Bloomberg BNA will present a complimentary event to discuss the widespread corporate apathy towards antitrust risks — and why the business community needs a collective wake-up call.

The event will be at the Bloomberg LP offices at 731 Lexington Ave. in New York on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, 8-10 a.m.

Robins Kaplan LLP is an underwriter of the event, will carries up to 1.5 CLE credits.

“Companies rely on their sales personnel to drive business growth and generate new revenue, while the in-house compliance team must prevent, detect, and report actions that could draw scrutiny from antitrust enforcement agencies,” Bloomberg says on its website. “But what if those employees don’t even know what types of conduct is problematic under the antitrust laws?”

Bloomberg BNA and Robins Kaplan LLP conducted a survey of corporate sales and compliance professionals, and the results show a widespread lack of awareness of antitrust guidelines. Among the alarming findings: 25% of respondents are engaged in pricing activities that could rise to the level of illegality.

The event is designed for in-house counsel, compliance and business executives responsible for antitrust compliance.

Register for the event.

 

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Zapproved, Inc., a developer of cloud‐based software for corporate legal departments, announced it will hold the inaugural Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards Celebration on Jan. 30 in New York, preceding Legaltech New York 2017.

Nina Totenberg, NPR’s award-winning legal affairs correspondent who has reported on issues surrounding the Supreme Court since 1975, will be the featured speaker at the awards celebration. Totenberg will share insights from her extensive career covering the court as well as her thoughts on the Supreme Court’s direction in light of the incoming Trump administration.

The Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards honors e-discovery experts and corporate legal professionals who demonstrate excellence and contribute significantly toward improving in-house e-discovery processes and implementing best practices. The awards were established to recognize legal professionals who are leading their organizations by improving efficiency, reducing costs and lowering risk through creativity and innovation.

Industry professionals can nominate an E-Discovery Hero for consideration by Dec. 23, 2016, for recognition at the Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards Celebration. Nominees should be an e-discovery expert or in-house legal professional who has demonstrated excellence in:

• Technology, systems and metrics
• Team process and workflow
• Employee training and support
• Strategy best practices
• Overall influence and achievement

The event will take place at 7 p.m., January 30, 2017 at the New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, New York, NY 10019.

Reserve a seat

 

 

Navex Global has published its 2017 edition of the annual Top 10 Ethics & Compliance Predictions and Recommendations white paper and made it available for free downloading.

These 10 insider tips and predictions from experts present insight on how to prepare now — and get ahead of the trends that will impact the workforce and industry.

Some of the topics discussed include:

• Deliver a Return on Compliance (ROC)
• Thrive in a Five Generation Workplace
• Sort Through the Alphabet Soup of Global Standards
• Be More Than Just the People Who Say ‘No ’
• Mitigate Cyber Mayhem

Download the report.

 

Join Our LinkedIn Group

 

Law firm partners have figured out how to increase profits per partner in the face of a declining demand. Firms, on the other hand, have an unsustainable model that remains largely intact even as clients are seeking options, writes Mark A. Cohen for Forbes.

He sees the explosive growth of in-house legal departments as possibly the biggest impact of the fiscal crisis.

“It’s easy to dismiss ‘insourcing’  legal work as labor arbitrage. But the more fundamental reason for in-house growth is law firms’ inability to deliver legal expertise and value — as well as to integrate technology and process in delivery. The value deficiency is linked to the traditional firm model and culture,” he writes.

He lists some of the reasons corporate legal departments now comprise about 45 percent of total legal spend.

Read the Forbes article.

 

 

 

In-house counsel and company executives who can make decisions need to attend hearings to see what they’re getting for their legal fees, patent judges said conference sponsored by University of California Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and Stanford Law School.

In its report on the conference, Bloomberg Law quotes Judge James Donato, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: “I am amazed that you all don’t show up with more regularity, particularly when you’re looking at a summary judgment motion or have a Markman” hearing on claims construction “or some other significant proceeding where you have spent in all likelihood six figures in legal fees and costs to get that thing ready for me to decide.”

