The 2012 amendments to the American Bar Association Rules amended the comments to Rule 1.1 to say: "A lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology." What does the change mean for attorneys in general and specifically in-house counsel? What technology is out there that in-house counsel can use to more efficiently run their departments? This interactive roundtable session will focus not only on the potential ethical implications of technology but on how the legal department can work with the IT manager or chief information officer to cooperatively achieve results in the areas of litigation holds, data security, review of IT-related contracts, document retention, and internal investigations. Faculty will provide guidance on explaining the contract terms and legal risks to your IT department and answer important questions like: What questions do I need to ask my IT department to properly evaluate the risks and contract terms? What happens if the product or service does not perform as expected? The panel will also examine everything from apps that improve efficiency to document management system tools that help with litigation.
This panel will provide an update on conducting business online and in the cloud. We will discuss the enforceability of online agreements, what you have to be careful of when conducting business online, and recent case law relating to online commerce. This panel will not discuss privacy or security issues relating to e-commerce.
The US Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is perennially difficult to navigate and has been fertile ground for the plaintiffs’ bar in recent years. New FLSA lawsuits have been filed in increasing numbers every year for the past decade. Now new rules are about to be issued. Do you know what they will mean for your organization? Will they require you to review and possibly change the wage classifications of some of your employees? And how can you go about doing that without wreaking havoc or inviting lawsuits? How will new equal pay and gender equity legislation affect your organization? Join this session for a walk through the new regulations and practical guidance on their interpretation and implementation.
Since December 17, 2014, the U.S. and Cuba have reestablished diplomatic relations and discussed sensitive issues, like claims for expropriated property. For American companies seeking to do business in Cuba, however, the US continues to maintain a comprehensive embargo against Cuba, and Cuba remains a socialist state with a restrictive, government-run economy. The program will provide: An overview of the Cuban embargo regulations (what has changed, what remains in place); Advice on navigating the Cuban embargo regulations, including implementation of compliance programs; Information about Cuba’s foreign investment rules and government hierarchy; Expert insights into the realities of doing business with “Cuba, Inc.”; and Current investment trends, opportunities and risks.
Ratios provide one of the most basic mechanisms to assess company performance. But most users do not fully understand the key inputs to these measures (which are overwhelmingly accounting-based), their limitations, or their broader roles in assessing a company’s activities. In this session, we will provide a framework for analyzing any business, provide a schematic for understanding the broad classes of ratios, and show how these ratios can be used individually and collectively to assess corporate performance.
The threat of antitrust litigation, both through government action and civil suits, is very real. Can your employees recognize an antitrust red flag when they see one? How do you train an employee about a complex legal topic that has real-world implications to the company as well as him or her personally? This session will review the increasing enforcement trends regarding antitrust compliance both in the United States and abroad, provide real tools for you to incorporate into an antitrust compliance program in your company, and touch on international antitrust developments. This program will emphasize what employees need to know (certainly not statutory code numbers!) and how to communicate antitrust principles to your employees in a meaningful manner. The session will include an abbreviated real employee training: Can you answer the antitrust scenarios put to your employees?
Collaborative and joint development arrangements can provide valuable economic and strategic opportunities to both parties. With careful intellectual property planning, collaborative development activities can be used to gain access to IP at a lower cost than developing or purchasing these assets while providing an opportunity to generate income from and open new markets for existing IP assets. The panel will review different types of collaborative agreements and discuss the related business and legal issues. Faculty will discuss strategies and best practices for developing and implementing a program and practical guidance for drafting and negotiating agreements to maximize IP value and achieve win-win outcomes.
This program will feature a roundtable discussion focusing on how to measure the effectiveness of the law department’s litigation spend and capture value. This presentation will give an inside look into how value-based decisions are evaluated (including metrics) and how they can affect a case. How do you evaluate your alternatives in conducting e-discovery, and how do you make it more efficient? Topics include in-sourcing vs. outsourcing and predictive coding.
Several experienced in-house counsel will oversee an interactive game show-style session designed to engage and educate new in-house counsel. The questions (loosely based on the New to In-house Committee’s InfoPAK: New to In-house Practice: US & Europe) will focus on what every in-house lawyer should know about the law and their dual role as corporate counsel and a valuable business partner.