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The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) hosted its first-ever virtual conference in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jonathan Huie — a recent American University Washington College of Law graduate and ACC Fellow — shares insights from the conference and how in-house and outside counsel can apply them to their careers.

There is much to feel sad and maybe even angry about, and yet, there are silver linings all around us.

The stewardship, clear thinking, and insight that the general counsel brings to the CEO has never been more critical. We need to react quickly — without reacting thoughtlessly. Below are five things you can do right now to equip you in fulfilling your trusted advisor role, on good days and bad.

The area of autonomous vehicle liability will continue to evolve for years to come. Notwithstanding technological novelty, it is unlikely that the existing body of law governing litigated claims will be swept away by sensors and batteries. More likely, new elements will be developed that build on and perhaps morph the laws we currently have.

In a rapidly shifting economy, a legal department's function can be called into question when foundational processes are slow or inefficient. Technology that automates and streamlines to improve document turnaround times are more critical than ever.

Even companies that may bounce back completely after the pandemic have loaded up on extra debt, including drawing down credit facilities, to weather these times. As a result of these trends, many companies are going to need to restructure their balance sheet and will likely use the bankruptcy process to do so.

Blockchain itself is separate from Bitcoin and can be implemented to support myriad other uses. Although cryptocurrency has garnered significant attention, this article focuses on considerations applicable to the use of blockchain in multinational business, apart from cryptocurrency.

A crisis can unfold in infinite ways, and economic recovery, whether your company’s or the economy’s, takes time. That means there will be changes — lots of them. Daily uncertainty and shifts in your job or employment status are all possibilities. But you will get through it.

The better we take care of ourselves, the more effectively we can serve our clients and stakeholders. While there is no quick fix or miracle cure, mindfulness can help lawyers reduce stress and improve leadership.

The following seven steps are critical when investigating allegations of workplace misconduct.

Not only is using a person’s preferred pronoun a basic courtesy but failing to do so could be in violation of human rights law.

Whether you are at a law firm or legal department, legal tech — and specifically Contract Management Software (CMS) — helps create that alignment. This article outlines five skills that CMS enhances that will help ensure your continued job security and career growth in an ever-changing legal market.

This new manufacturing landscape raises questions regarding civil liability for products meant to prevent or treat the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the US Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) and the recent public health emergency declaration by the US Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services provide significant immunity from COVID-19 personal injury lawsuits.

That’s a startling number, even in a high stress field such as law. This May, in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to focus on how in-house counsel can seek help for — and prioritize — their mental health.

Mindfulness has a positive impact on all arenas of human functioning. While most of the research has focused on the positive impact of mindfulness on the individual, a growing body of work in the management area also suggests that mindfulness is linked to better workplace functioning.

It is essential that lawyers identify for their clients all of the factors they must take into account when assessing the risk of entering into, or servicing, the cannabis industry. This article explores the factors to consider in navigating this increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal landscape.

One of the most crucial sources for the decisions your business makes is its contracts. But what happens when those contracts are inaccessible or can only be viewed in segments, depending on the department involved? Being disconnected from the office meant processes would become even more fragmented than they already were.

The past few years have brought on a regulatory compliance boom in the corporate world, aimed at greater transparency on tax matters.

This article explores the intersection of preserving privilege during an internal investigation while maintaining compliance with employees’ federally protected rights.

What has been fueling this recent rise in in-sourcing? And more importantly, what can corporate legal teams that don’t perform eDiscovery in-house learn from it? Three separate forces are contributing to this trend.

Shannon Klinger, the group general counsel of Novartis International AG, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company, has opened nearly every virtual meeting since Novartis took the decision to ask its associates to work from home in light of the COVID-19 pandemic — including this interview — with an earnest question: how are you doing?

Tech teams have developed a methodology to provide quality results that are a better fit with evolving customer needs and delivered at a much faster clip. If you work in tech, you’ve probably heard of it: agile development. Your law department should consider an agile approach as well.

We spoke with ACC Deputy General Counsel Veronica Pastor to learn the most common and insidious cyberattacks and how to safeguard your company from them.

This article will be the first in a series of three that discuss the various benefits of legal technology for in-house teams, where to start in your technology journey, what to focus on, and how to make it a success.

In this article, we discuss some best practices for protecting trade secrets and guarding against allegations of trade secret misappropriation in failed corporate acquisitions or customer-supplier relationships.

The next time one of your company's competitors is trying to kidnap what your colleagues have rightfully stolen, heed some of the important lessons from Rob Reiner’s film adaptation of S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The Princess Bride.

In this article, we discuss three key areas that we believe AI will disrupt and how they will affect general counsel: (1) the automation of routine legal and compliance services and the corresponding repurposing of existing resources; (2) document assembly and analysis; and (3) the need to shift from tactical to strategic thinking.

Research shows that female in-house counsel are more likely to earn less, take temporary leave from work, and face difficulties returning to work after said leave than their male counterparts. With these obstacles in mind, here are the lessons I’ve learned that can help fellow female in-house counsel as they start their careers in this industry.

When a claim arises due to potential litigation organizations often conduct an internal investigation to determine the underlying facts relating to the claim and what steps should be taken to mitigate the claim or prepare for litigation. This article provides an overview of three issues to consider when conducting internal investigations.

For in-house lawyers, there is no substitute for having a more experienced lawyer as a mentor. But there are other people in your company who can also play an important part in career development.