Kim Technologies has announced the launch of its Intelligent Legal Operations Platform, which allows in-house teams to automate various law department processes quickly and easily without the need for IT development or coding.

The award-winning Kim platform is already being used by a number of Global 100 companies for activities ranging from contract and in-life management, litigation and employment, to compliance, patents and property. More information can be found here.

Real world examples of how global law departments are using the technology will be demonstrated by in-house leaders at two sessions during the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium in Las Vegas May 9-11.

And the developer will present a complimentary forthcoming webinar at 11.30 ET on May 25: How Kim’s no-code AI platform is transforming legal departments around the globe.

See details of the new platform.

The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium will hold its 2nd Annual CLOC Institute on May 9-11, 2017 at Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas.

Known as the largest gathering of legal operations professionals in the world, this year’s conference will feature more than 70 sessions and 120 speakers. More information can be found in a press release here.

To see a list of all the sessions, click here.

Some session highlights and speakers include:

• “Was It Something I Said?: Advanced Workshop on the Role of Personality in a Successful Law Department,” featuring Larry Richard of LawyerBrain (pre-session on May 8);
• “The Future is Closer Than You Think: A Conversation with Richard Susskind,” featuring Richard Susskind, author of “Tomorrow’s Lawyers”;
• “Legal Operations Maturity Model: How Do You Rate?”;
• “Beyond the Hype about AI: Practical Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Today’s Law Department”;
• “Knowledge Management: What, Why and How”; and
• “Big Thinker Panel: CLOC’s Magna Carta for the Corporate Legal Services Industry,” (two-part session).

Register for the event.

Bloomberg Big Law Business will host its 3rd annual Summit in Manhattan.

The event will be Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at Bloomberg LP, 731 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10022, from noon until 6 p.m. A networking lunch and cocktail reception will be included.

Attendance is by invitation only. Anyone interested in an invitation may submit a request.

The agenda is available online.

Some of the speakers will include:

• Peter Beshar, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Marsh & McLennan Companies
• Matthew Cooper, Executive Vice President, Head of Legal, Capital One Financial
• Stephen Cutler, Vice Chairman, JPMorgan Chase
• Eric Grossman, Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
• Deborah Kaback, Chief Legal Officer, Oppenheimer Asset Management
• Aristedes Mahairas, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Special Operations/Cyber Division, New York Office
• Manisha Sheth, Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Division, Office of the New York State Attorney General
• Patrick Speice, Assistant General Counsel, Regulatory and Compliance, United States Steel Corporation
• Mary Jo White, Senior Chair, Debevoise & Plimpton

Request an invitation here.

Bloomberg Big Law Business is convening leaders of corporate legal departments and law firms to address the diversity and inclusion challenge at a unique invitation-only event – the 4th Big Law Business Diversity Symposium.

The event will take place 8-10 a.m. Wednesday, May 10, 2017, at Bloomberg Government, 1101 K St NW, Suite 500, in Washington, DC 20005.

Request your invitation today to attend sessions such as:

Leading the Profession: Success Stories
Corporate legal departments see the most successful relationships when their goals and their law firm’s priorities are aligned. Hear how peers are approaching this effort and measuring success.

Inspiring Accountability: A Workshop
Big Law Business will facilitate a workshop on how to have the tough conversations on accountability for diversity and inclusion measures. Explore solutions to inspire leaders to create the incentives, models, and structures to increase diversity and stronger inclusion of ideas and skills in the profession.

Symposium Wrap-Up
Accountability measures that resonate: how the workshop results match back to traditional measurements of progress in the diversity of the legal profession.

The event is sponsored by Major, Lindsey & Africa and Quarles & Brady.

Request an invitation.

The National Association of Corporate Directors has published a guide that reviews the three main indicators of an effective partnership between the general counsel and the board. The guide is available for free downloading.

Those three indicators include:

• aligned role expectations
• open and direct communication
• enhanced dialogue on risk oversight

Over the past few years, the role of the general counsel has grown in both scope and stature, the NACD says on its website. Once seen purely as legal advisors, many general counsel now spend much of their time serving as strategic advisors, regularly providing strategic direction to the CEO and to the board of directors.

