How will e-signature continue to evolve?

E-Signatures Evolution: Unlocking a New Era of Efficiency and Convenience

The Rise of E-Signatures: A Game-Changer in the Digital World

In recent years, electronic signatures, commonly known as e-signatures, have rapidly gained popularity across various industries. With their ability to streamline document signing processes, eliminate the need for physical paperwork, and enhance remote collaboration, e-signatures have revolutionized how businesses operate. However, the evolution of e-signatures is far from complete. In this article, we will delve into the exciting advancements and prospects of e-signatures, exploring how they will continue to shape the digital landscape.

Advancements in E-Signatures

  1. Improved Security Measures for Enhanced Trust
    • Robust encryption protocols and multi-factor authentication
    • Blockchain technology for tamper-proof transactions
  2. Integration with Advanced Biometrics
    • Facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, and voice authentication
    • Heightened security and reduced risk of identity fraud
  3. Simplified User Experience and Accessibility
    • User-friendly interfaces and intuitive signing processes
    • Seamless integration with popular document management platforms

The Future of E-Signatures

  1. Expansion of Global Acceptance and Legal Frameworks
    • Increasing recognition and adoption by governments worldwide
    • Standardization of regulations to ensure cross-border validity
  2. Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
    • Intelligent document recognition and automated form filling
    • AI-powered authentication and fraud detection algorithms
  3. Enhanced Mobile Capabilities and Cross-Platform Compatibility
    • Mobile-first e-signature solutions for on-the-go signing
    • Seamless integration with various operating systems and devices

The Benefits of E-Signatures

Unlocking Efficiency, Convenience, and Sustainability

E-signatures offer a myriad of benefits for businesses and individuals alike. By embracing e-signature technology, organizations can:

  • Save time and resources by eliminating the need for printing, scanning, and shipping physical documents.
  • Accelerate decision-making processes through real-time collaboration and instant signing.
  • Improve customer experiences by enabling hassle-free remote signing from any location.
  • Reduce environmental impact by minimizing paper usage and carbon footprint.
  • Ensure compliance with industry regulations and legal requirements.

Embrace the Future of Signatures with Confidence

As e-signatures continue to evolve, they transform how we conduct business and interact with documents. The advancements in security measures, integration with biometrics, and simplifying user experience all contribute to a future where signing documents becomes seamless, secure, and efficient. By staying ahead of the curve and embracing the transformative power of e-signatures, businesses can enhance productivity, improve customer experiences, and contribute to a more sustainable world. Embrace the future of signatures confidently and unlock a new era of efficiency and convenience.




Building a Data-Driven Relationship with Law Firms

Building a Data-Driven Relationship with Law Firms
By Alex Kelly, COO at Brightflag

Billable hours have been a cornerstone of the legal industry for generations, but as many corporate legal teams shift toward more value-based pricing models, the typical client-law firm relationship may be poised for tremendous change.

Instead of relying on time increments and task codes provided by their law firms, many companies are establishing more holistic performance criteria, particularly amid a rising need for outside counsel. Nearly a third of teams surveyed in the ACC’s 2021 Law Department Management Benchmarking Report reported that they engaged more law firms last year than in the year before.

Analyzing granular data on a host of factors to compare law firm services, corporate legal teams are identifying efficiencies, setting benchmarks and establishing expectations to reset relationships.

This data-driven approach to better manage outside counsel services is beneficial for both camps. The heightened transparency helps the in-house legal team make better decisions on resource allocation and helps outside counsel identify its strengths and shortcomings relative to its peers. Both sides become more accountable on the work they do and how.

Ensure strategic clarity

Marching forward with a data-driven approach to outside counsel management can be a delicate endeavor. Without sufficient motivation from both sides, progress will inevitably stall. But objectivity is a principle all can appreciate.

Today’s legal teams can access data across scores of categories: Spend by month, spend by matter, billing guideline compliance rate, spend by vendor, and timekeeper breakdown, to name a few. The data allows the legal team to establish benchmarks for costs based on comparisons among firms.

With clearer data about matter duration, hours worked and timekeeper roles, alternative fee arrangements become an increasingly viable option. Equipped with the knowledge that a particular kind of motion takes about two hours to draft and four hours to edit, approve and close, the corporate legal team and law firm can agree to a fixed fee for that specific request in the future. These alternative fee arrangements create substantially more predictability in the legal budget.

By analyzing such granular data, the legal team can begin to quantify “value” with objective benchmarks. The law firm gains insights into its own practices, as well. Why are they charging differently than other firms on similar matters? Why is the time spent differently? Who on staff is doing the work? Why? Such insights can compel law firms to reevaluate their own ways of doing business.

