Facebook announced that it’s bringing in a new general counsel as it tries to rebuild its image following a year filled with scandals, according to a CNBC report.

Jennifer Newstead, legal adviser to the U.S. State Department, is joining the company as its general counsel, replacing Colin Stretch, who said last year that he would be departing.

“Newstead brings some controversy with her,” writes CNBC’s Ari Levy. “As part of the George W. Bush administration in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Newstead helped draft the Patriot Act, which granted law enforcement agencies greater surveillance power over ordinary Americans.”

Read the CNBC article.

GAN Integrity has published the second edition of A Blueprint for an Automated Compliance Program, an ebook that can be downloaded from the GAN website at no charge.

The ebook is a detailed guide to risk management, due diligence, training, policy management, reporting, and more.

The book is designed to help readers:

• Understand what to ask when designing your processes
• Comprehend the building blocks of an automated compliance program
• Grasp how automation streamlines previously time-consuming processes
• See how automation heightens the strategic value of compliance

Download the ebook.

A prosecutor in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, finds himself embroiled in a legal scorched earth conflict against his county commissioners — a fight that started when he used $21,000 in asset forfeiture funds to lease a car.

Above the Law traces the conflict between the commissioners and Lancaster District Attorney Craig Stedman.

Along the way, Stedman doubled down after commissioners said they would have leased him a vehicle through proper channels if he’d asked for one, but that using the forfeited funds to get a car on his own violated protocol, writes Above the Law senior editor Joe Patrice.

Stedman sued the commissioners, and they responded by blocking the use of county funds for the lawsuit. Stedman turned over documents, but the records didn’t include receipts documenting what specific seized items were sold and what items were bought with the proceeds.

Read the Above the Law article.

Bowling Green State University’s top lawyer was placed on leave Friday and will begin serving a 30-day jail sentence Monday after a Wood County judge found him to be in contempt of court while representing himself during his divorce hearings, according to The Toledo Blade.

The Blade‘s Allison Dunn explains:

Sean P. FitzGerald, 58, who is employed as the university’s general counsel and vice president, was sentenced by visiting Judge Stephen Yarbrough following a series of misbehavior incidents while representing himself in the Wood County Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations Division in the divorce from his wife, Margaret A. FitzGerald.

Read the Toledo Blade article.

Hertz Global Holdings has filed a lawsuit against its former general counsel and some other former managers after they refused to pay back at least $70 million in incentive compensation for their roles in an accounting scandal five years ago, reports The Global Legal Post.

The company accused the former executives of pressuring employees to use fraudulent accounting techniques to inflate income and earnings, according to a March 25 lawsuit.

Former general counsel Jeffrey Zimmerman has refused to return incentive compensation tied to the erroneous accounting results.

Read the Global Legal Post article.

SeaWorld Entertainment’s former associate general counsel, who was fired last October, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of insider trading that allowed him to make nearly $65,000 from a stock sale last year, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Paul B. Powers, 60, entered his plea before a U.S. district judge in Florida. Sentencing has not yet been determined, writes the Union-Tribune‘s Lori Weisberg.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that it had also charged Powers with insider trading based on confidential information he received that SeaWorld’s revenue would be better than anticipated for the second quarter of 2018.

Read the Union-Tribune article.

The National Association of Corporate Directors will present the 2019 Strategic-Asset GC event, taking place Tuesday, June 11, at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.

The event will feature an expert panel that will include former U.S. deputy attorney general Sally Yates. Participants will learn about revisions being made to the Yates Memo and how those revisions will apply to board members specifically. The discussion will also include information about legal blind spots that general counsel and directors need to be aware of, as well as a poignant discussion around the bigger picture of corporate responsibility and culture.

Learn more and register.

Berkeley Law professor Amelia Miazad will analyze how the #MeToo movement has impacted foundational aspects of corporate governance when Berkeley Boosts presents a free webinar on April 23, 2019, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. MCLE credit will be available.

Those aspects to be discussed include board composition, how the board oversees risk, CEO selection and compensation, and M&A deals.

Berkeley Boosts is a monthly series of free webinars (with MCLE credit) and articles for legal practitioners and organizational leaders. Berkeley Boosts content is curated by the Berkeley Center for Law and Business and Berkeley Law Executive Education.

Register for the webinar.

