Practical Law will present a webinar highlighting common constraints on carve-out plans in the U.S. tax regime, including Section 409A (regulating deferred compensation arrangements) and Section 280G (regulating golden parachute payments). We will also discuss new proposed regulations and recent Delaware case law on these topics.

The event, featuring presenters from Fenwick & West LLP, will be Wednesday, Nov. 2, beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.

A carve-out plan is a type of instrument to incentivize current executives, employees and other service providers by committing to make a payout at a change in control. This arrangement allows the executives working hard to get a struggling company to a liquidity event to share in the value they create for the shareholders. Carve-out plans are typically tense negotiations of competing interests to encourage retention for senior management and maximize value for shareholders. To further complicate matters, carve-out plans are subject to a unique and complicated set of tax rules.

Register for the webinar.

The discussion will include:
* Should compensatory arrangements be reduced for other payouts?
* Should the carve-out awards settle in stock or cash?
* Must employees be employed at the time of the change in control to receive a payout? Should the carve-out forfeit under certain conditions?
* What should happen to the forfeited amounts?
* How can the plan be amended?

A short Q&A will follow.

Presenters:
Marshall Mort, Associate, Fenwick & West LLP
Marshall Mort focuses his practice on compensation and employee benefits matters. Marshall particularly enjoys developing creative solutions that support attractive compensation plans. Working with both private and public companies, Marshall excels in navigating complex tax, securities, and accounting issues within the equity and executive compensation environment. This includes maximizing tax efficiency, and advice that further supports HR policies to promote retention and mitigate risk. Marshall writes and speaks on equity compensation and benefits issues, and has served as an adjunct lecturer at Santa Clara University-Leavey School of Business.

Taylor Cashwell, Associate, Fenwick & West LLP
Taylor Cashwell focuses his practice on a broad variety of corporate matters to support clients in the high technology and life sciences industries. While attending law school, Taylor was a concurrent member of the Hastings Law Journaland Hastings Women’s Law Journal. He served on the executive board of OutLaw and externed as Law Clerk for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, where he later served as Fenwick & West Public Interest Fellow.

Amy Adams, Senior Legal Editor, Practical Law Employment Benefits & Executive Compensation (Moderator)

Practical Law will present a free 75-minute webinar involving a Q&A discussion on tips and techniques for litigators wanting to build their book of business. The event will be Thursday, Oct. 27, at 1 p.m. EDT.

The webinar will include discussions on:

• Winning business from new clients and maximizing existing client relationships.
• Best practices for client pitches.
• Creative approaches to business development, including technological and practice management solutions.
• Key takeaways when developing a personal business plan.

A short Q&A will follow.

PANELISTS:

• James Lee, Managing Partner, LTL Attorneys LLP
• Frederic Mauhs, General Counsel, BBVA S.A., New York Branch
• Katherine Perrelli, Chair of the Litigation Department, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The moderator will be Meagan Crowley-Hsu, Deputy Editor, Practical Law The Journal: Litigation, Practical Law

Register for the webinar.

Practical Law will present a complimentary webinar on steps investors can take to gain a more comprehensive awareness of the challenges they face and to protect their investments and rights when investing in a foreign country.

The event will be Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. EDT. CLE credit available is available in multiple states. See the registration page for full details.

On its website, Practical Law says expropriation and resource nationalism, political and civil unrest, war, acts of terrorism, currency restrictions, endemic corruption and weaknesses in governance and the rule of law. These are only a few of the risks that investors must consider when investing abroad.

The failure to properly assess and account for these risks can result in:
A total loss of the investment.
Non-repayment of outstanding loans.
Reputational harm.
Civil and criminal penalties.

Practical Law, Baker & McKenzie LLP and Global Torchlight Ltd. will present the webinar, during which political risk and investment protection experts David J. Chmiel and Ed Poulton will examine the ways in which investors can mitigate these risks including:
Provisions in their loan and investment agreements.
Political and credit insurance.
Reliance on international agreements.
Comprehensive political risk due diligence.

Register for the webinar.

A short Q&A will follow.
Presenters:
David J. Chmiel, Managing Director, Global Torchlight Ltd.
David J. Chmiel advises companies on the effects of geopolitical risk on their business strategies and operations. He has a particular expertise in East and South Asia, Russia, and the CIS as well as the politicization of international commerce and the regulation of foreign direct investment for national security purposes. Before co-founding Global Torchlight, David practiced law for ten years as a cross-border M&A lawyer in the London and Chicago offices of a major global law firm.

