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Legal departments of the small-to-medium size company face daily contract negotiation challenges in their business relationships with large and dominant customers, often having to agree to: no limitations on liability; open-ended indemnifications for a broad range of activities; compliance with onerous and expensive codes of conduct and corporate social responsibility programs; audit provisions; annual reductions in costs; etc. This leaves little room for negotiation or potential loss of business. Attend this session and learn how to face and negotiate these demands.

All attorneys understand the misfortune of dealing with difficult opposing counsel at some point in their career. We call these lawyers “Rambo” litigators. By understanding how Rambo litigators operate, in-house counsel can learn to watch out for certain tactics, and how best to react to them. This article outlines the steps needed to disarm this difficult adversary without losing Voices your composure or professionalism.

Legal teams are increasingly becoming responsible for data management. Like a spider’s web, every strand of data intertwines to support the business. At first glance the spider’s web may seem messy and chaotic, but there is order – each strand has a specific purpose. This article takes a close look at the information governance web and suggests ways to establish an effective, long-term information governance plan.

A company’s board of directors has fiduciary duties, including a duty to oversee all aspects of the company’s risk management efforts. This article will focus on how in-house counsel can help educate and engage the board of directors with regard to data security.

It’s no secret — businesses with highly engaged employees generally have elevated productivity and better financial results. But employee needs and expectations change with the times, and that has never been more apparent than in today’s workplace.

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.

This article a addresses when an employee can be dismissed with immediate effect, how to effect the dismissal, and the consequences of an employee challenge.

This article addresses when non-directors are permitted to represent a legal person and what the consequences are when unauthorized representation occurs in the Netherlands.

This article discusses which body of a Dutch limited company (BV or NV) is permitted to appoint or dismiss a director and the consequences of the dismissal decision.

Employers’ should be aware of the brave, committed, yet sniffling, sick, and ultimately contagious worker who has the flu and chooses to come to work. An employer has a duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act1 (the “OHSA”) to “take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker” (s 25(2)(h)). Permitting a sick employee to continue working may compromise your duties to your other staff. It may also subject your company to financial liability under the OHSA and unwanted inspections by the Ministry of Labour. Flu season is in full swing and if you do not take preventative measures to protect your workers from an illness in your workplace, your workers may take matters into their own hands.

The business landscape is experiencing an unprecedented period of globalization. Domestic enterprises now outsource internationally on a large scale and establish partnerships in far-flung locations where business terms may be advantageous. These companies must deal with unfamiliar laws and operational standards. In tandem with this push to globalization, employers find their business operations and ethics scrutinized more closely both domestically and abroad.

New technological advances, especially Advanced Text Analytics, are changing the productivity paradigm for lawyers who have to read enormous volumes of electronic documents to identify potential evidence.

Much like in Shakespearean plays, a government-driven investigation into company compliance can end as either a comedy or as a tragedy. To ensure the former, in-house counsel should work collaboratively with outside counsel to plan, establish, and execute an effective response plan. In doing so, the company can guarantee a positive relationship with federal regulators and avoid meeting a tragic Shakespearean demise.

The role of in-house counsel in India is evolving rapidly, and the influence of legal over other departments is also growing. Indian corporate counsel must prepare themselves for compliance in multiple jurisdictions and be aware of the legal and ethical environs of the countries in which they are doing business.

This is a sample master services agreement between a company and supplier.

Included in this Briefing Package are: “Meet. Talk. Act.” -- how clients and firms can get started; Covenant with Counsel -- basic principles for discussion and; A Project Summary -- backgrounder outlining the ACC Value Challenge.

Flip the coin for a change: what are your employment rights as in-house counsel? May in-house counsel sue the employer?

This guide highlights the fact that there is currently significant variation in pension provision throughout Europe, suggesting homogenisation, for the moment at least, remains some distance away.

Colombia is a democratic nation that bases its real estate sector activity under the principle of respect for property rights, which are limited in accordance with the Constitution of 1991, the law and the prevalence of the common good. Colombia has developed local powers and responsibilities to regulate land use and its development for the purpose of political centralization and administrative decentralization. Learn more about the authority the government has over the management and use of land, particularly as it relates to environmental obligations and rural development.

This article describes how in case of an attack by hackers or accidental loss of personal data, companies can still keep calm and take the appropriate actions in order to mitigate the loss and damage.

In his address to the Committee for Economic Development Australia, Chair Rod Sims announced the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Compliance and Enforcement priorities for 2021. The ACCC’s priorities for 2021 are consistent with their 2020 update, but COVID-19’s impact has been taken into account, in addition to the various competition, consumer and aw reform matters.

Business leaders in the C-suite are awakening to the fact that aligning business strategy with intellectual property assets is critical to success. IP asset alignment is central to any strategic plan or initiative. In this session, faculty will role-play typical scenarios in which four strategic initiatives are issued from the C-suite (i.e.., competing in a technologically hot area, recovery from genericide with a withering brand, entry into a heavily patented market, treading through copyright issues for a content critical business model). Faculty will discuss how IP assets are part of the issue at hand, what legal options are available in order to implement the initiatives, and how the IP assets need to be positioned to ensure success.

Currently, in Germany, there have been increased controls of tobacco deliveries. In many cases, customs authorities seize the goods, initiate criminal investigations, and issue (sometimes) high tax bills against all parties involved (seller, forwarder, purchaser, and agent, if any).

How do you show your law department’s value and justify that it is spending efficiently? As businesses come under increasing pressure, in-house counsel must develop optimal procurement practices, measurable process improvements, and cost-saving tactics that improve return-on-investment.

In this article, the issues of living and working in the EU are discussed, along with the permits required by entrepreneurs and their employees to stay and work in the EU.

Discusses trade and investment in Vietnam, Vietnam's human rights record, and provides ten tips to help bridge the cultural divide

Based on responses from 1,800 in-house counsel in 53 countries, the 2017 ACC In-house Trends Report covers trending topics such as the inside-outside counsel relationship, career mobility, professional development, department resource allocation, cybersecurity, professional privilege, and more.