The rapid shift to a remote workforce can create a number of business challenges when it comes to contract management. As you implement your business continuity plans, it’s critical your contract management efforts are not impacted by employees working from home.

To help navigate this challenging environment, please join us for an upcoming webinar: Best Practices for Managing Contracts Remotely.

Our speakers will review important considerations and strategies you can leverage to keep your contracting activities moving forward effectively and efficiently, including:

• Contract management challenges to watch out for when working remote
• Best practices for successfully managing your contracts remotely

Register.

Guess what? If you answered “yes,” then I have really good news for you (and if you answered “no,” don’t worry, I can help you too!).

If you are using spreadsheets for contract management (in other words to capture and track all your contracts) then you can transform that data into a dynamic and modern contract management system in a matter of minutes. I’m not kidding.

We recently hosted a webinar on this very topic where Contract Logix Solution Engineer Justin Perkins walked through a real-world example of how this process works using our data-driven contract management software. It’s an extremely easy, fast, and intuitive way to take that next step in your digital contract transformation.

Below are a few highlights of how this 3-step process works. For more detail, you can watch the full webinar here.

Set Up Your Spreadsheet
First, figure out what information is important to your business when it comes to contracts. Again, if you already have a spreadsheet that tracks your agreements then chances you already have this information. In fact, it’s probably the labels you use for your column headers. I’m talking about things like contract types, organizations, contacts, execution dates, renewal dates, contract owners, terms, etc. You can also put links to wherever the contracts and related documents exist like a shared folder or hard drive.

The best part is this list doesn’t have to be exhaustive or 100%. It’s very easy to add additional information later or make changes directly in the software. The important thing is to capture what you can in the spreadsheet so that you have a starting point but don’t overthink or overcomplicate it.

Import the Spreadsheet into Contract Logix
Now comes the fun part! With just a few clicks of a mouse you can import your spreadsheet and all of the information in it into our contract management software. The software will automatically and intelligently structure that information for you in the system. Your contract types like NDA and MSA will be established. Your contact information will be populated. All the relevant contract-related dates are captured. All your actual contracts and other documents are indexed and FULLY SEARCHABLE using our OCR technology. And voila’, you now have a dynamic and centralized repository of all your contracts.

You can see upcoming expirations, search the data by any relationship such as contract, contact, organization, document, etc., and begin using all the high-impact features of a modern contract management software solution. Which brings me to third part.

Begin Leveraging Your Data for Actionable Insights
Now that all your contract documents and data are centralized you can really start to reap the business benefits of using a true contract lifecycle management solution. You can set up alerts, tasks, and reminders so that you never miss another obligation, date, or milestone. You can regulate access and better secure your contractual information by leveraging role-based and feature-based permissions. You can conduct simple or advanced text searches to instantly find any information you need about your contracts. You see the real-time stage and status of all your agreements via colorful progress bars. And you can run insightful and visual reports and dashboards to monitor and optimize the performance of your agreements. You can even automate contract workflows to shorten cycles and ensure compliance. And guess what, those are just a few of the many benefits you’ll be able to experience.

Takeaway
If you are currently using spreadsheets for contract management then you can easily convert that information into a modern, automated, and streamlined contract management solution. This means that you can begin realizing significant business benefits such as never again missing an important contract date or term. You’ll also be able to gain actionable insights about your contracts to further mitigate risk and uncover opportunity.

Join us for the second live webinar in our Lean Into LegalOps virtual program. This webinar will highlight practical ways for legal departments to create meaningful cost savings to strengthen and sustain their companies through these times.

Register to hear the discussion about critical questions like:
• If your legal department had to quickly find 10% savings, where could it come from?
• What process improvements can be made quickly to generate not just efficiency but also savings?
• How can you optimize existing technology or quickly implement new tools to drive savings and achieve rapid ROI?

Register here.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “American Axle: Does Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Depend on Enablement?,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Stanley A. Schlitter and Andrew C. Wood.