Commit to align on the principles

The client-law firm dynamic under a data-driven approach flourishes with a commitment to align on how outcomes will be achieved through shared principles. Factors such as identifying priorities, how a given matter should be done and who will handle it are mutually agreed upon.

The legal team establishes what it sees as best practices. In turn, the law firm has an opportunity to elevate its own operations based on the granular data it likely has not had before.

When both parties are clear in how best the work should be done, the partnership moving forward can be much more beneficial for each.

Communicate clearly and often

Success hinges on open communication. The legal team should be open and transparent about its expectations and how the law firm is meeting them. The legal team created a strategy and communicated it. Consistent evaluation should follow.

The legal team can do pulse checks on what’s working and reward outside firms that are meeting or exceeding expectations. Evaluating outcomes will lead to continual changes along the way.

Although a snapshot of data from the corporate legal department can provide value, the best insights come from observation of the data over time. The legal team should integrate data insights into its review process with external firms and ask the firms to explain why its staffing decisions were necessary.

Data can show whether a firm is substantially above or below the average cost to handle matters in a given country. Data analysis also can demonstrate an overreliance on partner hours for simple tasks or judge external firms against previously agreed upon DEI benchmarks.

With actionable data in hand, legal teams can much more easily compare law firms and shop for the best, most efficient ones for particular matters. Law firms, in turn, should welcome the opportunity to gauge their work against competitors and make the case for their continued partnership.

Both parties can be on the same page every step of the way. Did delivery match expectations? How did the vendor compare to peers doing similar work? If changes need to be made, collaborate on new expectations going forward. Performance reviews, based on quantitative and qualitative data, allow both sides to communicate their perspectives.

Good communication maintains a good relationship with external law firms, but it also holds both the legal team and the law firm more accountable. The data-driven approach reframes the relationship based on objectivity. Clarify your strategies. Align on goals. Communicate the good and bad. In the end, both parties benefit.

About Alex Kelly
Alex Kelly is the COO and co-founder of Brightflag, the AI-powered legal operations platform. Prior to founding Brightflag, Kelly advised financial institutions and global enterprises as a corporate lawyer within a large international law firm. Kelly is responsible for growing and enabling every corner of the Brightflag team as the company aims to fundamentally redefine how corporate legal services are procured and delivered.




LexisNexis Adds New Capabilities and Enhancements to CounselLink, the Legal Industry’s Leading Enterprise Legal Management Platform

LexisNexis® CounselLink® today announced the release of version 22.1 of its industry-leading enterprise legal management (ELM) solution. This release delivers significant new features across the entire legal management process to help legal departments streamline work and matter management, better predict costs and demonstrate their value to their business.

“As the leading ELM platform, CounselLink is committed to driving continuous innovation and product improvement and putting the most critical requirements of our customers first,” said CounselLink Vice President of Product Management, Aaron Pierce. “With each release we add new tools and deeper capabilities to help legal departments lower costs, make budgets more predictable, manage risk and improve decision-making.”

To help improve the way in-house legal departments run, the updated ELM platform addresses a variety of key operational areas. Some of the many new features include:

• Enhanced Microsoft Outlook add-in to streamline tasks, eliminating need to switch applications
• Upgraded visual dashboard to analyze and report on outside counsel billing compliance
• Expanded budgeting capabilities to better manage and reconcile spend against projections
• Expanded invoice review functionality to allow greater usability across multiple sessions
• Expanded allocation capabilities for better financial oversight and user role management
• New API integrations that improve interoperability with other financial and workflow tools

The greater visibility into in-house operations delivered by CounselLink helps legal departments run more effectively as a business. Key learnings from enterprise legal management solutions can help teams anticipate events or develop tactical initiatives for better strategic planning and workflow. Through this basis of continuous improvement, legal teams will be better able to both demonstrate their value to the business and succeed in their tasks.

About CounselLink
LexisNexis® CounselLink® is the leading enterprise legal management solution designed to help corporate legal departments gain 100% visibility into their work, matters and invoices. For nearly 30 years, CounselLink has been providing innovative solutions for corporate legal departments crafted from the insights of thought leaders, industry expertise, and customer feedback. CounselLink delivers Work Management, Financial Management, and Vendor Management solutions in one easy-to-use, cloud-based platform for controlling costs, maximizing productivity, and making better decisions – all supported by powerful analytics that provide you with the necessary data to demonstrate your department’s value. Learn more about CounselLink at www.counsellink.com.




