Considering the increasingly active role general counsel play in cybersecurity strategy, risk assessment and prevention, the ACC Foundation recently released an unprecedented study of the state of cybersecurity in the corporate sector. The largest study of its kind, the report serves as a resource for in-house lawyers, corporations and boards of directors directly impacted by one of the greatest challenges and reputational risks facing companies today. This plenary session will provide key takeaways from the report that you can put into action today, as well as guidance on preserving privilege, budget allocation and collaborating with law enforcement or government agencies. Learn what general counsel experienced in data breaches wish they had known before the breach occurred and other important lessons learned.
Discuss how to approach contract negotiation and drafting across jurisdictions and legal systems. Gain insight into techniques and tools to monitor and manage the risks involved with having contracts across several jurisdictions. Identify resources that in-house counsel of international businesses implement to manage such risks, such as country managers, outsourcing, risk guidelines, documented authority delegation and reporting. Discuss challenges and best practices in enforcing contracts across jurisdictions.
More and more, boards of directors in the financial sector are required to assume responsibility for the organization’s risk management, a responsibility edging ever closer to actual managerial responsibility. This interactive session will provide in-house counsel with the tools they will need to educate and prepare the board to take on this responsibility. Discuss increased responsibility of the board in the financial sector in the areas of risk management — edging closer to a managerial responsibility. Learn how to handle risk management within the organization (i.e., responsibilities of parties, reporting lines, etc.) and identify new risks on the horizon. Understand what boards wish to hear: what information to and not to share with your board, and the risks associated with doing so. Learn how the new SEC and FINRA reporting requirements should impact your board advice regarding cyber threats. Discuss the Board's role in managing operations in emerging markets.
Contract Playbooks – Gain a better understanding of how introducing innovative contract negotiation and contracting process playbooks in to your organization can support the optimization of the commercial contracting lifecycle. Data Analytics – Learn how measuring and analyzing contract data helps increase process efficiency, optimize contract content and promote better contract performance. Understand how data analytics is defined in commercial contracting and what information needs to be extracted and reported on to develop analytics. What conclusions and benefits can this analytics provide? Contract Triage – The contract triage process is not merely about allocating tasks to the right skill level, but also adjusting your risk appetite. Understand how to insert triaging into your contract management processes.
What every financial services industry in house counsel needs to know about effective handling of regulatory matters and regulatory expectations. Provide an overview of trends in consumer finance regulation, including the CFPB, and other major federal and state banking regulators. Discuss recent rules, enforcement actions, and regulatory priorities of consumer finance regulators and their applicability to the financial services industry. Compare the consumer finance regulatory regime with other financial industry regulation.
Activist investor campaigns have reached record numbers in recent years and have become increasingly organized and costly to the targeted companies. Through case study analysis of several recent campaigns, this program will go in-depth on best practices for companies to follow before and when an activist comes knocking, including: What went right in recent campaigns? What went wrong? What were the end results and what could have been done differently? What has changed from an investor relations perspective since the activist campaign? What are some investor relations takeaways from what the companies did/didn’t do? What are some general best practices and strategies in these situations that can be implemented proactively, during a campaign and post-mortem?What defenses does a company have against a campaign and/or a proxy fight? How do these case studies demonstrate any larger trends in activist campaigning? What types of attributes/actions might draw activists’ attention, based on these recent campaigns?
Too often we overlook provisions in contracts that we consider customary or “boilerplate” and non-negotiable. This program examines standard contract provisions and challenges the audience to look at them more critically from a litigator’s perspective. The interactive program dissects contract provisions that have hidden traps and provides tips on better risk management with an in-depth look at non-assignment clauses, liability limitations, merger clauses, choice of law clauses and other similar provisions.
Discuss recent developments in the global regulatory landscape that impact cybersecurity compliance in the financial industry, and the sources of authority or reference for defining legal standards in this domain. Review regulatory guidance that both identifies and raises questions on what is enough to satisfy an organization’s responsibilities to customers, employees, business partners and other stakeholders with respect to cybersecurity. Identify best practices for effective implementation of cybersecurity measures. Explore how a multinational financial institution can structure its cybersecurity program at the enterprise level without running afoul of foreign jurisdictions’ regulators. Review the state of play in civil litigation over data breaches, including plaintiff strategies for overcoming motions to dismiss based on inadequate pleadings or standing. Discuss recent settlements of major data breach class actions and their impact on future cases.
Identify requirements for managing and maintaining subsidiaries (including international subsidiaries). Receive practical guidance on managing costs and risks. Share tools used to manage subsidiaries and keep the board abreast of governance issues. Discuss the recommended frequency of board educational sessions on corporate governance (including whether these are typically provided in-house or by external parties). Examine the appropriate type of information reported at each level of the board (including committees and sub-committees). Learn best practices for serving as corporate secretary.
Discuss proxy season results and what is on the horizon for next season (including new proposals and proposals which have passed). Gain insight into and an understanding of the trends in proxy drafting. Examine new developments in proxy access. Analyze and understand ISS and Glass Lewis guidelines and trends. Receive practical guidance regarding managing shareholder engagement and shareholder activism. Review and explore other related items such as ways to increase quorum, European trends and environmental and social issues.