Above the Law reports on a BarkerGilmore in-house counsel compensation report that shows in-house lawyers received average pay increases of 4.3 percent last year.

“That sounds perfectly middling, until you realize every rung of the prevailing Biglaw associate scale bests that — some years by a lot,” writes Joe Patrice.

The tech industry led the way with higher salaries, bumping up 4.9 percent, while financial and manufacturing industries tied for the small hikes, just 3.7 percent. But the BarkerGilmore survey found that more respondents felt they were undercompensated compared to their peers.

Read the Above the Law article.

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The general counsel of Marsh & McLennan Companies has started requiring the company’s biggest outside law firms to use an anti-hacking electronic communication technology known as Transport Layer Security, according to a report from Bloomberg Law.

The report quotes Peter Beshar: “What we have done here is gone out to 12 or so of the biggest law firms on the most sensitive matters and insisted, ‘You can’t communicate with us other than through TLS,’ and everyone has signed up by it.”

Beshar identified three of the firms are Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

TLS prevents any unauthorized senders or recipients from entering and intercepting communication — protecting “data in transit” from being hacked, explains reporter Casey Sullivan.

Read the Bloomberg article.

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A disbarred Georgia lawyer accused of stealing client money was arrested last weekend in Florida after going missing for at least 18 months, reports the ABA Journal.

Douglas J. Mathis was scheduled to appear in a Georgia court in late 2015 on a theft charge for allegedly transferring client money into his own account, the Florida Times-Union reports.

“Six months later, the original charge of theft by deception was combined with eight other theft by conversion charges in a racketeering indictment, according to the article. He is accused of using his law office to embezzle clients’ money,” writes Debra Cassens Weiss.

Read the ABA Journal article.

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In the second part of a series on change management in commercial contracts, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP discusses the procedural mechanisms for managing change.

“In addition to classifying changes and allocating costs, outsourcing agreements and other long-term service agreements should include a defined set of procedures for documenting and implementing changes,” write partner Peter M. Watt-Morse and associate Glen W. Rectenwald.

The explain that agreements should, at a minimum, contain key procedural issues, such as mandatory changes, emergency changes, permissive changes and disputes. The article also covers the mechanism for making the change.

Read the article.

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Centre Law & Consulting will present a two-day “A Practical Guide to Government Contract Law” crash course that teaches attendees about the nuts and bolts of federal contracting and gives a breakdown of the complex laws surrounding this industry.

The event will be in Tysons, VA, August 9-10, 2017.

On its website, Centre Law & Consulting writes:

Did you know that subcontracts are not ‘Federal’ contracts and are not subject to Government contract law? And that the Government can terminate your contract with no liability for damages? Did you know every FAR clause has a “prescription” explaining when and if it should be used? Or that you can use simplified acquisition procedures (SAP) for non-commercial items up to $7 million?

The answers to all these questions and more can be learned in our two-day “A Practical Guide to Government Contract Law” crash course that teaches attendees about the nuts and bolts of federal contracting and gives a breakdown of the complex laws surrounding this industry. Whether you’re a lawyer just starting out in the area of federal contracting or you’re a non-lawyer looking to get an understanding of the industry, this course is for you.

Our expert instructor will walk you through the rules, regulations, and laws governing federal acquisition and will delve behind the “what” with the “why” to strengthen participants’ understanding of the framework in which they function.

Case studies, workshops, and a detailed textbook bring the law to life for course attendees.

Register or get more information.

PREX17, the premier conference for in-house e-discovery professionals,  will be in Portland, OR, Sept. 12-14, 2017, according to an announcement from Zapproved. The event will be at the Portland Art Museum.

PREX brings together the legal preservation community to learn, grow and connect to solve e-discovery for the future, Zapproved says on its website.

Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, constitutional lawyer and New York Times best-selling author Glenn Greenwald will headline the event. Known for breaking the Edward Snowden story, Greenwald will reveal insights about the fascinating intersection of privacy, civil rights, technology and the implications for e-discovery. His address is titled “Secrets, Surveillance and Civil Liberties: Navigating the Boundary Layer Between Law and Technology in the Connected Society.”