Past Berkeley Boosts webinars have covered a range of topics, including:

The Wild World of Class Actions
March 20, 2019
Presenters: David Singh, Partner and Hannah Jones, Associate at Weil

The Rise of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
February 26, 2019
Presenter: Mario Mancuso, Kirkland & Ellis (formerly Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security)

Blockchain Explained
January 22, 2019
Presenters: Ian Lee, IDEO CoLab, and Nancy Wojtas, Cooley LLP

To access recordings of these presentations, as well as receive notice of upcoming webinars, sign up for the mailing list.

During his five years as Halliburton’s top lawyer, Robb Voyles has won two cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, successfully concluded a nine-figure tax dispute with its former KBR subsidiary and convinced the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to end its investigation of the company without a fraud finding.

Mark Curriden of the Texas Lawbook, writing for the Houston Chronicle, profiles the chief legal officer, one of the most senior and respected executives at Halliburton and widely recognized as a leader of the legal profession.

Just three weeks ago, Voyles won what may have been his sweetest victory yet — and it involves the first case that brought Voyles to the attention of Halliburton executives, Curriden writes. Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn of Dallas officially dismissed the final remnants of a nearly two-decade-old securities class-action lawsuit.

Read the Houston Chronicle article.

Flexera will present a complimentary webinar discussing the role of in-house and external counsel in managing open source software in the business environment.

The event will be Thursday, April 18, 2019, at 9 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. CT / 12 noon ET.

“Having some best practice guidelines that more clearly define your role and help you guide companies through license compliance and risk management only reinforces and bolsters one of your most important responsibilities as a legal advisor,” the company says in its invitation.

Speakers will be Amy Chun, partner in Knobbe Martens, and Marty Mellican, vice president and associate general counsel of Flexera.

Register for the webinar.

The former general counsel for the South Florida Hospital District has sued the district and two of its board members, claiming they fired her in retaliation for trying to stop them from violating the law, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Reporter Cindy Krischer Goodman of the Sun-Sentinel explains:

Kimarie Stratos claims the district’s board of commissioners wrongly fired her in September after eight years on the job. In her lawsuit, she alleges her termination happened in retaliation for repeatedly reporting Sunshine Act violations, as well as objections to releasing confidential medical information, wasting of public funds, and other actions by board members. By firing her, she alleges the district has violated the Florida Whistle Blowers Act.

Read the Sun-Sentinel article.

Leading ethics and compliance software and services company NAVEX Global announced the release of its 2019 Ethics & Compliance Hotline Benchmark Report. The report, which includes the first full year of results since the #MeToo era began, shows an overall 18 percent increase in harassment reports during 2017 and 2018 with 41 percent of these reports substantiated.

“These findings reflect strong growth in the number of employees willing to speak out against harassment – and they should serve as notice to employers that #MeToo is a fundamental shift in employees’ willingness to tolerate harassment,” said Carrie Penman, chief compliance officer and senior vice president, Advisory Services, NAVEX Global. “That said, the problem of harassing conduct is larger than these numbers reflect as many employees still fear reporting. Failed cultures, ineffective internal processes, fear of retaliation and lack of leadership support will continue to result in numbers that do not reflect the true pervasiveness of workplace harassment.”

In addition to claims of sexual harassment, employees are also reluctant to raise reports of retaliation when they lack trust in internal processes. “Reports of retaliation remain extremely low in comparison to the trends we are seeing in external reporting to government agencies,” said Penman. “The gap between internal and external retaliation reporting should be concerning to all boards, executives and compliance professionals. It is time to focus the attention and resources needed to identify, address and prevent retaliatory behaviour.”

The report also found a substantial 18 percent increase in discrimination reports in 2018. However, the substantiation rate of these cases remains significantly lower than the overall case substantiation rate of 29 percent. This is likely because discrimination claims, like retaliation claims, are often based on perceived behaviour rather than on a clear statement or evidence, making these types of cases more difficult to prove.

The 2019 hotline report is the first in which NAVEX Global received and analysed over 1 million employee reports in a single year. One of the key findings is that availability and tracking of all report intake methods matters. Organizations that offer and track the full range of intake methods (hotline, web, open door, etc.) show a much higher reporting rate than do organizations that track only phone and web: 2.1 per 100 employees versus 1.1 per 100. Organizations in the latter category are missing a significant percentage of concerns and risks that employees could be raising.

Finally, this year’s hotline benchmark report included several other results that organizations should consider as they look to improve their own programs.

•Follow-ups to anonymous reporting dropped to a disappointing level, from a median 32 percent in 2017 to 20 percent in 2018. This is particularly striking given that overall report substantiation for anonymous reporters remained high at 38 percent, only slightly lower than the overall rate of 42 percent. “More than half of reports received on hotlines are made by anonymous reporters, so employee failure to follow up on those reports can impact the ability to successfully resolve an issue,” said Penman.