Ed Poulton, Partner, Baker & McKenzie, LLP
Ed Poulton is a partner in Baker & McKenzie’s Dispute Resolution team, based in London. A key name in the arbitration community, Ed sits as an arbitrator in ICC and LCIA arbitrations, and is the consulting editor of a seminal text on the arbitration of M&A disputes. He advises clients on managing risk and resolving disputes relating to investment treaties, financial services and M&A.

Erlyne J. Nazaire, Senior Legal Editor, Practical Law Finance

Erlyne is a Senior Legal Editor with Practical Law’s Finance Service and is primarily responsible for writing, editing and curating Practical Law’s project finance and cross-border resources. These resources include practice notes on construction contracts, operation and maintenance agreements, loan documents and project risk assessment. In her capacity as Senior Legal Editor, Erlyne has moderated webinars on cross-border investment issues, financial covenants and public-private partnerships. Before joining Practical Law, Erlyne was an associate in Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s international practice group where she represented clients in a wide range of cross-border transactions including project finance, private M&A and joint ventures.

Register for the webinar.

Software attorney Robert J. Scott will give real world examples of what happens when software audits wind up in court when he presents a 60-minute  complimentary webinar Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, beginning at 11 a.m. CST.

“Software audits have become routine as publishers have proven that compliance claims get customers’ attention more than sales proposals,” Scott & Scott LLP says on its website. “Most software license disputes are settled out of court, but what happens when you cannot negotiate a settlement with the publisher or one of its trade associations (BSA | The Software Alliance, The Software & Information Industry Association) because the settlement demands are too high? Software attorney Robert J. Scott will give real world examples of what happens when software audits wind up in court.”

In this session attendees will learn the following issues:

• Use of declaratory judgment actions
• Venue rules for copyright cases
• Choice of law issues
• Calculation of damages under copyright laws
• Individual liability for copyright infringement
• Burden shifting in copyright cases
• Electronic discovery issues
• Mediation strategy

Register for the webinar.

SecureDocs will present a complimentary webinar designed for professionals who are interested in understanding, identifying, and mitigating potential data breach disasters before they occur.

The webinar will be Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 11 a.m. PST.

Featured speaker John P. Lucich, president at High Tech Crime Network, will present an analysis of the current cyberattack landscape and give detailed instructions on what businesses can do to prevent both internal data leaks, and external attacks.

During this 60-minute webinar, Lucich will introduce and examine critical topics regarding corporate data security, including:

-The common reasons why network intrusions occur
-The direct and indirect impact of a security incident on a business
-The challenges and misconceptions regarding network defense that lead to a false sense of security amongst organizations
-Likely sources of security breaches and what businesses can do to protect against them

Register for the webinar.

From a SecureDocs release:

About SecureDocs Virtual Data Room:
SecureDocs Virtual Data Room is the flagship product of SecureDocs, Inc. The data room is designed for businesses raising funds, going through M&A, licensing Intellectual Property, and those who recognize the importance of safeguarding their most critical business documentation. All SecureDocs, Inc. suite products are easy-to-use solutions that keep businesses organized and ready for opportunity, without breaking the bank. Created by the engineers and team who helped develop GoToMeeting, GoToMyPC, AppFolio, and Rightscale, the team is dedicated to building software solutions that are highly secure, easily adopted, and affordable for any type or size of business. For more information about the company visit http://www.securedocs.com or http://www.contractworks.com.

About John P. Lucich:
John P. Lucich is a seventeen year veteran of law enforcement and spent more than eight years with the New Jersey General’s Office Organized Crime Racketeering and Corruption Bureau, seizing and analyzing computers in support of a variety of criminal offenses. Mr. Lucich is a nationally recognized expert, lecturer and author on a variety of high tech crime investigations and computer forensics. He has been a regular guest on the Nancy Grace Show, Fox News, Headline News and many other shows, sharing his expertise. Mr. Lucich testified as an expert witness before the United States Congress in 1993 and delivered a keynote speech along with Bill Gates and General Colin Powell at CAWorld96.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will host a complimentary webinar, “Recent Updates in Design Patent Law,” presented by Fitch Even partners Calista J. Mitchell and Joseph H. Herron. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, October 12, 2016, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT.