Netflix, Comcast Legal Heads Earn $20M Collectively

“Netflix Inc. and Comcast Corp., two of the largest U.S. media companies, collectively gave almost $20 million in total compensation last year to their top lawyers,” reports Brian Baxter in Business & Practice.

“David Hyman, Netflix’s chief legal officer and corporate secretary since 2002, received nearly $10.5 million in total compensation, a 28% increase from 2019.”

“Thomas Reid, hired by Comcast in 2019 to be its chief legal officer and corporate secretary from his role as chairman and managing partner of the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, had a nearly $9.3 million pay package.”

“The disclosures, made by both media giants in their annual proxy statements filed April 23, follow similar disbursements to law department leaders at other major entertainment companies. Those include billionaire Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActivCorp, which noted earlier this month that its former legal chief Gregg Winiarski received more than $22 million in total compensation during 2020.”

Read the article.




AT&T Legal Chief’s Total Compensation Nearly Doubled in 2020

“AT&T Inc.’s top lawyer David McAtee made nearly double the compensation in 2020 he did the previous year, due to an equity award infusion,” reports Ruiqi Chen in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“McAtee made over $18.6 million in 2020 as the Dallas-based telecom giant’s general counsel and senior executive vice president, compared to $9.4 million in 2019, according to a Thursday SEC filing.”

“The increase comes from a ‘career retention grant’ in the form of an additional $9 million in stock awards over what he received in 2019, on top of his base salary of $1.3 million. The grant does not vest until 2030.”

Read the article.




Corporate Counsel Symposium: What Lawyers Can Expect in the Next Presidential Term (Includes Virtual Networking Session)

This event is FREE for all In-House Counsel.*
*If you are a non-member of the New York City Bar Association, please call Customer Relations at (212) 382-6663.

Chaired by Michael S. Solender, Global Vice Chair & General Counsel, EY, this year’s program will feature keynote speaker Jeh Johnson, former Secretary of Homeland Security, and will talk about the role of lawyers in upholding the rule of law. Four panels will cover the subjects we expect are foremost on your mind with respect to the new administration –

  • Justice and Law Enforcement
  • Environmental Policy and Regulation
  • Healthcare Policy and Regulation
  • Business Policy and Regulation (including trade, tax, technology and China)

For each panel, we have recruited top experts in their fields who will offer diverse perspectives from a range of different vantage points, including:

  • Top academics including Abbe Gluck of Yale, Michael Gerrard of Columbia, and Mary McCord of Georgetown
  • Leaders from the private bar including Barry Berke of Kramer Levin, Antoinia Apps of Milbank, William Bernstein of Manatt Phelps, and Claire Reade and Jonathan Martel of Arnold & Porter
  • Current and former public officials New York Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Basil Seggos, former Federal Judge John Gleeson, Congressman Eric Swalwell, California’s 15th District and others to be announced
  • New York Times Journalists Sarah Kliff and Ana Swanson
  • Senior in house lawyers Roger Martella from General Electric, Helena Sullivan of Bunge and Michael S. Solender from EY
  • Public interest lawyer and leader Abigail Dillen
  • Tax leader and practitioner Kate Barton of EY

Register Now




Invitation: SCCE’s 19th Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute

The annual Compliance & Ethics Institute (CEI) is our largest event of the year, focusing on providing insights and practical solutions to strengthen your organization’s compliance and ethics program.

This year’s virtual conference provides 100+ educational sessions across all compliance and ethics industries and will provide you with the opportunity to earn a maximum od 23.4 live Compliance Certification Board (CCB)® continuing education units (CEUs) from the convenience of your home or office.

Throughout the 3 days of sessions, you will have the ability to choose from a variety of sessions to attend, some of those included are discussion groups. These are sessions lead by the speaker as well as participants and you will have the opportunity to be on camera and interact in small group discussions. (note preregistration is required and session attendance is limited to 40 people per session.)

Get more information or register.

 

 




Wells Fargo’s Top Lawyer Turned CEO Made $9.6 Million in 2019

“Former Wells Fargo & Co. general counsel C. Allen Parker Jr. took home outsized pay of more than $9.6 million last year thanks to his elevation to interim CEO,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Banking Law News.

“Parker’s compensation is all the more notable since Wells Fargo’s top in-house lawyer has rarely, if ever, been one of the highest-paid executives at the company, according to three former lawyers for the bank.”

“The bulk of Parker’s pay—approximately $8.3 million, including a $2 million grant of restricted stock—came from his service last year as Wells Fargo’s interim CEO from March through October, according to a 2019 proxy statement filed by the company March 16.”

