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.

The National Association of Corporate Directors has published the 2019 NACD Blue Ribbon Commission Report―Fit for the Future: An Urgent Imperative for Board Leadership—an invaluable resource for board rooms across America.

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

NACD members receive the added advantage of a comprehensive toolkit that helps boards transform information into meaningful action. The toolkit includes case studies, sample documents, questions to inform boardroom discussions, and other resources. NACD members benefit from this additional level of support that ensures that knowledge yields results.

Download the report.

The former general counsel of Mithril Capital Management, Crystal McKellar, has staged a multi-pronged campaign to disparage the company, according to a new legal petition filed in Texas, where Mithril has its headquarters.

McKellar was the company’s only general counsel, reports TechCrunch.

Fox Business reports that the lawsuit claims: “After leaving the business, she immediately ‘began a concerted whisper campaign to undermine Mithril, in which she would make false, anonymous complaints to Mithril’s limited partners.'”

McKellar is a Harvard-trained lawyer and former child TV star. Mithril is owned by Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire who toppled Gawker Media.

Read the TechCrunch article.

PactSafe has published a new guide that outlines different ways a legal department can foster effective cross-departmental relationships. It offers ideas that can be implemented this week, and tips that can plant the seed for more strategic, long-term change.

“Whether your goals are focused on increasing sales velocity, more efficient employee on-boarding, or mitigating risk of a new product, the legal department is often seen as an operational bottleneck and inhibitor of innovation,” PactSafe says on its website. “With 2020 on the horizon, legal needs to refresh its reputation—and understand its unique position to enable innovation—and it starts with better interdepartmental relationships.”

The guide covers:

• How legal and sales can maintain a united front when closing a deal
• Why legal and finance need to collaborate better on budget
• Ways legal and HR can limit risk of employee charges
• How legal and dev can find common ground in risk management and UX design

Download the free guide.

Three recent court decisions raise a few issues to keep in mind for employers to keep in mind when drafting arbitration agreements for employees, according to a post on Bradley Arant Boult Cummings’ Labor & Employment Insights blog.

The authors, Bridget Warren and Anne R. Yuengert, discuss the common characteristics that an agreement should include.

They also advise drafters to include class and collective action waivers and how to update existing agreements to include such a waiver while a lawsuit is pending.

Finally, they advise paying attention to state laws that affect what can be included in the arbitration agreement.

Read the article.

The annual meeting of the Association of Corporate Counsel in Phoenix in October will feature more than 140 sessions that will allow participants to earn up to a year’s worth of CLE/CPD credit in less than three days.

The event will be Oct. 27-30.

Topics at those sessions will include such subjects as contract drafting, data security, corporate sustainability, records management, and business education for in-house counsel.

Register or get more information.

The National Association of Corporate Directors, in partnership with Marsh & McClennan Companies, has published a report outlining a practical approach to advancing board oversight of digital transformation and emerging technologies.

The report is available by downloading from the NACD website at no charge.

“This report includes fresh, primary research and one-on-one interviews with leading directors and experts and identifies five foundational principles that will help directors navigate the complexities of artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things, robotics process automation and more,” the organization says on its website. “Each principle includes specific recommendations to help directors avoid potential pitfalls, spot red flags, and formulate and adopt a more cohesive oversight approach.”

Download the report.

ContractWorks has published a guide to recognizing, establishing, and monitoring the most important key performance indicators for corporate agreements.

“Using KPIs to Measure Contract Management Performance” is available for downloading from ContractWorks’ website at no charge.

This publication can provide guidance on creating effective KPIs for key contracting areas, discussing steps for successfully presenting objectives and KPIs, using KPIs to actively monitor SMART objectives, and discussing tips for getting started and ensuring success.

Download the guide.

The law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP advised Stabilis Energy, LLC in connection with a share exchange transaction with American Electric Technologies, Inc. pursuant to which Stabilis Energy, LLC and its subsidiaries became wholly-owned subsidiaries of AETI and the former owners of Stabilis and its subsidiaries acquired control of AETI.

Immediately following the closing of the transaction, AETI changed its name to Stabilis Energy, Inc. Stabilis Energy, Inc. is a vertically integrated provider of small-scale liquefied natural gas production, distribution, and fueling services headquartered in Houston.

Going forward, the combined company will operate under the name Stabilis Energy, Inc. and its common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “SLNG” on July 29, 2019.