•There was some improvement in case closure time with a median rate of 40 days in 2018, compared with 44 in 2017 and the all-time high of 46 days in 2015. But the 2018 median was still far higher than a best-practice average of 30 to 32 days. Given that employees can become cynical if reports aren’t handled promptly, these findings show that many organizations should review their case-handling and investigation procedures, while also consulting with senior leadership about gaps in available resources.

•Reports made to hotlines that were inquiries, not allegations, decreased to an all-time low of 15 percent. Accepting questions before action is taken is the best way to avoid a problem later. Organizations should encourage employees to use the hotline as a helpline that can offer advice and assistance – and not just a place to file reports.

NAVEX Global will present a webinar covering the survey results. The full 2019 Hotline Benchmark report will be available for download during the webinar.

High Performance Counsel will kick off its #ThinkTank series with the first quarterly briefing on the state of the legal industry  on April 12, 2019.

Faculty members recruited by the company will share their thoughts on just three questions – each designed to elicit actionable intelligence to equip the modern legal professional navigating the marketplace.

“We’ve created #ThinkTank to be a critical sounding board for those looking ahead – and looking to get ahead – in the modern legal industry,” the company says on its website. “Our annual #ThinkTank membership program provides exclusive access to #hipcounsel events, including our State of the Legal Industry Quarterly Briefings and Members Only published insights.”

Register for #ThinkTank.

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Wells Fargo general counsel C. Allen Parker will take over as interim president and chief executive of the company after the abrupt departure of chief executive Tim Sloan on Thursday.

Sloan had spent more than two years trying without success to convince lawmakers and regulators that the embattled bank is no longer a threat to its customers, according to Renae Merle of The Washington Post.

“Sloan spent more than two years on an countrywide apology tour after Wells Fargo acknowledged a pattern of consumer abuses — from opening millions of fraudulent accounts on behalf of its customers without their consent to mistakenly foreclosing on hundreds of clients and repossessing the cars of thousands of others. Sloan’s pleas often failed to win over frustrated lawmakers,” Merle writes.

Read the Post article.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the former general counsel of the Houston Housing Authority won $1.87 million in a lawsuit against the agency after she accused it of retaliation.

“Karen Miniex, the former general counsel for the agency, alleged her boss at the housing agency retaliated against her after she investigated fraud in the agency’s voucher program targeted at veterans,” according to the report. “The trial was held before U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas.”

A statement from the agency said an appeal is being considered, should the judge uphold the jury’s verdict.

Read the Houston Chronicle article.

NAVEX Global will present a complimentary webinar title “Employee Hotlines: What Is Your Data Telling You?” on Thursday, April 4, at 10 a.m. Pacific time/1 p.m. Eastern time.

Studies show that effective internal whistleblower programs contribute to business success, including lower levels of litigation. Yet, external reports to the SEC are on the rise, with many employees failing to use internal reporting systems due to fear of retaliation.

The webinar will allow participants to compare how their hotline programs measures up against benchmarks from more than one million anonymized reports from industry leader NAVEX Global.

Register for the webinar.

Morae Global and SimpleLegal will present a breakfast and a panel discussion offering a practical look at digital transformation in corporate legal departments.

The complimentary event will be Wednesday, April 3, 2019, 7:30-9 a.m. CDT, Wells Fargo Plaza, 1000 Louisiana Street, Ground Floor Auditorium, Houston, TX 77002.

Digital transformation has become a rallying cry for business and technology strategists, the sponsors said in a release. Unfortunately, only 19 percent of in-house legal teams are well positioned to support enterprise digital efforts (Gartner). This presents a great opportunity for legal departments to use new technologies to reduce operating costs, increase productivity, and deliver enhanced new services to their company and adhere to regulatory and compliance obligations.

The event will cover:

• The Way We Work – Rethinking workflows and ensuring that the right people are doing the right work.
• Transformative Use of Technology – Considering how to leverage digital technologies in transforming work, collaboration and business facilitation.
• Use of Data Analytics – How businesses can identify previously unknown correlations among data to better predict outcomes, optimize delivery, mitigate risk, and tailor solutions to consumer demands and expectations.
• Change Management and Adoption – Best practices on leveraging change management to assist in the successful digital transformation of the legal department.

The panel will consist of Russ Dempsey (AGC at AIG), Ben Chrisman (AGC at Gridliance) and Ryan Murphy (Director of Legal Operations at LyondellBasell).