General counsel should recognize that directors’ expectations of them go beyond their traditional legal role and that their unique legal and ethical perspective strengthens their ability to help mitigate organizational risk.

Download the guide.

The invisible hand of the free market hasn’t been able to exert much control over law firm billing rates, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff said at a Cardozo School of Law panel discussion about the high cost of the legal system, reports Bloomberg Law.

Rakoff cited a 2016 report that showed average hourly rates for partners rose from $122 in 1985 to $532 in 2012, as average associates rates grew from $79 to $370.

Reporter Rebecca Beyer quotes Rakoff as asking: “Why isn’t the free market operating?” The  answer, he said, lies in the fact that the legal profession operates much like a guild, with “substantial barriers to entry,” not least of which is the cost of a legal education.

Read the Bloomberg article.

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Legal departments aren’t just asking their outside law firms to field diverse groups of attorneys — they’re asking those firms to put attorneys in leadership positions, and they’re asking for data to back it up, reports Bloomberg Law.

Facebook bow requires outside counsel working on its projects to have at least 33 percent women and ethnic minorities. In addition, the firms must show they are actively creating “clear and measurable leadership opportunities for women and minorities” in the company’s legal matters, The New York Times reported.

“Facebook’s new policy comes on the heels of HP’s announcement in February that it would start withholding fees from law firms that don’t meet diversity requirements,” writes Stephanie Russell-Kraft.

Read the Bloomberg article.

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Wallace Global Fund wasn’t Morgan Lewis & Brockius’ biggest client, but it still made a big splash when it fired the BigLaw firm because it is “enabling” President Trump to use his new office for his own personal gain.

Bloomberg Law reports that that H. Scott Wallace, co-chair of the Wallace Global Fund, fired the firm in a letter to chair Jami McKeon.

“The letter points the finger at Morgan Lewis partner Sherri Dillon, who appeared next to the president in a Jan. 11 press conference, where she announced she had devised a plan so that the public could rest easy that Trump’s sprawling real estate, hotel and other business interests would not create any conflicts with his elected role,” writes Gabe Friedman.

The letter cites Trump’s business meetings at his Florida resort, Trump’s criticism of Nordstrom’s for dropping his daughter’s clothing line, and other reasons.

Read the Bloomberg article.

Dennis Garcia, Microsoft Corp, assistant general counsel, offers an insider’s perspective on how in-house counsel trying to “sell” themselves to their business clients and senior legal department leaders. His observations are published on the Bloomberg Law website.

He starts at the beginning: “Start Strong:”

“Make sure to capture the hearts and minds of in-house counsel at the  very beginning of your pitch. If you do not generate a high level of enthusiasm, energy and compelling reason for in-house counsel to focus on your message early on in your presentation, you will not command their attention and they will lose interest.”

Other observations come under headings such as: know your audience, keep it simple,differentiate, the technology factor, highlight client references, don’t forget cybersecurity, and post-pitch activity.

Read the Bloomberg article.

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iManage has announced open registration and a preliminary agenda for its second annual user conference, ConnectLive 2017, scheduled to take place in Chicago, May 24-25, 2017 at the Marriott Magnificent Mile and in London, June 27-28, 2017 at the InterContinental London – The O2 hotel.

Across four days and two continents, ConnectLive 2017 will bring together more than 1,000 iManage customers including CIOs, IT professionals, lawyers, technical architects, legal administrators, professional services firm executives to learn and share ideas on how professional work is changing and how the management of work product is adapting in response to those changes.

The conference will feature four dynamic tracks of educational sessions (business, technical, developer, and industry) focusing on how cloud, AI, mobile and other technologies can be used to securely organize, efficiently share and comprehensively govern high-stakes documents and communications. The agenda is packed with deep dive knowledge tracks and networking opportunities that will enable users to learn about iManage Work to streamline operations, extend work product access to mobile devices, enhance collaboration and secure insights that help them to create new sources of value for their firms.

“ConnectLive is the world’s leading forum for professionals who wish to improve the creation, sharing, and security of work product,” said Neil Araujo, CEO of iManage. “ConnectLive 2017 will deliver iManage’s users actionable intelligence that will allow them to serve their organizations and clients more effectively by enhancing work product productivity and governance.”