The event will be on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at 9 am PST / 10 am MST / 11 am CST / 12 noon EST. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

In American Axle & Mfg. Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that American Axle’s drive shaft patent is ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claims covered an application of a law of nature. American Axle’s petition for rehearing en banc has attracted several amicus briefs, some of which argue that this decision places in jeopardy the validity of many process patents for making physical structures and adds a § 112 enablement requirement to § 101 subject matter eligibility. In general, the decision has created further uncertainty about what a patentee needs to do to meet the requirements of § 101.

During this webinar, the presenters will discuss the following:
• The district court and Federal Circuit decisions in this case
• Arguments presented in the amici briefs
• How American Axle comports with the USPTO’s patent eligibility guidance
• Strategies for litigators and prosecutors regarding Alice in view of American Axle

Register for the webinar.

ACC-Northeast and RFP Advisory Group will present a webinar designed to teach how to use a request for proposal (RFP) as a tool to better manage outside counsel.

Using the RFP process effectively can help a legal department pick the law firms that are the best fit for a company and its existing needs/budget, ACC says.

The event will be Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020, at 1 p.m. EST.

The webinar will cover how to use an RFP to:

* create a preferred provider panel

* identify the best firm for a specific matter or project

* convert your pricing structure from the billable hour to an alternative fee arrangement (AFA)

* incorporate the latest technology and innovations into your legal strategy

* increase the diversity of the lawyers working on your matters

* create a set of outside counsel guidelines for your law firms to abide by

Attendees will learn the latest trends in how RFPs are being used, and best practices in how to structure and execute a successful RFP, the sponsors said.

Register for the webinar.

Flexera has posted a complimentary on-demand webinar discussing the role of in-house and external counsel in managing open source software in the business environment.

“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 to view the event.

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

Some of the topics covered include:

• Key data points that emphasize there’s a lack of understanding regarding the amount of OSS companies are using
• The range of OSS risk and what that means to you
• Actionable steps and tips for managing OSS risk including available tools, how to flag issues, implement policy, and update agreements

Watch the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Alphabet Soup: A Review and Summary of Post-Grant Practice at the USPTO,” featuring Fitch Even partner David A. Gosse.

The event will be on Thursday, November 21, 2019, at 9 am PST / 10 am MST / 11 am CST / 12 noon EST. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

After a U.S. patent issues, many procedures are available to correct the patent, challenge its validity, and even change its scope. These include a bewildering array of procedures sprinkled with Latin phrases and confusing acronyms. The America Invents Act, passed in 2011, changed the face of post-grant practice at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. As the procedures presented in that bill have matured, keeping up with ever-evolving policies and practices has been a challenge even for highly engaged practitioners. This webinar will provide a summary of post-grant procedures and an introduction to when, why, and how each procedure is useful (or not) to patent owners and third parties.

During the webinar, the presenter will cover these topics and more:
• Review of post-grant procedures at the USPTO including inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), covered business method review (CBM), supplemental examination, ex parte reexamination, and reissue applications
• Strategic purposes of the various post-grant procedures
• Tactics for petitioners and patent owners in USPTO trial proceedings

Register for the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Patent Prosecution Options at the USPTO: Tried-and-True or New to You,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Alan E. Schiavelli and George N. Dandalides.

The event will be on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

The firm said the USPTO is constantly striving to reduce average pendency and achieve compact prosecution office-wide, but that’s of little consequence if your patent application is bogged down in prosecution with the examiner—or if business reasons dictate a patent be obtained more quickly than usual. Fortunately, the USPTO offers several programs and initiatives to applicants designed to advance the examination process.

During this webinar, presenters will provide background information and helpful advice on these prosecution tactics and publication strategies:

• Track One prioritized examination
• Petitions to make special and accelerated examination
• First Action Interview Pilot Program
• Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
• Early publication and non-publication
• After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP 2.0)
• Pre-Appeal Brief Conference Pilot Program

Register for the webinar.

