pros and cons of using industry-standard questionnaires to determining when onsite reviews are appropriate and how to handle subcontractors. We will also highlight key, and common, sticking points in negotiating data privacy and information security terms in vendor agreements and provide options and sample language for successfully resolving them, distinguishing as applicable between US negotiations and negotiations where either the customer or the vendor has substantial operations in Europe or Asia.

Bribery and corruption, embezzlement, conflicts of interest, data breaches, workplace bullying: Internal investigations often are complex and high-stakes undertakings. Cross-border investigations raise additional challenges. In this session, through hypothetical situations and an overview of related scientific research, attendees will learn how to guard against the most common mistakes organizations make when investigating allegations of wrongdoing. You will also walk away with practical information that will help you execute lawful, effective investigations — including tips related to data protection, witness interviews, and cultural and language differences.

Many legal departments may not have access to contract drafting software or seek reasonably priced alternatives. Learn about specific tools to improve contract drafting and negotiation (beyond form contracts) available from the Internet, ACC and other sources that are free or low-cost.

The session will cover important recent US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) developments since the 2015 ACC Annual Meeting. The program will review significant enforcement actions and trends as well as recent SEC developments related to the Volcker Rule, shareholder proposals, and the rule for pay ratio disclosure. This program will also examine those sections of the Dodd-Frank Act that matter most to corporate and securities lawyers in their day-to-day practices, including providing advice to management and board members. The session will review the network of regulations that have been adopted pursuant to those sections and report on the status of regulations not yet adopted by the SEC. This will be a fast-moving program; come equipped with a working knowledge of the Securities Exchange Acts of 1933 and1934.