The conference has received accreditation for CLE credits.

Register or learn more about the program.

Buchalter announces that Matthew S. Covington and Jeffrey M. Hamerling have joined the San Francisco office, and Alissa Pleau-Fuller has joined the Sacramento office. All are members of the Litigation Practice Group and joined from Archer Norris.

Prior to Archer Norris, both Covington and Hamerling were Partners with DLA Piper.

Buchalter also announced that it added an attorney in San Francisco to its Insolvency & Financial Law Practice, Jeannie Kim.

As a result of their industry acumen, both Covington and Hamerling devote significant portions of their practices to petroleum companies, focusing on franchise, distribution, commercial and environmental matters. Both are also known for their experience with the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, having handled cases that established major precedents in the petroleum retail industry.

“Matt and Jeff bring impressive resumes having extensive experience representing petroleum company clients in complex environmental matters,” said Adam J. Bass, President and Chief Executive Officer of Buchalter. “We have been looking to expand our representation of this industry for quite some time, and Matt, Jeff and Lisa are a great cultural fit.”

Covington is a member of the American Bar Association’s sections on Litigation Environmental Law. Covington earned his J.D. cum laude at Harvard Law School in 1991, and received his B.A. with honors from Stanford University in 1988.

Hamerling is a member of the American Bar Association’s Environmental Law and Natural Resources subsection. He is also a member of the San Francisco Bar Association and serves on the Board of Directors for Contra Costa Legal Services. Hamerling received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law and his B.A. with honors from the University of California, Berkeley.

“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to join the firm during such an exciting time at Buchalter, and add our experience and expertise to the already exceptional capabilities the firm offers its clients,” said Matt. “I look forward to continuing to grow our practice with the impressive platform Buchalter provides.”

In February of this year, Buchalter opened a Sacramento office which has grown to 14 attorneys with the addition of Pleau-Fuller. Pleau-Fuller focuses her practice on serving the litigation needs of franchisors, including petroleum marketing companies. She has also worked on matters involving refinery and cogeneration facilities. Pleau-Fuller received her J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law with distinction in 2008, her M.B.A. from California State University, Sacramento in 2004, and her B.A. from the University of California, Davis in 2000.

Prior to joining Buchalter, Kim served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Deborah J. Saltzman, United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Central District of California, Riverside and as a judicial extern to the Honorable Maureen A. Tighe, United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Central District of California, San Fernando Valley Division, and the Honorable Carla M. Woehrle, United States Magistrate Judge, Central District of California, Western Division. She earned her J.D. at Loyola Law School, Postgraduate Diploma in International Political Thought from the University of St. Andrews, and her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Global law firm Hogan Lovells announced that it will combine with Collora, a Boston-based litigation/investigations firm with a strong focus in life sciences and healthcare, as well as financial services and technology. The combination is expected to become effective Sept. 1, at which time all partners, lawyers, and business services members of Collora will join Hogan Lovells, the firm said in a news release.

“The addition of Collora enhances Hogan Lovells’ capabilities to serve clients in one of the most dynamic and growing markets in the US. Boston is home to global leaders in technology, life sciences, healthcare, and financial services,” according to the release. “The area boasts elite academic and research institutions and world-class medical facilities. Economic development in the Boston metropolitan area is fuelled by an active financial services and investment community. The new office will be focused on litigation and investigations with a particular emphasis on the life sciences and healthcare sectors; over time, Hogan Lovells expects to add regulatory, corporate transactions, and IP capabilities.”

“The Boston region is a key strategic market in the United States. Although we have worked closely with clients in the area for years, it more recently became clear to us that there was a need for an office that had strong roots in the community,” says Hogan Lovells CEO Steve Immelt. “Collora is a firm that shares our values, our culture and our approach. We have worked with them for many clients over the years. It has highly regarded practices in litigation and investigations, with a particular focus in life sciences, which fits very well with our own practices. We also intend to focus on the financial services, technology industries and education sectors, where we already have strong practices in other markets. We are delighted to welcome the Collora team and look forward to working with them for the benefit of our clients.”