San Antonio law firm Langley & Banack, Inc. announced it has launched a new podcast featuring in-depth discussions and stories based on cases from the field.

The first series focuses on fiduciary litigation, hosted and produced by attorneys Chris Hodge and Jobe Jackson. Attached is a photo of Hodge (left) and Jackson (right).

In a release, the firm said each Langley & Banack law podcast offers in-depth discussions about litigation that involves will and trust clashes, power of attorney contests, declaratory judgments and guardianship challenges. Together, Hodge and Jackson examine cases and approaches to this area of the law using real-world examples and high-profile guests who add to the conversation.

Hanzo, a developer of contextual collection and dynamic web content software, and Zapproved, an ediscovery software provider for managing corporate litigation readiness, announced the lineup of industry experts for an upcoming live webinar, “Emojis and the Law: The Real-world eDiscovery Challenges Posed by Enterprise Collaboration.”

The event will be on Oct. 31, 2019, at 2 pm ET. This free web event will include a discussion surrounding modern enterprise collaboration platforms, the increasing trend in casual and emoji-filled communications, the challenges that these communications pose from a legal perspective, and how corporate legal teams can mitigate risk.

The panel of industry experts will discuss the challenges of managing data risk with modern communications within corporate collaboration applications.

The speakers will:

– Explore communication trends and tools affecting the enterprise
– Delve into the phenomenon of emojis, case law, and share some surprising facts that legal teams need to know to conduct eDiscovery better
– Share best practices for enterprise collaboration data management and governance policies
– Discuss the importance of applying best practices in preserving and collecting enterprise collaboration data

Speakers
– Eric Goldman, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University
– Ashley Fischer, Managing Counsel, H-E-B
– Ryan Zilm, Information Lifecycle Management Advisor, USAA
– Brad Harris, Distinguished Fellow, eDiscovery, Zapproved
– Evan Gumz, Senior Account Executive, eDiscovery, Hanzo

Register
– Emojis and the Law: The Real-world eDiscovery Challenges Posed by Enterprise Collaboration
– Date: Thursday, October 31, 2019
– Time: 2:00 pm ET
– Cost: Free

Register for the webinar.

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP will present a CLE program for in-house lawyers only to help attendees learn how to identify and disseminate pro bono opportunities and become familiar with special rules that apply to in-house lawyers.

The event will be Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, with registration and a hosted breakfast beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific time. The program will last from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PT. Lunch will be provided.

This program will be hosted in the firm’s Seattle office and broadcasted to each of the firm’s other locations: Anchorage, Bellevue, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Presenters from Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile, Starbucks panelists about how to:

* Develop a strong and impactful pro bono program
* Build a CSR, sustainability, and community arm
* Institute pro bono policy and establish a pro bono form bank
* Form or recalibrate/energize a pro bono committee
* Identify meaningful pro bono opportunities
* Enter into corporate partnerships with PPPs
* Comply with ethical rules regarding in-house pro bono work

Attendees will receive a resource manual with sample polices, forms, briefs, templates and a menu of pro bono opportunities.

The keynote will be by Lucy Lee Helm, chief partner officer at Starbucks

For registration or questions: JoannaBoisen@dwt.com

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Effective Trade Secret Practices: What You and Your Employees Need to Know,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Thomas F. Lebens and Donald “Bob” Bunton.

The event will be on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

With the passage of the America Invents Act and the Defend Trade Secrets Act, as well as recent case law creating uncertainty in some areas of patent law, many intellectual property owners have expressed a renewed interest in trade secret protection for innovations and information. However, very few of these IP owners have a well-developed program for identifying, classifying, and intentionally protecting these trade secrets. And even for those owners with such a program, establishing a record of training leaders and employees in trade secret protection can be important to show that the owner has engaged in “reasonable efforts” to protect its trade secrets.