“The proxy, which also revealed that the bank clawed back a $15 million stock award to former CEO Timothy Sloan, came less than a week after its hire of a new general counsel in Ellen Patterson, the soon-to-be former in-house legal chief at Toronto-Dominion Bank.”

Read the article.




Inside Counsel Beware: Your Job Description Now Includes Antitrust Compliance

“There has been a veritable explosion of antitrust litigation in the workplace law field, putting employers and their executives at risk. Federal and state antitrust agencies and private plaintiffs have accelerated their attacks on employers who agree to coordinate wage levels (wage-fixing) or not solicit each other’s employees (no-poach),” writes Dennis Cuneo in Fisher Phillips’ Resources.

“Four years ago, the Department of Justice threatened criminal prosecution of companies and individuals who engaged in such activities. A few weeks ago, the nation’s top antitrust law enforcement official reiterated that threat, announcing that he plans to bring a criminal prosecution this year challenging a no-poach agreement. Attorneys General in several states have stepped up their challenges to no-poach agreements, particularly in franchise settings. Private plaintiffs have obtained huge settlements in class action lawsuits challenging no-poach agreements and exchanges of compensation data among employers.”

“The antitrust prohibitions against price fixing or market allocation in product markets are well understood. What is not as well understood is that the antitrust laws apply equally to labor markets. Just as a price fixing agreement between two companies to fix the price of widgets may lead to antitrust sanctions, a wage-fixing or no-poach agreement between two companies that compete for the same labor may also lead to antitrust sanctions.”

Read the article.




Koppers Appoints Successor to General Counsel

“Stephanie Apostolou has been elected general counsel and secretary of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Koppers and Koppers Holdings, effective March 1,” report Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary’s Appointments.

“Apostolou is at present deputy general counsel and assistant secretary with the NYSE-listed company, which is a global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals and carbon compounds.”

“Her promotion follows the announcement that Steven Lacy, chief administrative officer, general counsel and secretary of Koppers will retire at the end of this year after a 20-year career with the company. In the period between March 1 and December 31, Lacy will hold a new position as assistant to the president of Koppers.”

Read the article.




Can We Talk? In-House Counsel and Opponent’s Lawyer Can Communicate.

“Most lawyers have a general understanding of the “no-contact rule”  — with a few exceptions, you can’t communicate directly on the subject of the representation with someone you know is represented by counsel.  But where does in-house counsel fit in?  Is in-house counsel “fair game” for ex parte contact by opposing counsel?” asks Karen Rubin in Thompson Hine’s Communication.

“Last month, the Virginia Supreme Court approved Legal Ethics Opinion 1890, and answered “Yes,” in an opinion that also covered some other issues of concern to in-house counsel.”

Read the article.




2020 Governance Outlook: Projections on Emerging Board Matters

The National Association of Corporate Directors has published “2020 Governance Outlook: Projections on Emerging Board Matters.”

A complimentary copy of the report can be downloaded from the NACD website.

“This governance outlook provides insights and information from a roundup of leading experts,” NACD says. “It’s a curated compilation of the most significant issues expected to affect boards and companies in the year ahead, including issues such as the next recession, regulatory changes, strategic business risks, legal risks, board composition, the digital frontier, ESG and shareholder engagement, and water scarcity risk.”

Download a copy of the report.

 

 




Chief Legal Officer at Google Parent Company Stepping Down Amid Investigation

David Drummond, the chief legal officer of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and one of its most senior executives, is leaving the internet giant amid an investigation into his relationships with women who worked at the company, reports The New York Times.

His resignation comes more than a year after 20,000 Google employees protested the company’s handling of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace relationships, writes the TimesDaisuke Wakabayashi.

“Some employees inside Google were dismayed that Mr. Drummond was not forced to leave after the details of an extramarital relationship he had with a woman who worked for him became public,” Wakabayashi continues. “The concerns about Mr. Drummond’s workplace romances took on new life when he recently married another woman from Google’s legal department.”

Read the  NY Times article.

 

 




Download: Comprehensive Guide to the CCPA

Exterro has published a comprehensive guide to the California Consumer Privacy Act and made it available for downloading from the company’s website.

“Recent reports suggest that somewhere between 45% and 86% of companies will are not ready for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),” the company says. “Organizations preparing for the CCPA must ready themselves for Data Subject Access Requests from consumers, have an organized data management system that allows them to find and remediate that data within 45 days.”

The Exterro guide covers:

  • Why the changing regulatory landscape means that getting your data house in order is of the utmost importance
  • Tips from subject matter experts for complying with the law based on the regulations that were published
  • Answers to major questions that GCs and corporate legal departments that could mean the difference between confident compliance and fines

Download the free guide.