Understanding the latest developments in case law and USPTO examination standards is important to drafting effective design patent applications. This webinar will address numerous current issues in U.S. design patent law. It may be of interest to those who seek to broadly protect products with design patents, as well as those who draft design patent applications, litigate design patents, or prepare freedom-to-operate or patentability analyses for design patent applications.

Our speakers will cover these topics and more:
• Recent court decisions involving design patents
• The role of obviousness in patentability and invalidity determinations
• Current trends in examination by the USPTO

CLE credit has been approved for California and Illinois and is pending in Nebraska. Other states may also award CLE credit upon attendee request.

Following the live event, a recording of the webinar will be available to view for one year at fitcheven.com.

Register for the webinar.

Practical Law will present a webinar titled “Ethics Issues in International Arbitration” on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 1-2:30 p.m. EDT.

In a release, the company said the seemingly straightforward process of appointing a neutral tribunal of three arbitrators and conducting the hearings may, in fact, give rise to a multitude of issues counsel and their clients must be aware of. How extensively may the parties communicate with their prospective arbitrator? How must the prospective arbitrator comport himself while being interviewed for the appointment? What are the rules regarding counsel’s interactions with witnesses? Are the rules different depending upon the jurisdiction?

Practical Law, the International Institute on Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), and Jenner & Block will present international arbitration experts Richard Ziegler and Noah Hanft discussing ethics in international arbitration.

During this webinar, attendees will be walked through a hypothetical international arbitration, in which the presenters will consider:

• The parameters of party communications with a party-appointed arbitrator.
• The prospective arbitrator’s duties to maintain neutrality.
• Counsel’s duties in dealing with witnesses, including:
  • preparing witnesses for the hearing; and
  • communicating with witnesses after the hearings have started.
• The power of the tribunal to determine and redress ethical violations.
• The same ethical issues if the events occurred in the US.

A short Q&A will follow.

Ethics credit are available in multiple states.

Presenters:

Richard F. Ziegler, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP
Richard F. Ziegler is Co-Chair of Jenner & Block’s International Arbitration practice and a former Managing Partner of the firm’s New York Office. He is a former Chairman of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics, and served as Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs, and General Counsel of the 3M Company in St. Paul, Minnesota from 2003-07. Mr. Ziegler is also a member of CPR’s Board of Directors.

Noah J. Hanft, President and CEO, International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution
Noah J. Hanft is the President and CEO of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution. Prior to joining CPR, Mr. Hanft was General Counsel and Chief Franchise Officer for MasterCard, where he was responsible for overseeing legal and regulatory affairs, public policy, compliance and many business functions. Mr. Hanft currently serves on the boards of the Legal Aid Society and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Victoria Kummer, Senior Legal Editor, Practical Law Arbitration (Moderator)

Register for the event.

Practical Law and competitive intelligence platform Peer Monitor will present a free webinar titled “Dollars and Sense: A Real-Time Look at the Financial Performance of the Legal Industry in 2016.”

The 60-minute webinar will be Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. Eastern time. A brief question-and answer session will follow.

Peer Monitor will discuss key performance indicators including:

• Demand
• Practice performance
• Rates
• Realization
• Staffing
• Expenses

Presenters will be Cory Branden, Account Executive, Peer Monitor, Thomson Reuters.

Register for the webinar.

SpringCM has posted a free on-demand webinar discussing contract lifecycle management, including the capabilities as well as the benefits of implementation.

“To ensure your business is well-positioned for success in the 21st century, transforming critical business processes like contract management is pivotal,” the company says on its website. “As a result, Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) and Contract Discovery and Analytics solutions are quickly being added to a company’s technology portfolio because they work together to help firms gain better visibility and control over their contracts.”

The title of the webinar is “Get Control of Your Contracts! How to Use Contract Management and Analytics to Accelerate Digital Transformation.”

Karry Kleeman, CRO at SpringCM, and Lloyd Alexander, VP of Contract Strategy at Seal Software, join guest speaker Andrew Bartels, vice president and analyst at Forrester Research Inc., to discuss contract lifecycle management in the 60-minute webinar.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Wednesday, Sept. 21
2-3 p.m. EDT

eSignLive by Vasco is sponsoring an online presentation providing an overview of the basic terminology, concepts, and laws related to electronic signatures and answer the most frequently asked questions on the topic.