The release continues:

The combination provides Collora and its clients with access to a network of services and practitioners that seamlessly work to provide a cohesive client experience globally. Hogan Lovells is recognized as a global leader in life sciences and healthcare, with specialists in areas such as regulatory, intellectual property, transactions, and disputes. Together, the two firms have more than 500 lawyers practicing in the life sciences and healthcare industry.

Collora has several well-known trial advocates who represent both companies and individuals in government investigations, complex civil litigation, professional licensing and discipline matters and other litigation matters, with a particular focus on financial services, technology and the life sciences industry. The firm includes former federal and state prosecutors, judicial law clerks, law professors and a former chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

“Hogan Lovells has a strong global reputation and offers us depth and reach that brings a new and exciting dimension to what we are able to offer our clients,” said Bill Lovett, who is currently the Managing Partner of Collora, and will serve as the Office Managing Partner of the Hogan Lovells Boston office. “We looked very hard at making sure that the business and cultural fit would be right for us – for nearly thirty years our firm has been committed to serving our clients and contributing to our community. Based on many years of working together for some of the same clients, we know Hogan Lovells brings those qualities to the table across the entire firm. No other Boston firm has Hogan Lovells’ global reach. We look forward to making these skills available to our clients and to new Boston-area clients as well.”

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National law firm Dykema announced the addition of Michael Klein to its Litigation Department and Insurance Industry Group as a member in the firm’s Austin office. Klein joins Dykema after practicing at the Austin office of Sedgwick LLP.

Klein has more than 35 years of experience representing clients as a trial lawyer. He has tried nearly 50 matters to final award or judgment in both state and federal courts, as well as arbitration. While his most recent work involves first party insurance coverage and bad faith as well as insurance regulatory litigation, he also has experience with extensive and wide-ranging business and commercial litigation, as well as complex real estate litigation and trade secrets.

Klein also represents large, national healthcare and insurance clients in governmental investigations, declaratory judgment actions and injunctive matters involving insurance regulatory and consumer protection issues. He has extensive experience in healthcare Prompt Pay litigation and advising payors/insurers on the implications of the statute.

“Michael’s reputation as a top-flight litigator precedes him,” said Keith Shuley, Managing Member of Dykema’s Austin office. “He has extensive experience with various forms of litigation and knows well how to navigate federal and state courts in Texas. We’re very excited to add him to our Austin office.”

Klein, who is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, received a J.D. from The University of Houston Law Center and a B.B.A. from The University of Texas.

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Texas lawyer Kent Sullivan, who helped build a potent state health care fraud unit as the No. 2 lawyer in the Texas Attorney General’s office, is convinced that more states will follow Mississippi and Ohio in suing to recover damages related to the opioid epidemic, reports a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing. Sullivan, now a partner in the Austin office of Jackson Walker LLP, says states wield “a huge hammer” over defendants through their tough anti-fraud laws.

“I expect a national trend, a significant wave of lawsuits against the companies and organizations connected with the spread of these powerful prescription drugs. States will be very tempted by the significant potential damages that may be awarded in court to try to recoup some of the costs of treatment.

“There is, of course, a way to successfully defend these cases, but at the beginning, state governments have a huge advantage under Medicaid fraud and consumer protection statutes. There is an easier burden of proof and enhanced damages available under these laws. Intent or negligence often is not required to prove liability. You have a huge hammer over these companies’ heads, and they can be at risk of losing more than actual damages. The damages are often multiplied if you’re found liable, and the states can often recover attorneys’ fees.

“As government health care has expanded, so have anti-fraud actions by states. These lawsuits are not part of the traditional private party litigation framework, where the burden of proof is higher. In many cases, the defendants consider settlement to avoid the significant risk and high cost of litigation. It is fairly unusual for these cases to go to trial but, as I often tell clients, the way to obtain the best settlement is to be totally ready for trial.”

