This is a supplemental presentation for this session.
The majority of new companies started in the United States will fail. Some estimates say as many as nine out of every 10 new businesses will fail. This is a staggering statistic! This panel will delve into what in-house counsel need to know if their place of business starts failing. What role does in-house counsel play in sounding the alarm bells and letting others know that bankruptcy may be the best idea? What are the differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 when it comes to a business bankruptcy? What are the disclosure obligations when the company cannot meet current expenses? When and to whom should disclosure be made – board of directors, vendors, employees, regulators? What are the operational issues as insolvency approaches? This panel will discuss what to expect if your company fails, the legal pitfalls to avoid to protect everyone involved, and how involved an in-house lawyer should be in the wind-down process. The panel will also address what in-house counsel need to know when a vendor or customer is going through the bankruptcy process.
As noted in a recent New York Times article, “there is a widespread belief that software and algorithms that rely on data are objective. But, software is not free of human influence. Algorithms are written and maintained by people, and machine-learning algorithms adjust what they do based on people’s behavior.” In an era where big data is used for decision-making purposes, the legal profession grapples with possible hidden bias and the need for greater transparency in the use of black-box algorithms. This session will explore data ethics and the need for its inclusion in information governance conversations within corporations as entities collect, use, and monetize client data. The session will explore C-suite transparency in connection with software used for insider threat monitoring and surveillance, making hiring decisions, and monitoring various forms of employee behavior.
This program will keep you from being court sanctioned. It will discuss how and when to implement legal holds, what to include in a legal hold to prevent court sanctions, how to make responding to legal hold requests more efficient, and when to hand the ball off to outside counsel. Ever wonder about the structure of a legal hold (what to include, what to leave out), how to initially respond to a legal hold request from an external party in order to retain the ability to negotiate scope and costs in the future, or how to seamlessly hand the claim off to outside litigation counsel? You will find out all of this and also receive examples of good and bad legal holds.
Conducting discovery efficiently and effectively can significantly reduce litigation costs and enhance the chances for successful dispute resolution. This panel discussion will deal with discovery best practices, including litigation hold management, recent changes to the discovery portions of the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and techniques for managing and reducing the costs of discovery.
Media and security experts focus so much attention on hackers and external threats that companies have a false sense of reality. The more likely threat, and one that could cause damage on a larger scale is the insider — the individual who has been given clearance to enter the building, and access your IT system, products, and customers. This session will highlight why you should have a program to proactively identify and mitigate insider threats. It will focus on developing an awareness of the common types of insider threats; providing an understanding of the security risks posed by insiders to your company and customers; sharing several easy steps for building a program to detect and prevent insider threats; identifying the legal and privacy risks domestically and globally when developing and implementing a program; and discussing the global considerations when developing a program.
Partnering with universities is key to many research endeavors. Understanding the issues that both public and private universities encounter is crucial to ensuring great partnerships. This session will seek to address some of the recurring legal issues from the viewpoint of the universities and those organizations that contract with them.
This discussion will address the Yates Memorandum, which emphasizes the US Department of Justice’s intent to hold individuals more accountable for organizational misconduct. We will talk about its implications and potential impact on global companies, particularly in the life sciences and healthcare industries. The discussion will address the recent Warner indictment as an example of Yates Memorandum enforcement in practice and provide recommendations on best practices to avoid such risks.
Let’s face it, “running your department like a business” is no longer a goal but an expectation of the C-suite. Whether you are fully on board or still struggling to catch up, there are a few basic principles that will help you think and manage like a business owner. This intermediate-level program will give participants proven strategies to enhance the bottom line of the legal departments they manage. Your budget conversations with the CFO will never be the same!
This is a supplemental presentation for the session.