“It’s not every conference you get to walk away every day feeling like you’ve really gained something out of it,” said Avi Solomon, CIO, Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell. “With ConnectLive, you have the iManage personnel on the floor, you’ve got the technical people, you’ve got the administrative people, you’ve got the leaders of the company just mingling with everybody and listening.”

All iManage users are encouraged to register to attend ConnectLive 2017. Click here to learn more about ConnectLive and to register for the upcoming conferences in Chicago and London: https://imanage.com/connectlive/

Leading in-house counsel and progressive law firm partners will share new ideas and approaches to control external legal costs, when they gather at the ACC Legal Services Management Workshop, April 19-20 in Dallas.

Participants at the event will learn how internal and external counsel can collaborate to improve outcomes, efficiency, and predictability by using:

• Value-based fees
• Project management
• Process improvement
• Data analytics
• Change management

The Association of Corporate Counsel says the two-day curriculum uses a blend of instruction, practical tools, case study and small group exercises. The ensemble faculty of industry-leading practitioners brings insight, experience, and lessons learned from in-house, law firm and consulting perspectives.

Participation is limited to only 25 law firm partners and 25 law department leaders to ensure a rich, interactive experience and opportunities for exchange of ideas.

The event is CLE eligible for up to 11.25 hours of credit.

General Counsel News readers may use the code LSMGC17 to receive a $100 discount off the registration fee.

Register for the event.

The National Association of Corporate Directors will present a complimentary webinar on reassessing the evaluation process on evaluations on director performance. The event will be Thursday, March 23, at 2 p.m. EDT.

“Given the increased emphasis on director performance, board evaluations have become commonplace in the boardroom over the last few years,” NACD says on its website. “The benefits of the evaluation are clear, including improving performance around identified opportunities, reviewing board composition relative to strategy, and communicating board effectiveness more effectively to shareholders. It is important, however, to periodically reassess the evaluation process to incorporate new leading practices and prevent complacency.”

Presenters will discuss how other boards:

• Align their evaluation process with the company’s strategy
• Incorporate peer-to-peer reviews
• Keep board members engaged in the evaluation process

Register for the webinar.

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All companies are susceptible to claims based on workplace violence, writes Natalie Lynch of Lynch Law Firm in Austin. Due to deeply-rooted legal principles, employers can be held liable for the acts of their employees, even when such acts are intentional and not within the scope of employment. Workplace violence can take on many forms, making it essential for employers and HR professionals to know how to identify it and prevent it.

In an article posted on her website, she covers topics such as defining workplace violence, effects of workplace violence, risk factors.

She also offers some suggestions to prevent violence in the workplace, including: implement an anti-workplace violence program, encourage reporting, assess the worksite, provide safety training, provide communication devices, maintain work vehicles, and consider security.

Read the article.

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McKool Smith has announced that Frank Vecella, the former associate general counsel of litigation at Ericsson Inc., has joined the firm as a principal in its Dallas office. Vecella was with Ericsson for 16 years and managed and supervised all of the company’s significant litigation in the United States and Canada, and often provided guidance with respect to Ericsson’s major disputes around the world.

“Ericsson is a long-time client and Frank has been a very dear friend of the firm for many years,” said McKool Smith managing principal David Sochia. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Frank with us. He has significant litigation and industry expertise, and his in-house counsel perspective will be invaluable to the firm as we continue to strengthen our client service initiatives.”

Prior to joining Ericsson, Vecella was a senior partner at Jackson Walker L.L.P., where he worked for 18 years.

Read details about Vecella’s career move.

Yahoo’s top lawyer, Ronald S. Bell, has resigned, and its chief executive, Marissa Mayer, lost her 2016 bonus after a board investigation of the 2014 theft of information on more than 500 million user accounts, reports The New York Times.

“Senior executives, company lawyers and information security staff were aware of the hack in 2014 and also knew about subsequent attempts to break into the affected accounts in 2015 and 2016, but failed to ‘properly comprehend or investigate’ the situation, the company’s board of directors said in a securities filing on Wednesday,” writes reporter Vindu Goel.

