The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is the world's largest organization serving the professional and business interests of attorneys who practice in the legal departments of corporations, associations, nonprofits and other private-sector organizations around the globe.
Is your company ready for the unannounced attendance of a corporate regulator or law enforcement authority exercising search & seizure powers?
We all know that Australian corporate regulators including the ACCC, ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC and the ATO have wide-ranging powers to compel the production of documents etc by way of notice. However, they also have extensive search and seizure powers which may be invoked without, or with very limited, prior notice: AKA “The Dawn Raid”.
Federal, state and territory law enforcement authorities and the ACC may exercise similar powers, either at the request of a regulator or where independently authorised, for example by way of search warrant.
This practical session is targeted to in-house counsel and will address the following topics:
Preparation: Does your company have a practised response plan and protocol in place? Does everyone from the Receptionist to the CEO know what to do? Who do you notify? Can you call the company’s lawyers? What can you report about or to a client if the documents seized relate to them?
What to do when investigators arrive: Understanding the source of power used and the scope of any warrant; asking for identification materials from the investigators. Can any execution can be delayed pending the arrival of external legal advisors? Where do you put the investigators? Do you have to provide infrastructure for them? What do you tell staff? What if the media calls? Are the telephones also being intercepted?
What to do when the searches are being conducted: Monitoring the inspectors, but not interfering. Can notes or photographs be taken of what the inspectors are doing? What do you tell staff to do if they are asked questions? What is the status of any privileged documents? What if there is a dispute about whether certain documents fall within the scope of a notice or warrant?
What to do after the investigators have left: identifying the next legal steps; communications to staff, the media and/or the ASX; business continuity and document management.
Registrations for this event are being managed by NSW Bar directly.
As Australian businesses come to terms with normalising pandemic-induced changes to operations, proactive planning around workforce management and operations will be integral.
This webinar will focus on the short and longer term workplace and workforce considerations businesses must successfully navigate in order to balance legal risk, whilst also allowing for flexibility to adapt to business disruptions and downturns.
Topics to be discussed will include:
Avoiding claims when restructuring;
Other options available to manage the transition back to ‘normal’ JobKeeper Directions, Stand downs, facilitative Award clauses and agreed variations;
WHS considerations;
Enterprise bargaining; and
New COVID-19 induced changes to Fair Work legislation.
If your company/organisation is deemed to be a competitor of the host organisation for this event, you may be excluded from attending this event.
If you believe there may be a conflict or are uncertain, please enquire with ACC Australia.
Registrations for this event are being managed by Piper Alderman directly.
It is important to understand how to spot these issues as they arise. In this session, Baker McKenzie Partners Anne-Marie Allgrove, Lynsey Edgar and Helen Joyce will provide an overview of the issues as well as practical tips on how to deal with them in practice.
Please note: If your company/organisation is deemed to be a competitor of the host organisation for this event, you may be excluded from attending this event. If you believe there may be a conflict or are uncertain, please enquire with ACC Australia.
This event occurs during AEDT (Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne).
Join as Madgwicks Lawyers Workplace Relations & Safety Partner Luisa Gonzaga delves into what employers and their officers can learn from the first ever industrial manslaughter prosecution against Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd in June this year.
In this interactive and informative webinar, Luisa will:
• Provide a brief summary of the duties under the W/OHS laws
• Provide an update on manslaughter laws, how they will operate and who will (and not) be caught
• Delve into the Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd case and look into what went wrong and the lessons we can learn from this case
• Provide some practical tips
Please note: If your company/organisation is deemed to be a competitor of the host organisation for this event, you may be excluded from attending this event. If you believe there may be a conflict or are uncertain, please enquire with ACC Australia.
Registrations for this event are being managed by Madgwicks directly.
Please join Lipman Karas for a discussion of the intersection between insolvency and arbitration.
The panel of insolvency, arbitration and funding specialists will examine the opportunities presented for the arbitration of disputes arising in an insolvency context, which look set to increase in light of COVID-19 and recent trade tensions. Topics to be explored include the arbitrability of insolvency disputes, competing forum issues, investment treaty claims arising from insolvency legislation, third-party funding and enforcement issues against award debtors, as well as insights on the economic impact of the pandemic.
Both ACC Australia and SA Government COVID Restrictions and Recommendations will be followed for this event. Should you have any questions regarding these measures please contact Kelly Kayne at ausevents@accglobal.com.
There are limited places available for this event - so book now!
Join us for our upcoming VIRTUAL Business Skills Institute.
Session I, 1:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. CARES Act and the Potential Fraud Implications
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020. The $2.2 trillion economic relief package was in response to the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19. The panel will give an overview of the economic relief under the CARES Act and the current fraud implications of its enactment. In addition, federal oversight and enforcement efforts will be addressed to help assist in house counsel with avoiding the potential risk of fraud within their organizations.