Judge Ron Clark, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, requires the general counsel or a corporate-level decision maker to attend hearings either in person or via phone to understand what’s happening and what the court demands, according to the Bloomberg report.

Read the Bloomberg article.

 

 

A study by market research firm Equilar found that 2015 compensation for general counsel rose 6.9 percent and exceeded $1 million, reports Bloomberg Law.

In examining data from more than 1,400 lawyers, the report — with commentary from legal recruiting firm BarkerGilmore — found that:

• At companies with less than $1 billion in revenue, median total direct compensation for GCs was $725,021.
• At companies with between $1 billion and $5 billion in revenue, it was  $1.2 million.
• At companies with between $5 billion and $15 billion, it was $1.7 million.
• At companies with revenues above $15 billion, it was $2.5 million.

On its website, BarkerGilmore explains that the study considered compensation trends by practice area, the average annual in-house counsel salary increase, how well company compensation compares to those of similar size, and what gaps may exist and how to address them.

Read the Bloomberg article.

Download the BarkerGilmore report.

 

 

 

 

eSignLive by VASCO will present a complimentary webinar on the basics of using electronic signatures. The event will be Thursday, Dec. 8, beginning at 2 p.m. EST.

Electronic signatures are hardly a new, cutting-edge technology, eSignLive says on its website. Organizations of all sizes that are using esignatures have transformed the way they serve both internal staff and their customers and partners – offering a more convenient and efficient digital experience.

This presentation will provide an overview of the basic terminology, concepts, and laws related to electronic signatures and answer the most frequently asked questions on the topic including:

• What is the difference between an electronic signature and a digital signature?
• How can you prove who e-signed?
• What legal and compliance requirements do we need to consider?
• What ROI metrics have others reported?
• What do signers need in order to e-sign?
• How do we get started? What’s the cost? What’s the effort?
• If you are just beginning to investigate e-signatures for your organization, or if you are new to an e-signature project team, join this discussion.

Register for the webinar.

 

 

Zapproved Inc., a developer of cloud‐based software for corporate legal departments, announced it will present the webinar, “Stories of Bringing E-Discovery In-House,” on Dec. 6, 2016.

In a news release, the company said this special event will offer strategic and practical tips to help corporate legal teams bring more of their e-discovery processes in-house. Guests will hear success stories from experts and learn ways to gain control over their processes, improve efficiency, and reduce risk for their organizations.

The company’s release continues:

Event description

Corporate legal teams are under constant pressure to do more with less. These in-house teams must now lead the charge in implementing initiatives aimed at reducing cost while mitigating risk. To be successful, they often turn to new technologies and electronic discovery processes that allow them to bring legal preservation and e-discovery work in-house.

Join this complimentary webcast that will include stories from three leading in-house legal professionals. They will discuss why and how they decided to move much of their electronic discovery functions inside the company, including preservation, collection, and processing. You will also learn:

• How to prepare for bringing e-discovery in-house
• How to define success and set expectations
• The pitfalls you need to avoid when moving forward

As an attendee, you will receive a series of whitepapers called, “In-House Elevated,” filled with inspiring and educational insights about the journey of bringing more e-discovery work in-house.

Speakers

• Jack Thompson, Sr. Manager, eDiscovery & Legal Operations, Sanofi US
• Becki Bottemiller, Specialist, Paralegal, Portland General Electric
• Wendy Riggs, Senior Manager, eDiscovery and Litigation Operations, Twitter, Inc.
• Jennifer Bantelman, Sr. Director of Product Management, Zapproved, Inc.