 

 




Webinar: How to Use an RFP As a Tool to Manage Outside Counsel

WebinarACC-Northeast and RFP Advisory Group will present a webinar designed to teach how to use a request for proposal (RFP) as a tool to better manage outside counsel.

Using the RFP process effectively can help a legal department pick the law firms that are the best fit for a company and its existing needs/budget, ACC says.

The event will be Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020, at 1 p.m. EST.

The webinar will cover how to use an RFP to:

* create a preferred provider panel

* identify the best firm for a specific matter or project

* convert your pricing structure from the billable hour to an alternative fee arrangement (AFA)

* incorporate the latest technology and innovations into your legal strategy

* increase the diversity of the lawyers working on your matters

* create a set of outside counsel guidelines for your law firms to abide by

Attendees will learn the latest trends in how RFPs are being used, and best practices in how to structure and execute a successful RFP, the sponsors said.

Register for the webinar.

 

 




Earn CLE at SCCE’s Internal Investigations Workshop

The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics will present its Internal Investigations Workshop, January 22-24, 2020, in San Francisco.

The workshop provides two days of focused training on conducting compliance-related internal investigations. The domestic workshops also offer an optional third day post conference. Experienced compliance professionals who have in-depth experience in the challenges and opportunities in conducting internal investigations will lead the training.

Topics include:

  • Understanding and assessing the initial allegation of wrongdoing
  • Creating an investigation plan
  • Gathering evidence
  • Conducting interviews, including the subject of the investigation
  • Conclusions and root-cause analysis
  • Writing your report
  • Avoiding pitfalls and legal risks

Register for the event or get details.

 

 




Webinar: Top 2020 Risk & Compliance Trends

A NAVEX Global webinar will address the top 10 risk and compliance trends for 2020.

The complimentary event will be Wednesday, Jan. 15. 2020, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.

In 2020, several critical issues are sure to impact the business landscape, including: election year turmoil, updates to regulatory requirements, digital environment impact, new agency guidance, data privacy, workplace behavioral shifts, and more, NAVEX says in its invitation.

Participants in the webinar will hear how experts are predicting these upcoming trends will provoke, shape and inspire organizational shifts and program improvements.

Register for the webinar.

 

 




White Paper: 4 Bet-the-Job Data Privacy Questions for Corporate Counsel

As the launch date approaches for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on Jan. 1, 2020, Exterro has published a white paper designed to help legal departments keep their organizations’ privacy processes defensible, and minimize the risk of violating new privacy laws.

The white paper can be downloaded from Exterro’s website at no charge.

The launch of the CCPA means that consumers have more information and control over a business’s data practices, which creates challenges for businesses, mostly: Do they have their arms around their data? Do they understand where it lives within in their organization, and where it’s shared?

The paper breaks down the key questions that arise in keeping an organization’s privacy processes defensible, such as:

  • The final “checklist” questions that you should be asking about your organization’s data preparedness
  • Tips for breaking down the elements of the CCPA into actionable processes
  • Tips for maintaining a trim data inventory

Download the white paper.

 

 




Curated Tech Innovation Tour for Directors

Members of the National Association of Corporate Directors members can access an exclusive tour, custom designed for directors, of the latest technology trends at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2020.

“This experience will expand your point of view on cutting-edge technologies and how they relate to strategy discussions in the boardroom.” writes the NACD’s Matt Barone. “You’ll be able to see firsthand the innovations and breakthrough ideas that will disrupt your current organizations, and improve your understanding of their implications for your companies’ future business models.”

This year’s tour will offer in-depth insights designed to help directors ensure that their companies are fueled by, and not blindsided by, future tech. For example, this year’s participants will gain insights into the Smart City Sector, which includes IoT, 5G connectivity, transportation and smart automotive, data analytics, and more, according to Barone.

For information about joining NACD to gain access to this unique opportunity and much more, including exclusive content, top-tier educational programming, and unparalleled networking opportunities, email Barone or call 571-367-3708.

 

 




Legal Department Operations: A Guide for General Counsel

ContractWorks has published “Legal Department Operations: A Guide for General Counsel.”

The publication is available for downloading from ContractWorks at no charge.

Legal departments are taking a multi-pronged approach to become more efficient and contribute to overall organizational profitability: they are onboarding specific people as well as technology solutions, the company says on its website.

This paper explores how certain solutions help streamline legal ops to solve common problems and the role of general counsel in the expanding legal department.

Download the guide.