Sullivan, a former appeals court judge, was chief deputy AG to then-Attorney General Greg Abbott and ramped up the state’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division from four lawyers to over 40. In 2012, Texas won a $158 million settlement from Johnson & Johnson over its improper marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal to patients on Medicaid from 1994-2008. It was the largest Medicaid settlement in Texas history and is believed to be the first settlement paid at that time to any state in the nationwide litigation over Risperdal.

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By Norm Finkel
Schoenberg, Finkel, Newman and Rosenberg, LLC

The list of reasons why small law firms offer big advantages is well known—this is especially true for businesses that are mid-sized or emerging. But here’s a quick review. With a smaller law firm, seasoned attorneys are the norm, rather than the associates who typically handle day-to-day business for the big law firms. A smaller firm is a bit like the classic Avis commercial; they work harder. The attention given to the client is second to none. So, relationships between law firm and general inside counsel tend to be closer. Then, of course, there is the matter of fees; they tend to be a lot more reasonable.

With all these advantages, why would a client opt for big law?
Let’s say a small law firm has established its credibility with a long track record of great work. The relationship between inside counsel and the partners is solid. But one day, the client says, “Sorry, we have to go with the big guys on this one.” What does that mean? Is it a rejection of all the hard work and success? Does it erase all the great progress you’ve shared over the past few years? Not really. There are a number of reasons why a client might go big. For instance, there is the matter of self-protection when a major audit is in order. If something goes wrong, no one can say it was due to the fact that a small law firm was chosen for this arduous task. Or, perhaps a case may be the subject of intense national scrutiny. For public relations alone, the choice of a larger law firm to handle it may be most prudent, especially when internal counsel has a board of directors that must support the rationale. When such contingent factors come into play, it is no reflection on the smaller firm or general counsel and, for the most part, no threat to the established relationship. In fact, small firms have a vital role to play in cases such as a large merger or an audit, because they can bring the big law firm up to speed on day-to-day information that the larger won’t have access to.

When it’s best to bet on David rather than Goliath.
There are cases where trust in the relationship outweighs all other factors. Here is an example. I represented a former chairman of a bank. The bank sued my client for losses it suffered on SBA loans after the 2008 meltdown. The bank had a board and an SBA loan committee—both of which approved the loans. The bank, rather than looking at its own culpability, sued the former chairman and president. Two of Chicago’s large law firms were recruited to represent the bank and its board members and loan committee members. Our attorneys walked into the courtroom every day and faced an army of lawyers from multiple firms; even the judge commented on the cost of all those lawyers.

My firm litigated the case in state court and won, but we were denied legal fees. The bank appealed its loss, while we appealed the denial of fees. My client ran out of money long before the case went to trial, but we did not quit. He died tragically at the age of 65, shortly after the trial court’s judgment but before the appellate court rendered its decision. We were owed seven figures by that time.

The appellate court affirmed the exoneration of my client and reversed the decision denying our legal fees and sent the case back to the trial court for a determination of our entitlement to, and amount of, legal fees. After the court determined we were entitled to fees, the bank agreed to settle the matter. This occurred shortly before the court determined the amount of legal fees to be awarded. The family and widow were gratified by the outcome. Although we went up against two large law firms who had a client with immense resources, after a 5½-year ordeal, we won.

The future is starting to favor the Davids, but don’t write off the Goliaths just yet.
Trends are emerging that seem to favor the mid to smaller law firms. The 2009 “Bloody Thursday” that kicked off major layoffs at some of the biggest law firms brought with it a demand for lower fees. Of course, this opened a white space opportunity for smaller, entrepreneurial firms who could deliver more for less. Not only that, but because of technology some of the advantages that once favored bigger firms have evaporated. The giants once owned the biggest libraries and best information. But now, thanks to the digital revolution, small and big alike have access to the same data. Keep in mind, smaller firms tend to be more invested in their clients. The partners are responsible for the success or failure of their business; this goes further than just filling out a time sheet for hours. A concern with cost efficiency is part of their DNA. But as for the Goliaths, as Basha Rubin put it in an article for Forbes, “I’m not arguing that all big law firms will disappear entirely. Why should they? Many provide unparalleled service; they will continue to make sense for the biggest deals. The next time I merge my multibillion dollar corporation with another multinational multibillion dollar corporation, I certainly intend to hire one.” < https://www.forbes.com/sites/basharubin/2014/07/07/big-law-big-problems-2/#210f8e75db42>The general counsel of a Fortune 500, national health club chain that I’ve represented for over 35 years has repeatedly told me how much he appreciates my attention to his business and that the results he has experienced from using a smaller firm are “second to none.”