Who should attend

Corporate counsel, e-discovery managers, legal operations, paralegals, litigation support professionals

Register for the webinar

Register for Stories of Bringing E-Discovery In-house
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Time: 1pm ET | 10am PT
Cost: FREE

 

 

As most legal departments’ workload increases and resources diminish, it’s no surprise that running an efficient legal department is challenging. Old processes tracked on Excel spreadsheets or rudimentary databases will no longer cut it. Many legal departments find themselves struggling under the weight of legacy technologies that simply do not work or are expensive to upgrade.

Onit has published an eBook (see the form below) that discusses how ELM solutions are positively impacting corporate legal departments like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), The Home Depot and Under Armour.

The eBook, available for free downloading, covers:

• Why ELM is more than just legal e-billing and spend management and “should” include contract management, legal holds, NDA creation, legal service requests, etc.
• Why “process automation” and collaboration is critical for performance
• Cues from the industry, market trends and Gartner’s predictions
• The new technology curve and future of legal operations technology

Download the eBook:

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The 2016 report on a comprehensive survey of law department operations, “Trying to Take the Leap from Small Changes to Major Disruptions,” can be downloaded from Blickstein Group at no charge.

Since 2008, Blickstein Group has worked in cooperation with Consilio to survey hundreds of law departments solely on the operations function to provide benchmarks that are useful to all law departments.

In addition to releasing the survey report, Blickstein Group will host a live webinar on Dec. 14 to provide exclusive analysis of survey results by five industry leaders. The complimentary online event will be Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m. EST.

Some of the topics covered will be:

• The role of the LDO
• Change management
• Alternative fee arrangements
• Technology and tools
• Metrics and reporting

Presenters at the webinar will be:

• Brad Blickstein – Principal, Blickstein Group and Publisher, Law Department Operations Survey
• Elizabeth Jaworski – Director, Legal Operations, Motorola Mobility and Member, Law Department Operations Survey Advisory Board
• Josh Rosenfeld – Vice President, Legal Services, QuisLex
• Robin Snasdell – Managing Director, Consilio
• Aaron Van Nice – Director of Legal Operations, Baxter Healthcare and Member, Law Department Operations Survey Advisory Board

Download the report or register for the webinar.

 

 

As the top lawyer for the Chicago Cubs, Lydia Wahlke spends most of her time protecting and enforcing the team’s brand, but she still gets to be a fan of the new World Series champions, according to an interview published in Bloomberg’s Big Law Business.

She spent four years at Miramax Films as a video editor and field producer before deciding to take the LSAT on a whim. That led to law school and then being hired as a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis in her home town of Chicago. Then in 2010 she joined the Cubs organization.

“One of the greatest challenges we have is also one of our greatest assets: our brand,” she told Bloomberg’s Casey Sullivan. “We have needed to find the right path to protecting and enforcing our brand, while allowing our fans to celebrate being fans and celebrate their love of the team. That can be challenging because we are 146 years old and it’s a really complex brand that has come about in many ways, including organically from fans celebrating the team. You have to find that dividing line between fighting people and protecting your licenses and protecting your brand long-term, but you don’t want to take the fun out of it. That can be deciding whether or not to enforce our mark.”

Read the Bloomberg article.

 

 

Zapproved has published “The New Law Department Professional,” which discusses the savings corporate legal departments can realize by bringing e-discovery in-house.

“Although their primary duty has always been to protect the organization, in-house legal professionals commonly wear two hats,” the company says in a release. “In addition to their core responsibilities, they often are tasked with handling the administrative operations of the legal department. In the past, marrying these dual roles meant that this less substantive, ministerial work became less of a priority and was pushed down to lower levels or that this work was compartmentalized, leading to independent—and inefficient—silos. Today, however, things have changed.

“These days, legal professionals are expected to lead the charge in implementing corporate initiatives aimed at reducing costs, mitigating risk, introducing new technologies, and changing corporate culture. No longer are the administrative priorities secondary to the substantive work—they are an integral part of it. At the 2016 Conference on Preservation Excellence, panelists discussed ways the new breed of law department professionals are helping to transform their department so it runs like a business, from e-discovery to information governance and more.”

