“Exxon Mobil dodged a bullet last month when a judge rejected a novel climate-change lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general. The case began with a promise from state officials that there would be a historic reckoning for the fossil fuel giant.” reports Erik Larson in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“It ended ignominiously as a failed accounting fraud claim.”

“Globally, humans are on the hook for trillions of dollars if they want to sufficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions, acclimate to the damage already done and prepare for what is yet to come. As more governments and taxpayers find themselves staring down the barrel at rising climate costs, they are increasingly turning to the courts to hold Big Oil accountable.”

“Federal appeals courts on both sides of the country are considering whether such cases may proceed. Their rulings-one of which may come any day-will have a powerful effect on the future of climate change litigation.”

Read the San Francisco Chronicle’s article.

“Federal prosecutors allege that a former Morrison & Foerster office operations manager spent more than $400,000 on the firm’s credit card to make personal purchases and transfer money to his PayPal account.” reports Debra Cassens Weiss of the ABA Journal.

“The former employee, Andrew Robertson, faces a preliminary hearing at the end of the month in Washington, D.C., on a federal mail fraud charge.”

“Robertson is accused of spending money on personal purchases that included designer clothing, jewelry, home furnishings, groceries, his Verizon bill and storage units for his personal items.”

Read the article.

“Two state agencies are taking the unusual step of trying to stop Riot Games from paying out $10 million to female employees as part of a settlement over a gender discrimination class action suit.” reports the Los Angeles Times. “The state thinks the women could be entitled to as much as $400 million instead.”

“The suit began in November 2018, when two women who had worked at the Los Angeles game studio, which makes the popular “League of Legends” title, sued over violations of the California Equal Pay Act, alleging they were routinely subjected to sexual harassment and gender discrimination.”

Read the Los Angeles Times article.

“The judge presiding over a case which saw Johnson & Johnson hit with an $8bn jury verdict has reduced the amount the company has to pay in damages to $6.8m.” reports PM Live.

“Last October,  J&J was ordered to pay $8bn in damages to a US man who claims he was not warned that taking the company’s antipsychotic Risperdal could lead to breast growth.” A jury in Philidelphia agreed with his allegations.

Johnson & Johnson appealed the verdict arguing the size of the payout was “grossly disproportionate”.

Read PM Live‘s article.

The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics will host Academies in 18 locations worldwide to help Deepen Your Compliance Expertise in 2020.

Learn to effectively manage a compliance and ethics program and mitigate risk at your organization at one of SCCE’s Basic Compliance & Ethics Academies. They are ideal for professionals who want to raise their knowledge level and help improve the effectiveness of their organization’s program.

While at the Academy, you can also take an optional Compliance Certification Board (CCB)®  exam. They offer the Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP)® exam at US Academies and the Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional — International (CCEP-I)® exam outside of the US. Learn more about certification and the exam at SCCE to see if you meet the criteria and have the practical work experience it takes to become certified.

Register for the event or get details.

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.

“An indemnification remedy against sellers (subject to a cap) continues to find its way into many private company acquisition agreements,” explains Glenn D. West in  Global Private Equity Watch’s Glenn West Musings.

He writes “absent an exclusive remedy provision, a non-breaching party is entitled to damages under the common law for a breaching party’s failure to abide by the terms of the contract irrespective of whether that contract contains an indemnification clause.” Further “the historical fact that indemnification was not normally associated with direct (or first party) claims continues to cause courts some confusion and requires care by deal lawyers to avoid misunderstandings and unintended results.”

Read the article.

The ABA Journal reports that a lawsuit claims that Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and its lawyers took advantage of a corporate CEO who was suffering from substance abuse and mental health problems.

The Journal‘s Debra Cassens Weiss explains:

“The suit, filed in state court in New York, says Akin Gump took over finances and bookkeeping for Future Media Architects, a family-owned company that acquires and sells internet domain names. Akin Gump also directed and negotiated the sale of the domain names, often without input from its then-CEO and half owner, Thunayan Al-Ghanim, the suit says.”

…

“But eventually,” the suit alleges, “Akin Gump—aware that Thunayan was in no condition to monitor either FMA’s or Akin Gump’s activities—took advantage of the opportunity to loot FMA’s assets for personal profit.”

Read the  ABA Journal article.

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.

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.

Reed Smith announced that Jared Kelly has joined as a partner in the firm’s Global Corporate Group in New York.

Kelly formerly was with White & Case LLP.

Kelly is the seventh partner to join the Global Corporate Group since May, when Reed Smith opened its office in Dallas with three corporate partners.

In a release, the firm said Kelly focuses his practice on corporate finance transactions, including equity securities offerings, traditional bank finance and high yield bond issuances. He represents companies in the energy, fintech, media and manufacturing industries on securities issuances, SEC disclosure issues, corporate governance matters and exchange listing compliance. He has advised companies on corporate restructurings and recapitalizations, and represented borrowers and private equity sponsors on leveraged finance acquisitions, spin-offs, carve-outs and various debt financings.

