Increasingly, multinational corporations are conducting internal investigations to assess civil and regulatory risk, particularly in light of increased regulatory scrutiny. Because they face civil and regulatory risk in multiple jurisdictions, those investigations must also be conducted in multiple jurisdictions. Jurisdictions have different rules relating to internal investigations, such as privilege, employee interviews and disclosure obligations. This session will discuss how to conduct a cross-border internal investigation effectively and the pitfalls that may await in-house counsel.
This panel will focus on how judges and in-house counsel can work together to drive efficiency in our sometimes-byzantine litigation system, while retaining our profession's high ethical standards. From basic case management to better use of technology, courts have the same interests as in-house counsel, namely to drive better legal outcomes more efficiently. However, judges usually only hear from the outside bar, rather than corporate counsel who share their interest in timely, ethical and efficient resolution of legal matters. Join this panel of business court judges from around the United States to exchange thoughts about how the US litigation system can improve and how you can supervise litigation more effectively, while ensuring that you comply with relevant ethics rules, such as ABA Model Rules 1.1, and 3.2, among many others.
Trade secrets, customer data, financial records and other confidential information increasingly is under attack. But while most companies focus their security efforts on external threats (i.e. hackers), their greatest security risks may lie within their own company. Employees have access to confidential information, and may understand how to avoid internal security measures. This session will reveal the best practices to protect your company from internal thieves.
Your customers and fans can be your biggest assets when it comes to championing your brand or products, or they can be your harshest critics, infringe on your IP rights and damage your brand. How do you take advantage of positive content they create and share without putting your company at risk? How do you protect yourself from the negative content? This panel will address the liability concerns around the use of user-generated content, including IP protection and infringement, Federal Trade Commission guidelines, rights of publicity and defamation. It will provide insights into safe harbors of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Communications Decency Act, and ways to obtain consent. It will also address factors to consider based on the terms and conditions of the most popular social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
Who knows better than we in the trenches the many tools and tips out there to manage a small department for maximum efficiency on a modest budget. This Town Hall meeting will share best practices and practical tips on the following subjects: the practical aspects of staffing (range of positions, non-legal positions, outsourcing); budgeting (templates, budgeting for litigation, cost allocation, common budget busters); research options (Westlaw, Practical Law, ACC, other knowledge management systems, good blogs and listservs) and technology tools (systems for small departments, cloud services, video conferencing, e-signature systems, systems that allow you to work from anywhere (phone tethering, Adobe, MiFis, FedEx Kinkos, Regus, etc.).
Bad news hits front pages and TV screens every week: Ever-larger data breaches affect millions of trusted companies' customers. The good news is the buyer’s market for cyber insurance; businesses can shop not only on the basis of price but for policy terms that cover actual risks. Traditional lines of coverage (including crime, property, general liability and directors and officers) can provide coverage when a breach occurs, although new exclusions are pushing more businesses toward specialty policies. In this evolving market, it’s essential to analyze existing coverage and terms offered in competing cyber policies. This session will spotlight key policy provisions to demand and others to avoid. The panelists will view cyber insurance in the risk management context, including prevention and post-breach planning. They will outline an approach to cyber security equally focused on human factors: building staff awareness and the right protocols.
Ready to switch to paying for results, not effort (and certainly not hours?). Learn what value-based fees really are (and are not)
More than a million business entities have made Delaware their legal home, including more than half of all US public companies and more than half of the Fortune 500. This session will survey recent amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) as well as major Delaware case law from 2015, including developments related to fee-shifting bylaws and DGCL §220 actions, and what those developments mean for your organization.
The Report to the Board of Directors of General Motors Company regarding ignition switches, more commonly known as The Valukas Report, lays significant blame on GM's in-house counsel for the less-than-ideal handling of the matter. This panel will discuss and evaluate whether the report’s conclusions are sound and what critical lessons can be learned by other in-house counsel. The panel will also include MRCP 13 (Diligence) and MRCP 1.13 (Organization as Client) discussions, especially as they relate to the Valukas Report.
As in-house counsel, we are sometimes called upon to review and/or negotiate leasing agreements. However, many of us lack real estate experience. This lack of experience can lead to being locked into an agreement with unfavorable terms for a long time. This Leasing Agreements Primer will provide a basic level of knowledge for in-house counsel, including clauses that should be included, clauses that can cause trouble and pitfalls to avoid.