Register for the event.

The Rockefeller Foundation announced that Maria Santos Valentin has been named general counsel and corporate secretary for the foundation.

Valentin joined the foundation from the Soros Economic Development Fund – part of the Open Society Foundations – where she served as secretary and general counsel. In her new role, Valentin will oversee and advise the foundation on a broad range of legal matters, the foundation said in a news release.

Valentin has worked with the Open Society Institute since its inception in 1998. During her tenure, she has structured and negotiated more than 40 innovative program-related investments around the world, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, India, Africa and the Middle East, which totaled over $200 million. The investments focused on increasing financial inclusion around the world and improving the lives of smallholder farmers, refugees and migrants. Valentin also served as deputy general counsel for the Open Society Institute, also part of the Open Society Foundations.

“Maria brings a cogent combination of global legal experience and governance knowledge,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation. “Her experience structuring impact investments to have the maximum social outcome for poor and vulnerable communities will be an invaluable asset to The Rockefeller Foundation as we continue to identify opportunities to drive large-scale human impact through solutions in data, technology and innovative finance. I’m confident that Maria will be an exceptional advisor and am thrilled to welcome her to our leadership team.”

“I am delighted to be joining The Rockefeller Foundation as General Counsel,” said Valentin. “I look forward to using my experience to help the Foundation achieve deeper impact. It is a great privilege to be a part of an institution with such a deep and long history of generating and catalyzing positive social change, and to join Dr. Shah’s senior leadership team in achieving the Foundation’s new strategic vision in the U.S. and around the world.”

Prior to her work at the Soros Economic Development Fund, Valentin spent a decade working as an international corporate securities lawyer, first for Brown & Wood, based in the United States, and then Clifford Chance, based in the United Kingdom. In that capacity, Valentin worked on emerging market capital markets transactions in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. She is a graduate of Fordham University and received a J.D. from Yale Law School.

“Maria has been an instrumental player in the growth and development of the Open Society Foundations,” said Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations. “Her expertise and experience range far and wide – from the nitty gritty of philanthropic governance issues to the cutting-edge aspects of impact investing to advance social good. We are grateful for all that she has done to advance our work at Open Society, wish her every success in her exciting new opportunity as general counsel at Rockefeller, and look forward to continued partnership in the years to come.”

Valentin will assume her new role on April 29, 2019.

Above the Law has published the results of its 2019 Outside Counsel Rankings, based on surveys of in-house counsel at top companies.

Approximately 1,000 in-house lawyers — from nearly 500 companies and more than 40 cities — responded with evaluations of their outside law firms. The survey asked two questions: 1.) “Which law firms does your company engage for legal services?” and 2.) “Please indicate the highest level legal work for which your company will engage the particular firm(s).”

Responses led to the rankings, in which 50 firms were grouped in two tiers.

See Above the Law’s rankings.

Bonduelle Fresh Americas, formerly Ready Pac Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bonduelle, announced the appointment of Monica Johnson, general counsel, to its Executive Committee, the business unit’s senior leadership team.

Johnson joined the company in October 2018 and was appointed to the senior leadership team in January. She is responsible for providing professional legal advice and representation for all legal, regulatory and government matters affecting the business. As part of her role, she also provides legal advice and support to Bonduelle Americas Long Life, the company’s North American canned and frozen business unit based in Canada, the company said in a release.

“Monica’s deep legal experience with a variety of industries, as well as her government affairs background, bring great diversity to the Bonduelle Fresh Americas leadership team,” said Bonduelle Fresh Americas CEO Mary Thompson. “The general counsel role is an important one for Bonduelle Fresh Americas and she has made a positive impact on many areas of the business in her short tenure here.”

The company said Johnson brings more than 15 years of legal experience to Bonduelle in a broad range of industries, including foodservice, technology, manufacturing and supply chain/logistics. Prior to joining Bonduelle, she was assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary at Ventura Foods, LLC, a privately held manufacturer and distributor of branded and private-label food products, including dressings, oils, sauces, dips, shortening, margarine, butter blends, mayonnaises, and flavor bases. Before Ventura Foods, Johnson was senior counsel at Western Digital, served as corporatecounsel of BAX Global and was an associate at the law firm Theodora Oringher and Yoka & Smith.

Johnson has government affairs experience as well, having served in the administrations of three California governors. Most recently she served for eight years on the California Board of Optometry as an appointee of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as vice chair partnering with board members to protect the public and regulate the profession of optometry.