Break — 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Session II, 2:30 p.m. — 3:30 p.m. Risky Business: How Skilled In-House Attorneys Can Identify and Solve for Risk
Corporate counsels across all industries benefit from a proactive identification and assessment of risks that may impact their business. Join our panel of experts for an in-depth discussion of business risk assessment from several different perspectives, including insurance, litigation counsel and accounting. This seminar will discuss how to identify risks before they impact your business and the tools professionals use to prevent and protect against those risks. Specific areas that will be addressed include risk identification and assessment, litigation prevention and mitigation, financial and accounting controls and compliance.
Please use the Zoom link below to participate in the Institute.
One of the many impacts of the coronavirus pandemic has been the uptake of work from home arrangements and the need to explore virtual and electronic methods for continuing to undertake business activities and transactions, including the holding of meetings and execution of documents. Temporary laws have now been passed in most jurisdictions to address issues relating to the signing and attestation of documents during COVID-19.
Prior to the introduction of those laws, a number of court decisions had cast doubt on the ability of companies to execute documents electronically under section 127 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act). Unless the temporary measures are implemented as permanent legislative enactments, upon the expiry of those measurers, the position on electronic execution will remain complex and difficult to navigate.
This presentation will:
provide an overview of the temporary legislative changes for electronic execution in the context of the general law position;
highlight a number of important issues which will be relevant if or when the temporary measurers expire; and
make ‘best practice’ recommendations to reduce the risk of unenforceability when contracting electronically (both in the current environment and in the context of expiry of the temporary measures).
Please note: If your company/organisation is deemed to be a competitor of the host organisation for this event, you may be excluded from attending this event. If you believe there may be a conflict or are uncertain, please enquire with ACC Australia.
In this webinar Sean Selleck, Partner, Baker McKenzie, will touch on the recent developments in the modern slavery reporting space. Sharing some of the experiences and lessons learned by his clients as they have been working within this new regulatory regime.
Much has happened recently in the modern slavery reporting space:
the Federal Government has:
(i) released a scoping paper outlining how it will prepare its first modern slavery statement;
(ii) appointed a multi-stakeholder Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group; and
(iii) released a report on implementation of the Modern Slavery Act 2018;
the Australian Border Force has released some guidance materials about reducing the risks to workers exposed to modern slavery because of the coronavirus and how reporting entities can address the impact of the virus in their modern slavery statements;
reporting timelines have been extended;
the online register for modern slavery statements has been launched;
the New South Wales Standing Committee on Social Issues (Legislative Council) has issued its report into the New South Wales Modern Slavery Act 2018;
the New South Wales Government is coming under increasing pressure to commence the New South Wales Modern Slavery Act 2018; and
the Supply Chain (Modern Slavery) Bill 2020 has been introduced in the Tasmanian Parliament.
On top of this, reporting entities have begun preparing their first modern slavery statements and many businesses are now grappling with "modern slavery questionnaires" sent by those reporting entities. Additionally, everyone is having to draft or negotiate new modern slavery provisions in supply agreements.
Please note: If your company/organisation is deemed to be a competitor of the host organisation for this event, you may be excluded from attending this event. If you believe there may be a conflict or are uncertain, please enquire with ACC Australia.
Registrations for this event are being managed by Baker McKenzie directly.
Dow Chemical's, Lorne O'Reilly and Lillian Pan, Thomas O’Leary, and Christy Lee of Dentons Canada LLP will discuss practical guidance for In-house counsel on equitable remedies concerning confidential information, the recent updates on Mareva injunctions and Norwich orders.
In the current climate, sitting on a board can be as risky as it is rewarding. Directors are subject to an increasing number of areas of potential personal liability and reputation risks. The current economic climate combined with increased media reporting of employee underpayments and safety prosecutions have brought into sharp focus the risks that a director takes on when joining a board.
Join Joanne Denley, Chair, Minda Inc, Paul Edginton, CEO, SYC and Erin McCarthy, Partner, Piper Alderman for this live virtual event discussing these topical issues. Facilitated by David Spear, Director, VUCA.
The panel will explore:
Areas of potential personal liability for directors (wage theft, WHS prosecutions, tax compliance, insolvency and new whistleblower laws);
Due diligence before joining a board;
Striking the balance between governance and operational detail in relation to risk management and the role that trust plays in the relationship between management and the board;
Red flags and recognising when the board might need to look closer at a particular matter of concern;
Knowing when to leave a board; and
How to mitigate your personal risk (Deeds of Access and Indemnity, D&O cover).
As The Dynamic Board Series seminars apply the Chatham House Rule, this webinar will not be recorded and will not be available to view at a later date.
Please note: If your company/organisation is deemed to be a competitor of the host organisation for this event, you may be excluded from attending this event. If you believe there may be a conflict or are uncertain, please enquire with ACC Australia.
Registrations for this event are being managed by Piper Alderman directly.