What are the takeaways for inside counsel?
I started my career in a firm of 15 to 20 lawyers. Six months into the job, I tried my first case and won. I would never have gotten that experience at a large law firm. Recently I hired an attorney from such a firm who was working 100 hours a week and couldn’t get any traction on his career. For what it’s worth, my advice to internal counsel is this:

· Keep the outstanding small firm that has worked so hard to win your business
· Remind them when an audit comes up or a case with national media buzz, that leaning on the big firm is simply a matter of self protection – not a dismissal but a fact of life in business
· Promote the great work of your smaller partner law firms to your board so that they can see the value
· Remember that business, technology and culture are in a state of evolution and the best partners are the ones who keep pace

Norm Finkel, senior partner and head of the the litigation practice at Chicago based Schoenberg, Finkel, Newman and Rosenberg, LLC.

The iManage user conference ConnectLive 2017 will be in London at the InterContinental London – The O2 hotel on June 27-28, 2017.

The conference is all about creating connections, iManage says on its website. “Between customers and partners. Between those that are working with advanced technology – using it every day in the service of their clients – and others that are still searching for solutions to important issues in their businesses.

“Across four days and two continents, iManage will bring together CIOs and IT professionals, attorneys, legal administrators and more.”

Get more information.

By Natalie Lynch
Lynch Law Firm

Businesses may hire independent contractors and employees, and it is important that they understand the differences between these two classifications. Independent contractors do not get the same legal protections as employees do, such as being eligible for unemployment benefits or being protected by labor laws. Independent contractors often do not receive benefits of any type. Due to these distinctions, it is important for businesses to clearly classify independent contractors. Without proper classification, an independent contractor may be able to make claims reserved for employees if a court or governmental agency decides that it was actually an employee instead of an independent contractor. The business may even be held responsible for paying payroll taxes on behalf of the newly-classified employee and face significant monetary penalties.

Right of Control Test
The Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies use the right of control test to determine whether an individual is an independent contractor or employee. If the employer has the right to control how the work is performed then the worker is considered an employee. However, if the business can only accept or reject the final product, then the person is considered an independent contractor. The IRS uses about 20 factors to evaluate who controls the work performed. The more control a company exercises over the work that is performed, the more likely that the worker will be classified as an employee. A worker does not have to meet all of the factors in order to be considered an employee or independent contractor. No one specific factor is dispositive. The IRS also gives different weight to different factors depending on the individual circumstances. Every state has additional tests. For example, Texas has an excellent chart to help make the evaluation more clear.

Factors
Some of the factors that are considered include:

Level of Instruction
An employee relationship is more likely to be determined when a worker is directed as to how to perform his or her work, when to perform it and where to perform it. Independent contractors generally have more freedom in these regards.

Training
Company-provided training suggests an employee relationship because the business is directing the methods by which the work should be performed.

On-Site Services
An employment relationship is suggested when the employer requires the worker to be at the company site even when the work can be performed somewhere else because this gives the employer more control over the worker.

Sequence of Work
When the employer determines the sequence of work such as which work should be performed first and last, this suggests greater control and an employment relationship.

Schedule
When a worker is required to work full-time hours, this is indicative of an employment relationship because the company has greater control over a majority of the client’s time. Contractors have more flexible schedules while employees have more set hours.