The discussion features:

Moderator:

• Mike Quartararo, Director of Litigation Support Services, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

Panelists:

• David Castro, Associate General Counsel and Chief Litigation Counsel, Hess Corporation
• Dawn Radcliffe, Legal Operations Manager, TransCanada Pipelines, Ltd.
• Charisma Starr, Legal IT Manager, Exelon

Download The New Law Department Professional

 

 

The National Association of Corporate Directors has introduced the its new Strategic-Asset GC initiative, which recognizes the unique position general counsel hold relative to their boards of directors.

The new NACD initiation provides an exclusive view into how today’s general counsel are helping to craft boardroom strategy.

This NACD effort will aim to provide general counsel with valuable insights from directors, subject-matter experts, and fellow general counsel in order to help identify effective strategies for continued partnership. Led by a General Counsel Steering Committee, The Strategic-Asset GC initiative will include a quarterly webinar series, resources, and peer-to-peer events.

Sign up for access.

 

 

Navex Global has produced a benchmark report that can be used to help organizations judge how effective their third-party risk management systems are and how to make improvements.

On its website, Navex says one-third of organizations have faced recent legal action related to their third parties.

The new 2016 Third Party Risk Management Benchmark Report is available for free downloading.

Use this report to identify gaps, get buy-in for additional resources and make your program more efficient. The report discusses:

• Trends for screening and monitoring third parties
• About the program maturity model and how it impacts your due diligence programs
• How automated systems help increase performance satisfaction
• Recent developments in legal costs and number of incidents

Download the Navex report.

 

 

Exterro has published its “2016 In-House Legal Benchmarking Report,” which allows readers to compare their legal processes to their peers and learn how other legal departments are trying to become more productive and reduce legal spend without sacrificing defensibility.

The report, with the subtitle “Reducing Costs, Increasing Productivity in Today’s Complex Litigation Environment,” is available for free downloading.

The publication:

• is a 24-page comprehensive report, which surveyed 76 in-house legal professionals
• Key topics include how legal departments are allocating spend, techniques used to manage legal operations and much more…
• Interesting stats, including: 77% of respondents will invest or evaluate some type of legal project management software in the next 1 – 2 years

Download the report.

 

 

While a company cannot eliminate risks involving compromised data and systems, there are some actions that a company should take to protect data in the hands of third-party suppliers, advises Mayer Brown LLP.

In an article posted on the firm’s website, authors Rebecca S. Eisner, Lei Shen and Lindsay T. Brown discuss five privacy- and security-related questions that a general counsel should ask regarding company data in the hands of third-party suppliers and other business partners.

They questions they discuss at length are: Have We Assessed Our Security and Privacy Risks? How Robust Is Our Oversight of Third Parties Who Have Our Data or Access to Our Networks? Do We Have Appropriate Contractual Protections? How Do We Monitor Developments? and Do We Address Privacy and Security in Other Transactions, Such as M&A?

Read the article.

 

 

Above the Law covered the recent Association of Corporate Counsel annual meeting and published a wrap-up of its coverage.

The stories include some wise advice from a panel of general counsel, in “5 Tips For Running Your In-House Legal Department Like a Business.”

Other items include “Judge Richard Posner On SCOTUS: ‘The Supreme Court Is Awful’,” “5 Tips For In-House Lawyers To Make Discovery Less Painful,” “From Bathrooms To Body Art: Emerging Issues In Employment Law,” “How In-House Lawyers Can Expand The Role Of Non-Lawyers Allied Professionals To Improve Delivery Of Legal Services,” and “A Crash Course On Indemnification And Insurance In Big-Ticket Litigation.”

