Resource Library

This session will feature a discussion of the best practices and recent developments in IP licensing with a focus on software and trademark licenses. The session will review “magic grant language,” legal defaults and some key international jurisdictional differences. The discussion will review sample clauses to use, identify potential pitfalls licenses can contain and provide practical advice to avoid unintended consequences and safeguard clients from risk.

How will that contract you just drafted stand up to the scrutiny of a judge or jury? Each year, some of the largest jury verdicts in the United States are awarded in breach-of-contract cases. Panelists will discuss lessons learned from trying contract cases to help you evaluate, prepare for and win contract-related litigation. Topics will include unique issues that arise in trying contract claims, how commonly used contractual clauses can backfire at trial, minimizing risk in contract drafting and negotiation, restricting application of fiduciary duty and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, third-party vendor liability and damages.

Numerous states prohibit employers from disciplining or discharging employees for off-duty conduct. A growing number of states have legalized the use of medical marijuana and/or recreational marijuana. An even larger number of states have limited an employer’s ability to use social media, criminal background checks and credit reports when making employment decisions. These ongoing changes to the law, combined with the National Labor Relations Board’s increased oversight, make it increasingly difficult for employers to take adverse employment action against an applicant or employee for conduct that does not occur in the workplace. This session will provide attendees with an update on the law in this evolving area, guidelines for compliance, tips on avoiding litigation and optimal positioning for a positive outcome if litigation is commenced.

Learn tips for selecting, evaluating, comparing and retaining the outside counsel that best suit the organizational needs of your company; Discuss the benefits and pitfalls of legal process outsourcing (LPO) and learn how to recognize when it’s time to bring in an expert; Discuss value-based fees and how they can align internal and external incentives; consider which types of value fees are best for different types of work; Discuss how to work with outside counsel to scope the work, set budgets that stick, monitor progress and conduct after-action reviews to drive strong performance; and Develop a list(s) of providers and criteria for preferred legal service providers and specialized firms.

This Report summarizes the discussion at the ACC’s CLO Roundtable session “Diversity and Privacy (Risks and Compliance” held in Toronto on May 20, 2014.

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.

In the current political and regulatory environment, government oversight and enforcement activities are increasing rapidly; internal and external scrutiny over corporate and accounting practices is at an all-time high. Prompt and thorough internal investigations of allegations of mismanagement and potential misconduct are critical to respond to a governmental investigation or threatened litigation. Panelists will discuss assessing the risks of fraud and the consequences of doing nothing, benefits of comprehensive investigations, effective investigative techniques and how to undertake necessary and appropriate remedial efforts to manage results of investigations at organizations of varying size.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill generated an unprecedented volume of requests from litigants, Congress and governmental agencies—nearly 650 in a two-day period. The rulings of the district court and court of appeals, as well as the pending motions and appeals in the Macondo litigation, could dramatically impact the drilling and insurance industries. They present several issues of first impression with regard to jurisdiction, interplay between federal and state environmental law, liability under key federal environmental statutes, indemnity/risk allocation, fines and penalties, additional insured coverage and proper and ethical management of the hundreds of document and information requests in litigation and governmental investigations. Compliance is key. Parties and individuals who violate legal mandates will be held accountable. Learn how these rulings can be crucial to in-house litigators for crisis response and preparedness, and to transactional counsel who negotiate agreements within these evolving parameters.

This course material explores five technologies that will save your legal department time and money: Microsoft SharePoint, Contract Analytics, Instant NDA, TAP and Mindmaps.

This program will focus on a series of case studies involving in-house lawyers who got into trouble for (allegedly or actually) violating legal ethics rules, acting improperly in response to government investigations, and assisting their employers in perpetrating fraudulent or criminal acts. We will review the case studies, discuss what the lawyers involved could have done to avoid trouble, and tease out steps that you and your law department can take to protect yourselves from the potential pitfalls highlighted by the case studies.