During this webinar, our presenters will discuss the following:
• Best practices for identifying and classifying trade secrets
• Key features of a trade secret program
• Internal ongoing education on trade secret protection needed to support a showing of “reasonable efforts”

Register for the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “How Late Is Too Late? Setting the Timeline for Patent Protection,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Mark A. Borsos and Vincent R. Meyer.

The event will be on Thursday, August 29, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after the presentation.

Patent considerations do not always align with commercial realities. Although pursuing patent protection as early as possible is generally preferred, at times product development, financial issues, and other factors get in the way. In some circumstances, inventors do not even think about patenting an invention until they are sure that their idea is practical and there is sufficient commercial interest to warrant investing the necessary time and resources into reducing the invention to practice. This webinar will explore considerations affecting the timing of patent filings and what to do if an inventor’s prior actions have potentially put their patent rights in jeopardy.

During this webinar, presenters will discuss the following:

• Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions regarding statutory bars
• When an invention is “ready for patenting”
• Potential scenarios that could endanger patent rights
• Factors that may weigh for and against patentability once an invention has been disclosed or offered for sale
• Strategies for coordinating patent filings with development efforts

Register for the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “Not So Obvious: Secondary Considerations at the PTAB,” featuring Fitch Even attorneys Dave A. Gosse and Evan Kline-Wedeen.

The event will be on Thursday, July 18, 2019, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT. It will also be available as an on-demand webinar after presentation.

Objective evidence of non-obviousness can overcome a prima facie case of obviousness, both in district court litigation and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. These “secondary considerations” are an important tool that patent owners can use to defeat obviousness challenges. Historically, the PTAB has not often been persuaded by such evidence. But in recent years, patent owners have found some success when presenting compelling objective evidence of commercial success, copying, long-felt need, and other secondary considerations.

During this webinar, presenters will discuss the following:
• Developing trends at the PTAB concerning secondary considerations
• How to insulate your petition from secondary considerations
• Best practices for patent owners developing evidence related to secondary considerations

Register for the webinar.

Duane Morris will present a complimentary webinar on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on Thursday, June 20, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time.

Led by an interdisciplinary team of Duane Morris attorneys, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 Webinar Series offers an in-depth discussion and analysis of the CCPA, along with timely and practical strategies to prepare your business for compliance with this complex rule, the firm said in a release.

The CCPA of 2018 is the strictest privacy law in the United States and has national impact for anyone doing business in California. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2020, and gives consumers greater control over their personal information while establishing stringent rules and significant penalties for the companies that handle consumer information.

The second session topics include:

– Brief CCPA overview
– Examination of the CCPA requirements for privacy policies and third-party agreements
– Practical strategies for reviewing and updating your privacy policies and third-party agreements to comply with the CCPA

The first session of the series, Understanding the New California Consumer Privacy Act: Why The CCPA Applies to You and Practical Steps You Can Take Now to Comply, can be viewed on the firm’s website.

Register for the June 20 webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar with Chicago Women in IP (ChiWIP), “Understanding Women’s Conflict in the Legal Workplace and the Bias That Built It,” featuring attorneys Andie Kramer and Alton Harris, with attorney Nikki Little as moderator.

The event will be on Thursday, June 13, 2019, at 10 am PDT / 11 am MDT / 12 noon CDT / 1 pm EDT. It also will be available as an on-demand webinar after presentation.

A common misconception is that women inherently have challenging relationships with other women at work, the firm said in a release. But the research of the speakers, Andrea Kramer and Alton Harris, has shown this is patently untrue. They will provide real-world advice and tactics for how both women and men in the legal profession can avoid workplace conflict and overcome deeply rooted biases in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

During this webinar, the presenters will share insights on the following:

• Gender bias in the workplace, including women’s same-gender conflicts
• How gendered workplaces disadvantage women
• How to build supportive work environments to help women succeed and advance

Register for the webinar.

The University of California at Berkeley School of Law will present a Berkeley Boosts webinar, “When Icahn Comes Knocking,” to explore best practices and recent developments in shareholder activism.

