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How can companies address the challenges and questions that follow the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision? Can employers continue to offer healthcare benefits relating to abortion? Can they offer travel benefits allowing employees to travel to states where abortion is legal? What do in-house lawyers need to evaluate in this changing landscape of laws and alternatives? #ACCDocket #healthlaw #SupremeCourt

Wish for at least a few failures and a meaningful life, and you’ll find a much deeper, more satisfying success. #ACCDocket #MindfulMonday

Employers are facing many questions after the constitutional right to abortion was overturned in the United States. #ACCDocket

A chunk — about 10 percent — of the people you communicate to or with won’t get you — and that’s OK, tells Career Path author James Bellerjeau. #ACCDocket #MindfulMonday #MondayMotivation

Solutions to problems often fail because managers don’t account for potential impediments. #ACCDocket #MondayMotivation #MindfulMonday

Figure out how you view success and failure – and how to work with others who see things differently.
#ACCDocket #MindfulMonday #MondayMotivation

What is OK — and what isn’t — when it comes to methods for improving workforce diversity? #ACCDocket #DiversityEquityInclusion #DEI #AffirmativeAction

Gartner’s Director of Legal & Compliance Yosr Hamza suggests asking if anyone needs any accommodation prior to meetings or social events can make a big difference. #ACCDocket #DiversityEquityInclusion #DEI

Patent eligibility can be complex and challenging — rejections based on judicial exceptions for abstract ideas, natural phenomena, or laws of nature may be difficult to overcome. The USPTO has experimented with a pilot program to change the way these rejections are handled. #ACCDocket #IP #IntellectualProperty

You missed it or couldn’t attend all your preferred sessions — we’ve got you covered with key takeaways from the ACC Annual Meeting 2022, live, at last, and in Las Vegas. #ACCDocket #in-house counsel

From ACC's 2022 Annual Meeting, here are program highlights from the panel, "Keeping a Legal Lid on Construction Costs," that will help stem unwanted surprises. #ACCDocket #in-house counsel

Active listening is much more than acting like you’re listening. Improve with tips from James Bellerjeau, ACC Docket Career Path columnist, in this Master Skills to be Effective In-house Counsel series. #ACCDocket #MindfulMonday #MondayMotivation

Article teaser: If your organization is covered by the US ERISA law, it must publish health plan fees and pricing. In addition, brokers and consultants need to disclose compensation received in connection with providing services to ERISA covered plans.
#ACCDocket #AffordableCareAct #ACA #Obamacare #healthlaw #employmentlaw #HR #humanresources #ERISA

It is only through reflection that you will figure out what you’re doing well, what needs work, and where it all fits writes James Bellerjeau in his weekly Career Path column. #ACCDocket #MondayMotivation #MindfulMonday

Hear from a small group of ACC members about how their legal roles are changing.

ACC Hong Kong President Kat Kukreja and co-author Adrian Phoon explain how companies can comply with Hong Kong’s impending ESG Code.

As 2024 comes to a close, we're excited to highlight the top 10 ACC Docket articles that have provided invaluable insights and key takeaways from our in-house professionals. Take a look at the best of 2024 (including two popular series).

Data protection agreements need to consider the changing legal landscape. ACC IP Network’s Stacie McNulty and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton’s Farah Cook and John Brigagliano give you strategies for negotiating relevant DPAs. #ACCDocket #ACCNetworks

Based on ACC survey data, this article provides a high-level analysis of the state of legal operations by covering the extent to which departments are employing legal operations staff, examining at what point they tend to do so, as well as sharing salary data for these professionals. #ACCDocket #ACCResearch

You’re not always going to get support from the top, but that doesn’t mean you can't achieve great results. #ACCDocket #MondayMotivation

But while technologists work daily to demonstrate (to regulators, to investors, and to consumers) the road-readiness of autonomous vehicles, the actual rhythm of the shift to widespread autonomy is one that will be dictated first by public policy and second by science.

Change invariably comes packed with a lot of big emotions, including fear, elation, depression, and exhaustion. It is important to recognize this as a natural part of the process; so you should know that the emotional roller coaster your team is about to get on has its own cycle of stages. Recognizing those stages makes them easier to manage.

Gone are the days when lawyers could argue that legal is not a business, but rather a profession. It is critical for in-house counsel to be part of the push by applying business practices that strive to maximize value by streamlining operations and creating efficiencies. By adapting lean, Six Sigma, and project management tools, your company can uncover countless opportunities to team up with key business partners and make your organization more valuable.

For a company facing allegations of internal misconduct, whether from government regulators or prosecutors, whistleblowers, or the plaintiffs’ bar, an independent internal investigation performed by outside counsel may be an obvious next step. Often in these scenarios, outside counsel’s “independence” is conflated with “absolutely no prior work done for the subject company.” Indeed, some companies and boards categorically refuse to hire outside counsel to handle internal investigations if the firm has previously performed work for the company, out of concern that the government will assume such counsel cannot conduct an “independent” investigation.

This article will help the reader think about whether a professional rotation program for an in-house legal department makes sense for an employer and its legal team. It will help identify the purpose of such a program and showcase the costs and benefits. It will also address the critical steps to successfully implement such a program.

Erik Lindberg discusses his current position as assistant general counsel with Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives, Inc. (IEA).

A good manager helps the team understand when “good enough” is just that and when it is time to put “pencils down.” The quest for perfect often thwarts the more important goal of simple completion. I coach colleagues on this all the time.

After much consideration and research, my predictions for the hottest legal trends in 2021 are below, recognizing that there is carryover from last year’s list and their critical status has only increased.

Liu’s life has taken a few turns — a few lucky turns, according to him — and he intends to pass that luck along. But as he tells his legal department, you can’t get lucky if you’re afraid of risk.

More than a popularity contest, building strong work relationships can also help you do your job more effectively.