Payment
An important difference between employees and independent contractors is how they are paid. Employment relationships may be based on hourly, weekly or monthly pay schedules. However, contractors are often paid based on project completion or by commission. Additionally, an employer may pay for business or travel expenses while an independent contractor is usually expected to pay these costs on its own. Likewise, an employer may provide tools and other materials necessary to complete a job for employees while an independent contractor must usually supply his or her own tools and materials.

Business Integration
Workers who perform tasks that are integrated into the business are more likely to be found to be employees rather than independent contractors.

Assignment
Employees are usually expected to perform the work themselves. However, independent contractors are often able to delegate work to another person. Likewise, contractors may be able to hire, pay and supervise people who assist him or her. If the business controls assistants, there is more likely to be an employee relationship than a contractual one.

Termination
Employees can often be terminated for any reason or no reason in at-will states. However, contractors often have a contract that must be followed in order to avoid liability for early termination. The contract terms usually govern termination. Likewise, employees can usually quit their jobs for any reason while independent contractors usually cannot terminate the working relationship without ramification.

Carefully evaluating these factors can help businesses avoid possible liability associated with misclassifying employees.

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MentorHealth will present a webinar, HIPAA and the Compliance Officer, addressing how practice/business managers (or compliance offers) need to get their HIPAA house in order before the imminent audits occur.

The 90-minute event will be Wednesday, August 9, 2017, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT).

The webinar also will address major changes under the Omnibus Rule and any other applicable updates for 2017. Areas also covered will be texting, email, encryption, medical messaging, voice data and risk factors as they relate to IT.

On its website, MentorHealth says the primary goal is to ensure everyone is well educated on what is myth and what is reality with this law.

“I will uncover myths versus reality as it relates to this very enigmatic law based on over 1000 risk assessments performed as well as years of experience in dealing directly with the Office of Civil Rights HIPAA auditors,” says instructor Brian Tuttle. “I will also speak to real life litigated cases I have worked where HIPAA is being used to justify state cases of negligence -THIS IS BECOMING A HUGE RISK! In addition, this course will cover the highest risk factors for being sued as well as being audited (these two items tend to go hand in hand).”

Topics will include:

• Do you have an affective HIPAA compliance program?
• New laws and funding mean increased risk for both business associates and covered entities
• HIPAA Omnibus – Do you know what’s involved and what you need to do?
• What does Omnibus mean for covered entities and business associates?
• Why should you be concerned?
• Court cases that are changing the landscape of HIPAA and patient’s ability to sue

“It is important to understand the new changes going on at Health and Human Services as it relates to enforcement of HIPAA for both covered entities and business associates as it relates to what we need to do as compliance officers,” according to Tuttle. “You need to know how to avoid being low hanging fruit in terms of audit risk as well as being sued by individuals who have had their PHI wrongfully discloses due to bad IT or internal administrative practices.”

Speaker Profile
Brian L Tuttle, CPHIT, CHP, CBRA, Net+, A+, CCNA, MCP is a Certified Professional in Health IT (CPHIT), Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP), Certified Business Resilience Auditor (CBRA) with over 15 years’ experience in Health IT and Compliance Consulting.

Register for the webinar.

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Image by Adam Tinworth

The hard-charging, take-no-prisoners corporate culture exhibited by Uber and his brash CEO is now seen as the company’s biggest liability, reports The Los Angeles Times.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Travis Kalanick announced Tuesday that would take an indefinite leave of absence.

Reporter Tracey Lien writes that Kalanick took responsibility “for where we’ve gotten and how we’ve gotten here.”

He wrote the statement in a memo to employees, “acknowledging a humiliating year in which the company was accused of mishandling the medical records of a passenger who was raped by an Uber driver in India, using trade secrets allegedly stolen from a Google-owned self-driving car firm and covering up claims of sexual harassment,” according to Lien.

Read the LA Times article.

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Within the next few years, we will find ourselves on the cusp of a revolution in the practice of law led by the adoption of artificial intelligence — in particular, by in-house lawyers, according to a post at Above the Law.

