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Companies are more frequently turning to third-party subject matter experts to outsource their most pressing business needs. Although these relationships present opportunities for companies to improve product and service quality and leverage economies of scale to better compete within their respective markets, they also pose the risks of exposing potential data and confidential information and mismanagement of technology and other IP assets.

As GC for MetLife, Stephen Gauster has focused his energy on building up the company’s greatest assets: its people.

In this article, we outline five tips for companies preparing for a private equity investment and five tips for managing a new private equity relationship post-transaction.

Two high-profile patent cases were decided in quick succession by the US Supreme Court and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that affect the patent rights of every company. For every in-house lawyer with patent applications considered or pending, these new cases highlight some of the important strategies you need to protect your intellectual property.

Sparked by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, protests for racial equality continue globally. Many companies have taken a stand, publicly denouncing police brutality and reassessing their policies to root out racial bias in their organizations. But how are the employees responding?

To take their career to the next level, mid-level lawyers need to focus on demonstrating value in the workplace and building social capital. This article offers advice on practical and proactive steps individuals can take to advance their careers and build important skills at this stage — about seven or eight years after being admitted to the bar.

In an era in which information is disseminated globally at unprecedented speed, how does company counsel discharge his or her ethical duties; serve the client; and comply with multiple — and sometimes conflicting — practice regimes?

Today’s corporate legal departments often have four generations of lawyers working together, and while differences abound, this generational diversity is actually beneficial to companies.

The ACC Docket asked Dr. Pol to outline the results of his research, which offers fresh insights into an area directly or indirectly affecting the way in-house counsel operate worldwide, including ACC members.

This article examines this issue through the lens of a recent decision by the Nevada Supreme Court regarding the “blue pencil” doctrine and suggests ways for employers with a significant interest in the enforceability of employee non-competes to prepare themselves for the possibility of unexpected change to the applicable legal framework, including following closely the appellate courts in relevant jurisdictions, ensuring that covenants are appropriately tailored to the employees they cover, and taking advantage of opportunities to regularly review and recalibrate the covenants applying to their employees.

Despite the potential overhead that comes with risk monitoring inside the company, corporate legal teams have a duty to continuously track and mitigate known risks and detect and remediate potential ones before they become liabilities.

This article addresses the need for a robust ABAC auditing program, outlines the elements of an effective ABAC audit program, and provides guidance on how in-house legal departments and internal audit departments can collaborate to effectively detect ABAC violations and continuously improve your ABAC compliance program.

No company or leader wants to underuse their employees. But by discounting or ignoring the skills of the introverted population of their workforce, this may be precisely what is taking place. Each member of the legal department — introverts and extroverts, general counsel and supporting attorneys — have a role to play in rolling back this trend.

In this last part of the series, ACC talks to Independence Blue Cross LLC’s (Independence) Laura Grossi-Tyson, senior director, Benefits, Employee Relations and HR; and Joel Stern, CEO of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) to get their thoughts on hiring recent law school grads.

Based on the first five years, IPRs have proven to be an effective tool for accused infringers to challenge patent validity cheaply and effectively. IPRs have driven down the cost of defending against and the settlement value of many patent-infringement assertions. Those faced with patent assertions cannot afford to overlook IPR as a defense tool. And patent owners, too, must adapt their tactics to address the challenges of IPRs.

For emergency events, or even routine spills, the most valuable compliance tool is a practical checklist of key regulatory requirements that will help simplify reporting and simultaneously provide general legal guidance when accidents occur. This article provides that checklist, addresses five frequently asked questions and offers recommended responses, and compares US law to related laws and regulations in Canada.

This article compares the Privacy Shield and GDPR, to highlight commonalities, but also gaps that organizations need to address to achieve compliance under both frameworks.

Getting to the bottom of the issues and understanding the facts is in the best interest of any organization. That is why workplace investigations are so critical.

There is no magic formula or one-size-fits-all approach for an indemnification clause addressing the multiple supplier scenario. Rather, a party should carefully consider what language has been proposed on the other side of the negotiating table, its own negotiation strategy and leverage, its risks, and the technology.

US companies going abroad should be aware of the intersection of foreign and domestic labor laws as they pertain to US citizens working abroad for branches or affiliates owned or controlled by US companies, and foreign citizens working for US companies in their own countries.

Because of the increasing uncertainties in closing large global transactions, brought on in part by increasing governmental regulations around the world, sellers, in particular, have made greater use of strategies to mitigate and rebalance regulatory — and in particular antitrust — risk.

This article will help you understand today’s most serious cybersecurity threat — the APT. This article also covers some of the key concepts you should understand about advanced cybersecurity threats and how you can properly prepare for these threats as a CLO.

Things can move very quickly in a business operation. It is important to periodically review the basics of professional responsibility to be able to adapt and apply them to your in-house practice.

“Can we do it?” “Should we do it?” “How can we justify budgeting for it?” and “Can we rely on it?” are questions that your product development or marketing team may ask you prior to launching a product or service.

Productization allows you to deliver customer-focused legal services at scale and cost-effectively to make a more significant impact on your bottom line.

You’re not the only lawyer struggling with mental health issues. Here’s how to break the stigma to get your life back on track.

In this chat hosted by ACC Singapore, the chief legal officer of KFC Global and Pizza Hut International shared his life lessons and experiences from trainee lawyer to globally successful general counsel.

Risk assessment and mitigation begins internally, and it begins with planning, communication, and training. To know what that “wrong” scenario might look like, your internal teams (e.g., sales, marketing, executive, etc.) need to be trained on what red flags to look for. Before you can train your team, however, you need to get organized.

Implementing an effective, company-wide records management policy is challenging and resource intensive. However, the benefits that an organization derives by expending the necessary effort in launching such an initiative are well worth the investment.