The free one-hour webinar will be May 29, 2019, 10 a.m. Pacific time.

Speakers will be Kenton King and Thomas Ivey of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Register for the webinar.

Lex Machina will present a present a webinar on the company’s latest research on contracts litigation.

The 30-minute event will begin at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, May 7, 2019.

Lex Machine legal data expert Karen Chadwick, the author of the report, and Abena Mainoo, partner at Cleary Gottlieb, will discuss the latest findings and trends on top law firm and party data, timing metrics, case resolutions, damages awards, and more.

The webcast will cover:

• Case Filings
• Case Timing to Key Milestones
• Top Districts and Judges
• Most Active Parties
• Top Law Firms
• Case Resolutions and Findings
• Damages Awards

Register for the webinar.

Expert Webcast will present an interactive roundtable discussion municipal restructuring on May 2, 2019, 1-2 p.m. Pacific Time, with Andy J. Dillon, executive director at Conway MacKenzie, and Karol K. Denniston, partner at Squire Patton Boggs, and moderated by Alex Kasdan, senior managing director, DelMorgan & Co.

Dillon acted as treasurer for the state of Michigan, managing 1,450 employees, where he was responsible for collecting more than $50 billion in annual revenues, tax administration, collections, bond finance, school loan programs, local government oversight, and served as the sole fiduciary of $60 billion in pension, 401K, state trust and cash assets. While treasurer, Dillon also led two state reviews of the City of Detroit’s finances, negotiated a consent agreement between the city and state and transitioned the city into receivership. Dillon also provided hands on oversight of dozens of troubled cities, counties and school districts, Expert Webcast said in a release.

Denniston, a bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer for more than 30 years, has experience representing debtors, creditors, bondholders and other parties in a wide variety of litigated bankruptcy cases and out of court transactions. Denniston has been working in the distressed municipal sector since 2009 and routinely represents cities, special districts, indenture trustees, bondholders, taxpayers and monoline insurers in a variety of municipal restructuring engagements throughout the US. She has represented clients in municipal insolvency proceedings with a focus on negotiating resolutions, including in Puerto Rico PROMESA restructurings for the Government Development Bank and COFINA.

Register for the roundtable.

Hanzo and Duane Morris, LLP will present a joint webinar, “The Impact of Meritless Claims on Multidistrict Litigation And How Social Media Investigations Can Help,” on May 16, 2019 at 1 pm ET. The event will include a discussion about multidistrict litigation, the challenge of meritless claims, and strategic insights about how social media investigations can help.

Multidistrict litigation (MDL), came into being in 1968 with the intent to make it more efficient for parties to litigate complex cases where there is a common question of fact that are pending in different districts. Since then, MDLs have surged to more than 50 percent of all federal civil cases, of which product liability cases now comprise the vast majority of MDLs. Aside from being great for plaintiff’s counsel, however, it’s questionable whether they are good for anyone else, Hanzo says in a news release.

“Unfortunately, what was originally intended to streamline processes has turned into a magnet for meritless claims, where around a third of the MDL claims turn out to be unsupportable. Adding to the injury, these are often discovered at the settlement stage,” according to Hanzo.

In this webinar, industry leaders Sean Burke, partner, and Ryan O’Neil, both of Duane Morris, and Evan Gumz of Hanzo will discuss the problem meritless claims pose to the multidistrict litigation process and explore proactive solutions to help identify frivolous claims early in the process.

The discussion will include:

– The prevalence of meritless claims and their impact on the MDLs
– The problem with discovering meritless claims at the settlement stage
– Legal reform and possible solutions proposed by the subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules
– Bellwether trials
– How social media investigations can help

Speakers

– Sean Burke, Partner, Duane Morris, LLP
– Ryan O’Neil, Associate, Duane Morris, LLP
– Evan Gumz, Senior Account Executive, EDiscovery, Hanzo

Register for the webinar.