“Much like email changed the way we do business every day, AI will become ubiquitous — an indispensable assistant to practically every lawyer,” writes Sterling Miller for Thomson Reuters. “Those who do not adopt and embrace the change will get left behind. Those who do will ultimately find themselves freed up to do the two things there always seems to be too little time for: thinking and advising.”

He predicts that, as CEOs and CFOs get familiar with AI, they will expect the general counsel and legal department to keep up. “In-house lawyers who embrace AI will become more valuable to the next generation of CEOs and CFOs,” Miller writes.

Read the Above the Law article.

Berkeley Research Group announced that Janice Jacobs, a managing director in the firm, has joined Edward Buthusiem and Katherine Norris in BRG’s Healthcare Corporate Compliance and Risk Management (CCRM) practice.

Jacobs has more than 30 years of healthcare industry experience, including hospital accounting and auditing, inpatient, outpatient and professional fee coding, compliance and revenue cycle management.

Before joining BRG, Jacobs was a director at a professional services firm, where she developed a Regulatory Compliance and Coding practice. She also was a director in the Healthcare Compliance and Investigations practice of a global management consulting firm, where she worked on engagements at the country’s top Academic Medical Centers, including Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Thomas Jefferson and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Jacobs is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Pennsylvania, a Certified Professional Coder and a Certified Professional Compliance Officer with the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), a Certified Coding Specialist and an AHIMA-Approved ICD-10 Trainer with the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and a Radiation Oncology Certified Coder with the American Medical Auditing Company (AMAC).

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A California federal jury convicted Manhattan Beach lawyer and former Body Glove employee James R. Miller on Monday of embezzlement and tax evasion for stealing more than $300,000 from the internet sales company he oversaw as president from 2009 to 2012, reports The Beach Reporter.

Miller, 68, could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison and fined $250,000.

“Miller was convicted of writing dozens of checks for personal gain during his time as president of MWRC Internet Sales LLC and failing to account for that income on his federal tax filings. He was convicted of five counts of wire fraud and filing false taxes,” writes reporter David Rosenfeld.

The investigation began after the then-president of Body Glove notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation about her suspicions.

Read The Beach Reporter article.

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The National Association of Corporate Directors’ new article, “Seeing Opportunity in Reputation Risk,” explores how effective board oversight of corporate responsibility (CR) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies, practices, risk management, and crisis preparedness can not only help manage strategic risk, but also result in enhanced reputation.

The article can be downloaded from the NACD site at no charge.

The following is an excerpt from this article by Jeff Hoffman and Andrea Bonime-Blanc, which appears in the March/April issue of NACD Directorship magazine:

“ESG and CR are frequently not on boards’ radar. When they are, there is rarely sufficient time allocated to their discussion. There are reputation risks and value creation opportunities that can be found beyond what is normally discussed at board meetings. Unfortunately, many ESG and CR risks are unknown to the board until an incident happens and it goes public—and possibly viral. The risks around ESG and CR are generally easy to identify, mitigate, and plan around. While being prepared for the worst-case scenario may take time and effort, it will be far less painful than the alternative: negative headlines and conversations on social media.”

Download the article.

Optimus BT will present a free webinar featuring a comprehensive demonstration of eContracts, an Enterprise Legal Contract Management product for SharePoint, featured in Gartner Market Guide 2017 for legal teams.

Automating Contract Management with SharePoint will be Wednesday, June 21, 2017, at 2 p.m. EDT.

The presentation also will cover why it is important to go beyond your legal contract repositories and invest in a Legal Contract Lifecycle Management solution.

Key topics covered will include:

• Building blocks for automating contract management and legal function within your organization.
• Possibilities presented by Microsoft Azure and SharePoint for Contracts management in the Cloud for processing large volume of documents, Advanced Search & Workflow.
• Demonstrate how Optimus BT’s eContracts can help kick start this journey and address the major pain points due to lack of automation of contract lifecycle.
• Capabilities to look for while automating contract management processes.
• An example of how an IT and legal teams have benefited from automating their contract lifecycle.

Register for the webinar.