Also, “The Challenging Value Proposition Of Junior Associates,” “10 Tips For A New General Counsel,” “Litigation Finance: What Lawyers Need To Know,” “Explaining Privacy And Cybersecurity To A Corporate Board,” “5 Tips For Executing Major M&A Transactions,” and “What Will (And Won’t) Get Your M&A Deal Killed.”

Read the articles.

 

 

 

More than 40 percent of legal departments indicated the top benefit of increasing efficiency is being able to focus on more strategic work, and many are turning to legal department operations professionals to enable them to be more strategic in how they advise the business, according to the Thomson Reuters 2016 Legal Department In-Sourcing and Efficiency Report: The Keys to a More Effective Legal Department. The report, conducted for a second consecutive year, surveyed 429 attorneys and operational professionals working in corporate legal departments and examines how in-house teams are managing internal and external resources to achieve greater efficiency and productivity.

“As expected, we continued to hear that corporate legal departments are doing more with less,” said Mark Haddad, vice president of the Corporate segment for Thomson Reuters. “In-house teams are still dealing with the larger market changes that occurred following the 2008 global economic meltdown, and the survey uncovered how some in-house leaders are adjusting to these shifts: hiring legal department operations professionals to act as their change agents.”

The report reveals a rise in employing legal department operations (LDO) professionals in response to a backlash against the time-consuming administrative work facing legal departments. Many departments reported being besieged by the operational activities that come with being part of a corporation. Among the ways general counsel are addressing this is by employing LDOs to foster change.

“LDOs are managing outside counsel and employing legal managed services providers, as well as identifying and deploying new technologies across the legal department,” explained Haddad. “It’s an encouraging development in the legal profession. General counsel indicated a strong need to work more strategically, and bringing in LDO professionals to concentrate on business operations allows corporate counsel to focus on legal work and be more proactive and strategic in how they advise the business.”

The report found another upside to employing LDO professionals: By allowing corporate counsel to dedicate more time to the practice of law, less work has to go to outside counsel. The report analyzes how legal departments are keeping work in house, particularly with certain tasks related to contracts, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation. The report also explores which matters and tasks in-house counsel still turn to outside counsel for, and the reasons driving the work to law firms, including legal complexity and jurisdictional reasons.

“By changing how legal departments partner with outside counsel, hiring LDOs and implementing new technologies, legal departments are finding more ways to adapt to cost pressures and see a greater return on total legal spend,” added Haddad.

The report findings underscore general counsels’ awareness of the need for greater innovation to improve efficiency and productivity. It also assesses how in-house teams are introducing efficiencies within their legal departments — across people, processes and technology — and are further redefining the in-house/outside counsel relationship.

Download the report.

 

 

 

Bloomberg News reports on a Wall Street club that’s virtually unknown on Wall Street.

“The attendees are top in-house lawyers for some of the world’s most powerful banks — people who sit at the table for decisions that can shape multibillion-dollar litigation tabs for the likes of Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co.,” write Greg Farrell and Keri Geiger.

They report that attendees at the recent gathering wanted to discuss a common foe: “class-action lawyers who seek billions of dollars from top banks for alleged market manipulations and related bad behavior. Eric Grossman, chief legal officer at Morgan Stanley, implored his confederates to hang together and resist the temptation to settle quickly.”

Read the article.

 

 

 

The New York City Bar will host a special reception for in-house counsel on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6-7:30 p.m. The event will be at 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036.

The event will be an opportunity for counsel to network with other in-house counsel and members of the City Bar’s Executive Committee.

“If you’re already a member, please bring an in-house colleague that is not a member to help share the benefits of membership,” the City Bar says on its website. “Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres while networking with your peers in our landmark building.”

Making remarks will be:

• Darryl Gibbs, Lead Director & Associate General Counsel at AXA US: Chair, In-House Counsel Committee, New York City Bar Association
• Mei Lin Kwan – Gett , Deputy General Counsel & Global Head of Litigation, Citigroup
• Bret Parker, Executive Director, New York City Bar Association

Get more information and register.