The Thompson & Knight team assisting Stabilis was led by partners C. Walker Brierre Jr. and Stephen W. Grant Jr., and of counsel Jerry L. Metcalf with assistance from partners Roger D. Aksamit, Anthony J. Campiti, John R. Cohn, Jason Patrick Loden, James C. Morriss III, Micah R. Prude, and Timothy T. Samson; of counsel Alan P. Baden; and associates Heath C. DeJean, Kelsie Haaland, Dasha K. Hodge, Murtuza Hussain, Emily W. Miller, David J. Rusk, and D. Alexander Witschey.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, NAVEX Global will host a complimentary Master Class consisting of webinars discussing the topic of diversity and inclusion.

Most compliance professionals know it’s important to highlight “diversity and inclusion” when discussing corporate priorities with your board, executives and employees, NAVEX says on its website. But how do you really move the needle from making talking points to cultivating a truly diverse and inclusive workplace where employees feel a sense of belonging and value?

Attend this class to hear:

• Foundations for an Effective Diversity & Inclusion Program
• Going Beyond Ideology to Achieve Impact with Diversity & Inclusion
• Live Q&A with Instructors

Register for the webinars.

Image by Elliott Brown

Two years ago, Tony West, then the general counsel for Pepsi, took a look at a newspaper exposé about Uber and told a colleague: “Man, I’m glad I’m not the GC of that company, they’ve got some real problems.”

Business Insider tells how West came to become the top lawyer at the once-troubled company.

A few months after West saw the exposé, Dara Khosrowshahi, who had recently taken over the helm of Uber following the ousting of founder Travis Kalanick, pitched West, a former federal prosecutor, on the idea of joining Uber.

“I left that meeting in a very different mind space, in terms of both thinking about what an incredible opportunity this was, and clearly the challenges the company was facing at that time, which really fit my resume,” he said.

Read the Business Insider article.

A Madoff whistleblower accused General Electric of using accounting tricks to mask the extent of its financial problems and called it “a bigger fraud than Enron,” reports The Washington Post.

“Harry Markopolos, who alerted regulators about Bernie Madoff, published a report Thursday that said GE’s accounting irregularities added up to $38 billion,” writes the Post‘s Jonelle Marte. “The investigator, who is collaborating with a hedge fund that wasn’t named, says GE understated its costs and liabilities and misled investors in its financial statements.”

GE chief executive Lawrence Culp responded that the allegation is “market manipulation — pure and simple.” He also said Markopolos never talked to company officials about his allegations.

Read the Post article.

A brief published by the National Association of Corporate Directors takes a serious look at the critical interaction between the general counsel and the board during a crisis.

The information contained in the brief was captured from an in-depth discussion of Fortune 500 board leaders.

The publication, titled “Communicating in Times of Crisis: Insights From Fortune 500 Committee Chairs,” can be downloaded from the NACD website at no charge.

It addresses the question: How can the general counsel manage the timing of communications with stakeholders and balance the need for transparency with the organization’s risk appetite—amid an ongoing investigation?

Download the brief.

The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics’ 18th Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute will feature leading industry experts who will cover real world compliance issues, emerging trends, and practical applications.

The event will be in National Harbor, MD, Sept. 15-18, 2019.

Participants will learn about current hot topics such as global antitrust compliance, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, artificial intelligence, and preventing harassment and discrimination.

The SCCE says CEI is ideal for any professional who deals with compliance and ethics issues as part of their job duties, including compliance and ethics professionals, in-house and outside counsel, audit managers/officers, consultants, corporate executives and leaders, human resource managers, information officers, privacy officers, regulators and other government personnel, researchers and policy makers, risk managers, staff educators and trainers.

Get more information or register.

Center for Board Excellence and Corporate Board Member have published “Guide to Board Assessments,” a practical and digestible guide to getting the most out of the board assessment process.

The guide can be downloaded at no charge.

“An annual board assessment is a mainspring process for maximizing board effectiveness,” CBE says. “Corporate governance is not one-size-fits-all, and a board’s assessment process should be appropriately tailored to meet each board’s objectives. Performing an annual board assessment is fundamental to strong governance.”

Some of the benefits of conducting an effective board assessment are:

• Promote stronger board and management alignment
• Enhance focus on key strategic areas
• Clarify board composition needs
• Identify board culture strengths and improvements

Download the guide.