Yahoo’s GC is bearing much of the blame for the company’s security failures, including the hack that left up to 32 million Yahoo accounts vulnerable. The company now faces 43 consumer class-action suits related to breaches, as well as a stockholder class-action suit, the report says.

Read the NYT article.

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The National Association of Corporate Directors has published the 2017 edition of the NACD Director’s Handbook on Cyber-Risk Oversight and made it available for free downloading.

The book is constructed around five core principles designed to enhance the cyber literacy and cyber-risk oversight capabilities of directors of organizations of all sizes and in all industries, according to NACD.

This handbook provides

• foundational principles for board-level cyber-risk oversight;
• insight into management of cyber-risk oversight responsibilities; and
• tools to improve and enhance boardroom practices.

Download the handbook.

Kim Technologies will present a seminar titled “Digital Disruption – Impacts for Corporate Legal Departments” on March 21, 2017 for corporate counsel and executives.

The complimentary event will be at Columbia University’s main campus in New York City, beginning with a buffet breakfast at 8:30 a.m. The main program will be from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Dr. Art Langer, director of Columbia University’s Center for Technology Management, will discuss digital disruption in the 21st Century.

Bjarne Tellman, SVP and general counsel of Fortune 100 company Pearson PLC, will discuss the vision for a transformed legal service.

Karl Chapman, CEO of Riverview Law, will talk about moving from a technology-enabled to technology-led legal service delivery model.

And Susan Hackett, LEL, former SVP and GC of Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), will host a moderated discussion involving in-house counsel.

Register for the seminar.

Bio-Rad Laboratories has agreed to pay $3.5 million in legal fees for the team that represented former general counsel Sanford Wadler during a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit Wadler brought against his former employer, reports MassDevice.com.

The agreement came after a federal jury in California awarded Wadler $11 million in the lawsuit he brought against Bio-Rad. The jury awarded Wadler $2.9 million in back pay and stocks and $5 million in punitive damages, with the back pay award slated to be doubled, bringing the total award to $10.8 million, reports Sarah Faulkner.

“Wadler, who was fired in 2013, alleged that he was let go right before the company was planning to present findings from a bribery investigation in Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. Wadler accused the company of stonewalling his efforts to uncover evidence of similar bribery in China,” Faulkner writes.

Writing about the case on the website of Baker Donelson, shareholder Robert E. Hauberg Jr. explains that the court had ruled Wadler could use as evidence otherwise privileged materials, because the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s protection of whistleblowers pre-empted the attorney-client privilege. (See “Whistleblower General Counsel Prevails Through Use Of Attorney-Client Privileged Information.”)

Read the MassDevice.com article.

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The general counsel of HP has informed its outside law firms that the company may withhold up to 10 percent of invoiced fees for failure to meet its diversity standards, reports the ABA Journal.

HP Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel Kim M. Rivera put law firms on notice of her “diversity holdback” mandate in a Feb. 8 letter.

The Journal‘s Debra Cassens Weiss writes, “HP says its definition of a diverse lawyer ‘is limited to race/ethnicity, gender, LGBT status, and disability status.’ A lawyer who is both a woman and who is racially/ethnically diverse and performs or manages at least 10 percent of the billable hours worked on HP matters satisfies the minimal diversity staffing requirement.”

Read the ABA Journal article.

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Zapproved has published its new 2017 In-House E-Discovery Data Processing Benchmark Report, detailing the most satisfying and concerning aspects affecting data processing for e-discovery.

These insights can offer a roadmap to create better, more efficient data processing and review approaches in the year ahead, the company said on its website.

Each year, Zapproved produces a report on the the state of in-house e-discovery, based on a short survey. Participants include a range of in-house e-discovery professionals, from IT personnel to legal operations staff. The 2017 In-House E-Discovery Data Processing Benchmark Report reveals participant satisfaction with data processing speed, cost, ease of use, security and risk reduction. These attributes are correlated with business criteria, such as case types, matter sizes, data sources and future trends.

The resulting report illustrates what really impacts data processing decisions today and how to plan for the future.

It covers:

• What most influences speed, cost, ease of use, security and risk reduction
• When to use in-house versus external solutions
• Why spending more in-house can make sense
• Which data sources are the next big trend

Download the study findings.