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The scope of constant vigilance needed can be a burden to many organizations, and legal sets the mandate for how that is accomplished. Your biggest ally is technology. For source-to-pay and procurement organizations, there is no better combination of risk mitigation tools than a Software as a Service (SaaS) contract management solution linked with a supplier management solution.

Achieving flow, a state of focus on a particular activity, can help in-house counsel achieve their goals.

As with many things in our legal world, the answer here is both simple and frustrating: It depends. Many factors come into play. It may depend on the company profile — its size, business area, level of regulation, governance structure and priorities, budget, management practices, and so on. It also depends on the individual professional perspective — duties, skills, professional and educational background, career aspirations, and talent.

Regardless of how well-intentioned or well-written they might be by themselves, corporate mission, vision, and values statements have no impact on employee behavior. Although people do not respond to slogans, they do respond to leadership.

Privacy and public health are overlapping in ways that were unimaginable only a few months ago. The critical question raised by this turn of events is whether the right to privacy is more important than the lives of the people at large?

Working remotely enables access to a talent pool of professionals who once would have required expensive or unwilling relocations. This means we can collaborate with people around the world in ways we never did before.

US sanctions and export controls can often raise complex issues requiring an in-depth examination of all aspects of a proposed opportunity. This includes the entities involved on behalf of the business, the customer and related third parties, the products/services involved, and the use of the US financial system.

CHRISTUS Health Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel Jeannie Frey had been practicing law for almost a decade before she decided to become actively involved in the American Bar Association (ABA).

As corporate clients, it is easy to place the burden and blame on our outside counsel partners for the pervasive industry challenge of retaining and advancing diverse talent. We suggest law firms need stronger affinity groups, mentor and sponsorship programs, and more inclusive and flexible working environments. As clients, we then demand diverse teams at multiple levels and express frustration when our law firms fail to deliver.

On Aug. 8, 2019, the Ministry of Law and Justice in India formally announced its Code of Wages (Code), which amended and consolidated labor laws relating to wages, bonus, and similar matters that are applicable to all workers in India. This article will discuss the history and coverage; salient features that affect employers and employees; and enforcement reforms, including the offenses and penalties.

Document requests are a regular part of your life as an in-house lawyer — even when your organization isn’t involved in the litigation for which documents are requested. For corporate counsel, such document requests can present an interesting predicament.

Using in-house counsel to argue in court has advantages, such as saving costs, when used in the right circumstances. Sometimes you can gain a persuasive edge by using in-house at a hearing.

Understanding the risks tied to both expressed and unexpressed considerations can go a long way to ensuring a fair deal for your organization. Below are seven pitfalls to avoid and some tips to help you navigate potential issues.

In early 2019, two attorneys in the ACC Southern California Chapter, Jill Kalliomaa and Jeff Compangano — both passionate about health and wellness — became inspired to create an attorney well-being focus for their chapter. A few months later, their chapter formally launched the Attorney Well-being Committee to help its members find healthy ways to manage the stress inherent in the fast-paced in-house law practice.

You are here because you want to work out, but working out as a busy lawyer seems virtually impossible. The good news is that (1) it is possible, and (2) you are done with the hardest part: wanting change.

Contemporary CEOs must not only be experts at addressing the commercial verities of products, markets, and competitors, but, aided by general counsel, they must also have the experience and capability to address business-in-society issues — legislation, regulation, investigation, enforcement, and litigation — that create risk and opportunity in all dimensions of corporate activity. These societal issues are the ultimate test of corporate citizenship.

This article includes some of Dr. Obama’s words of wisdom that can help you begin your company’s CSR program.

Our team observes that general counsel struggle to manage outside lawyers while still preserving value and responsiveness alongside cost-effective results. While there are no “silver bullets,” we have listed five techniques for selecting and managing outside counsel without upsetting the applecart.

Although artificial intelligence has now moved from the research and development stage to commercialization, its wider deployment in business imposes challenges for enterprises and for patent legislation, as it is a completely new concept and a very powerful force for change.

Inclusion allows for superior decision-making by bringing balance and equilibrium to any team or group and to the environment in which the team operates. And a diverse group will develop different strategies, approaches, solutions, and ideas.

We’ve dedicated this issue of ACC Docket to stories that touch on employment issues and emerging trends.

Leslie Thornton, the recently retired senior vice president and merger transition counsel for WGL Holdings and Washington Gas Light Company, has had the same mandates as most high-profile general counsel. She has navigated and managed major litigation, employment and labor law matters, supported the board of directors, and dealt with complex cybersecurity issues and data protection, all while being cognizant of what that means in the energy industry.

Prior to law school, I worked as a server in a restaurant. I’ve often said that my experiences back then were particularly valuable in forming my worldview; their relevance certainly rushed back to the fore when I began in-house practice in a department of one.

The legal profession has experienced several years of upheaval and disruption. General counsel are now optimizing their internal service delivery model in the same way that they have done with their external ones.

I decided to keep a log and write down the most important lessons I have been learning while managing my plant and on my journey outside the legal department. I have to admit, some of these lessons are the result of not so smooth — even at times painful — experiences.

Naturally, patents figure prominently into the business strategy, and Haas’ legal department involves itself more and more in strategic discussions to be able to focus on patents that deliver business solutions.

Despite their possible shortcomings, performance metrics — including profit and loss — are vital to helping businesses track and report results to shareholders. The question is, how can we craft meaningful performance metrics that incentivize desirable behaviors while avoiding potential negative consequences?

This article will provide a history and overview of CFIUS, as well as predictions about how the Committee may operate going forward. Based on recent CFIUS activity and the broad language of FIRRMA, it is highly likely that CFIUS’ role in reviewing foreign investment in the United States will increase. In particular, CFIUS will be getting involved in reviews of more types of transactions involving more types of industries, including industries such as health, finance, and retail, in which personal information or information transfer could occur as a result of the proposed transaction.

According to Spitzer, there are four distinct levels of happiness that both individuals and organizations must understand to assist them in pursuing excellence.

For a legal-minded numbers guy like Alasdair Moodie, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s vice president and general counsel of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), he knew that the chances of receiving the honour were slim. But for the multiple colleagues and peers who nominated him, it wasn’t a surprise when he did.