The free webinar will be Wednesday, Sept. 21, beginning at 2 p.m. EDT.

The speaker will be Richard Medina, co-founder and principal consultant of Doculabs.

Topics will include:

• What is the difference between an electronic signature and a digital signature?
• How can you prove who e-signed?
• What legal and compliance requirements do we need to consider?
• What ROI metrics have others reported?
• What do signers need in order to e-sign?
• How do we get started? What’s the cost? What’s the effort?

Register for the webinar.

Law Seminars International will hold the Fifth Seattle Comprehensive Two-Day Conference on Game Technology Law on Oct. 13-14, 2016. The conference will be at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle and also will be broadcast via webcast.

The event is designed to benefit attorneys, business executives, and anyone else involved in the interactive entertainment industry. Information on the agenda, faculty bios, tuition, and CLE is available on the registration page.

On its website, Law Seminars International says participants will learn about:

~FTC regulatory update
~The current state of the industry for business models and financing sources
~New developments in the IP underpinnings for video games
~Tips for building a game as a brand
~Analysis of rights of publicity cases and clearance process tips
~Virtual/augmented reality opportunities and issues for the game industry
~Special privacy and data security issues for the game industry
~eSports and fantasy sports: the line between games of skill and gambling
~Virtual currency systems and related tax issues
~Tips for assembling a package that will be attractive to investors

Register or get more information.

Image by Ian Kennedy

A complimentary webinar hosted by Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner will discuss intellectual property issues for Internet of Things (IoT) technology and how to navigate through the IoT patent obstacle course.

The hour-long event will be Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. EDT.

Topics will include:

• What are the challenges in protecting IoT inventions?
• What makes an IoT patent valuable?
• How should a company deal with the more than 22,000 IoT-related patents and pending patent applications world-wide?

“Most industries have focused on cooperating with each other to solve the technical challenges in making a workable IoT ecosystem,” the firm says on its website. “But many businesses are getting ready for the intense competition that will undoubtedly follow after IoT becomes ubiquitous. Intellectual property rights and patents, including design patents, will play a major role in that competitive landscape.”

Register for the webinar.

Oil & Gas Journal will present a webinar sponsored by Schneider Electric on computational pipeline monitoring (CPM) techniques and their use in detecting commodity releases on pipelines.

The free webinar will be Oct. 6, 2016, beginning at 1 p.m. Central time.

“This webcast will look at what is so special with natural gas pipelines compared to liquid pipelines and how these specifics impact the base assumptions associated with Computational Pipeline Monitoring (CPM) techniques. An evaluation will then be done as to whether the five well-known CPM techniques outlined in RP API 1130 are suitable for detecting commodity releases on natural gas pipelines,” the Journal says on its website.

The speaker will be Lars Larsson, a Senior Product Manager at Schneider Electric.

Register for the webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar, “European Patent Filing Strategies: Choosing the Appropriate Option,” presented by Rudy I. Kratz and Tony Wray. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, August 30, 2016, at 9 am PDT / 10 am MDT / 11 am CDT / 12 noon EDT.

A number of patent filing strategies are available in Europe. Patent applications may be filed at the European Patent Office (EPO) and at national patent offices such as the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). Utility model applications are another form of intellectual property protection that can be pursued in certain countries. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, and some approaches may be more appropriate in certain circumstances based on cost and other concerns. Recent developments may also have an impact on which filing strategy makes the most sense.

The webinar will address the following topics:
• Summary of filing considerations at the EPO, UKIPO, and DPMA
• Advantages and disadvantages of specific filing strategies
• Effect of the UK vote to leave the European Union and the status of the Unitary Patent

CLE credit has been approved for California and Illinois and is pending in Nebraska. Other states may also award CLE credit upon attendee request.

Following the live event, a recording of the webinar will be available to view for one year at fitcheven.com.

Register for the webinar.

Practical Law will present a complimentary webinar on 409A and 457 regulations proposed by the Internal Revenue Service.

The webinar will be Tuesday, August 9, at 1 p.m. EDT.

On June 21, 2016 the IRS simultaneously issued proposed regulations under Sections 409A and 457 of the Internal Revenue Code, Practical Law says on its website. The proposed Section 409A regulations clarify a number of issues under existing Section 409A regulations. The long-awaited proposed Section 457 regulations prescribe rules for the taxation of deferred compensation arrangements of state or local governments or other tax-exempt organizations. Both sets of proposed rules provide enhanced flexibility in certain areas. Practical Law’s free webinar will include an overview of these proposed rules and address practical implications for employers and practitioners.