Kelly began his legal career at Ballard Spahr LLP, before moving to Kirkland & Ellis, LLP in 2014. He received his BS, magna cum laude, in economics and political science from Florida State University, and his J.D. and LL.M. in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Other recent additions to the Global Corporate Group in New York include Tadaski Okamoto, who joined from Morrison & Foerster on Oct. 8, and Sandy K. Feldman who joined on Oct. 23 from K&L Gates. Chauncey Lane joined the practice on November 7 in Dallas from Husch Blackwell. The launch of the firm’s newest office in Dallas in May included Bobby Majumder, Ryan J. Preston and Lynwood E. (Lyn) Reinhardt in the Global Corporate Group, all of whom joined from Perkins Coie.

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.

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.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at a specific product liability case and puts it into context in the larger question of how Amazon and other internet companies try to avoid a legal burden when the products they sell malfunction, causing injury and damage.

The article by Alexandra Berzon tells the story of malfunctioning hoverboards that caused millions of dollars in damages when they burst into flames.

“The cases are testing a longtime argument made by Amazon and other internet companies, one that underpins the modern tech industry,” she writes. “We are just operating a platform that connects buyers and sellers, the argument goes. It’s up to the sellers who use our site to make sure that they meet proper safety standards.”

Read the WSJ article.

Nine law firms face civil claims they aided and abetted a multimillion-dollar securities scam run by convicted fraudster Robert Shapiro through the now-defunct real estate investment firm Woodbridge Group of Cos., according to a Courthouse News Service report.

The suit, seeking $500 million inn general damages, describes a web of collusion with Woodbridge, through which Shapiro engineered a classic $1.3 billion Ponzi scheme that targeted the elderly and their retirement accounts, reports Courthouse News’ Maria Dinzeo.

Woodbridge, now in bankruptcy, is suing through its trustee.

The firms named as defendants are Halloran & Sage LLP, Robinson & Cole LLP, Finn Dixon & Herling LLP and Rome McGuigan P.C. of Connecticut; Balcomb & Green P.C. and Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP of Colorado; Bailey Cavalieri LLC of Ohio; and Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLC and Sidley Austin LLP of Illinois.

Read the Courthouse News article.

The former chief executive of Bumble Bee Foods LLC, Chris Lischewski, was found guilty of price-fixing on Tuesday, reports Bloomberg.

Prosecutors in a San Francisco court alleged that he conspired with colleagues and executives at rival companies on a “peace proposal” in order to boost prices and meet earnings targets set by Bumble Bee’s 2010 sale to Lion Capital, according to the report.

Bumble Bee pleaded guilty in 2017 to a felony charge of conspiring with competitors Starkist Co. and Chicken of the Sea Inc. to fix and raise prices of canned tuna in the U.S. from 2011 through at least late 2013.

Read the Reuters article.

Image by NY Photographic

NAVEX Global is inviting participants to contribute input to its annual Corporate Compliance Benchmark Report.

“As a legal professional within the risk and compliance field, your experience and opinions are vital to helping us define what matters in this quickly evolving field,” the company says in its invitation.

Participants who take this 25-minute survey will receive a free copy of the report, as well as early and exclusive insights into survey results and analysis.

Phase5, an independent marketing research firm, will be collecting all the feedback. All responses are confidential and will be reported only in aggregate form. Individual data will never be shared with any other party, NAVEX says.

Take the survey.

The National Association of Corporate Directors has published “A Field Guide to Bad Directors” from NACD Directorship magazine for a close look at the behaviors of the least effective and most distracting directors.

A copy of the article can be downloaded from the NACD website at no charge.

These bad actors suffer from inattention to detail, a narrow field of focus, entitled behavior, and inadequacy, NACD says. Among the 14 types, the “Representative” can’t see the big picture and instead focuses on one specific issue. The “Financial Stumbler” is comfortable with basic financial terminology, but becomes lost when the financial discussion turns technical. The “Questioner” claims to ask tough questions but is really hiding a lack of preparation.

Download the article.

Exterro has published the 2019 In-House Legal Benchmarking Report, comparing in-house legal processes among 180 participating legal departments.

Compared to last year’s results, legal teams are choosing to coordinate services with fewer outside partners and are moving more operations in-house.

The report can be downloaded at no charge from the Exterro website.

Exterro says on its website that the report provides:

• 4 important takeaways to help improve your legal processes in 2020

• Results to 29 questions surrounding in-house legal activities

• Data to help drive change in your in-house legal department

Download the report.

The 8th annual Ethics & Compliance Virtual Conference will feature a full agenda dedicated to helping compliance programs remediate risk holistically—from preventive to reactive program components.

The NAVEX Global event, scheduled for Oct. 24, 2019, is designed to help participants understand global complexities, budget restrictions and the future of integrated risk management.

Webinar sessions will include:

• Driving Lasting Impact for Compliance Investment
• How to Impress or Underwhelm a Federal Prosecutor
• Predictive Analytics for Proactive Compliance Programs
• Correlation Between Brand Reputation Damage & Hotline Reports

Register for the event.