Presenters:
Daniel L. Hogans, Principal, Groom Law Group, Chartered
Jeffrey W. Kroh, Principal, Groom Law Group, Chartered
David W. Powell, Principal, Groom Law Group, Chartered

Moderator:
Jessica Cherry, Senior Legal Editor, Practical Law Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

A brief Q&A session will follow.

Register for the webinar.

Practical Law will present a complimentary webinar on the use of Practice Point to incorporating new technologies into legal practices.

The 75-minute event will be Wednesday, August 3, at 1 p.m. EDT.

The discussion will cover three projects: an executive employment agreement, the creation of leave policies, and independent contractor classification, with explanation on how in-house practitioners can leverage Thomson Reuters.

Presenters:

Kate Bally, Co-Director, Practical Law Labor and Employment Service
Kate Bally joined Practical Law from Littler Mendelson P.C., where she worked as an associate in the employment group. Previously she was also an associate at Day Pitney LLP and a law clerk to the Honorable Stefan R. Underhill. Kate is Co-Director of Practical Law’s Labor & Employment Service.

Craig Vaughn, Strategy Manager, Practical Law
Craig Vaughn joined Practical Law in 2010, where he was one of the first Trainers and Account Managers to roll out the offering to the US market. Craig is now the Strategy Manager for Know-How and helps firms and companies best use Practical Law and Practice Point.

This program has been approved for CLE credit in AK, AZ, AR, CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NY, NJ, NV, ND, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, UT, VT, WV, WI and WY.

Register for the webinar.

Practical Law will present a complimentary webinar Tuesday, July 26, 1-2:30 p.m. EDT, on evolving cybersecurity issues for banks.

In a release, the company said cybersecurity poses important and time-sensitive challenges to banks and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. In addition to regulatory and compliance risks, cybersecurity also poses litigation and reputational risks. Bank counsel need to be at the forefront of cybersecurity to ensure that their bank’s directors, management, and employees are aware of the challenges and the measures that need to be taken.

Speakers will be Heath Tarbert and William White of Allen & Overy and Jeremy Estabrooks of Practical Law.

Topics will include:

• What cybersecurity entails and the types of cyber threats facing banks.
• Federal laws and regulations addressing cybersecurity.
• Federal regulatory guidance and resources.
• State laws and regulations addressing cybersecurity.
• What cybersecurity issues bank counsel should currently be thinking about.

A brief Q&A session will follow.

Register for the webinar.

Practical Law will present a free webinar about new DOL regulations that make major changes to the definition of “fiduciary investment advice” under ERISA.

The event will be Wednesday, July 13, at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

Practical Law’s webinar will explain the new standards and how they will affect investment advisers who give retirement advice and sell retirement products such as IRAs. The webinar will also focus on what plan sponsors need to do to comply.

Presenters:

George Sepsakos, Groom Law Group, (Washington, DC)

Heidi Winzeler, Director, Practical Law Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

Register for the event.

Practical Law and Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP partners Ron Whitney, Todd Sable, and Lawrence Murphy will present a free 75-minute webinar on managing risk in supply agreements.

The event will be Thursday, June 23, beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.

During this session, the presenters will discuss: risks associated with supply agreements; tools counsel can use to assist clients in managing such risks; and tips for addressing, limiting, and resolving disputes. The discussion will also highlight some of the key differences between the U.S. and Canada when it comes to supply agreements. A brief Q&A session will follow.

Presenters:
Ron Whitney, Partner, Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP
Todd Sable, Partner, Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP
Lawrence Murphy, Partner, Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP
Robert Ford, Associate Legal Editor, Practical Law Commercial Transactions (Moderator)
John Mackie, Senior Lawyer/Editor, Commercial Practice, Practical Law Canada

CLE credit is available for: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington. CLE credit is being sought for: Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia CLE credit can be self-applied for in: Florida.

The webinar also will be available on-demand.

Register for the webinar.

Thomson Reuters Practice Point, a new tool that integrates the legal resources attorneys need to advise, negotiate and structure business dealings, is hosting a series of free 30-minute webinars providing an overview of current in-house legal trends.

June 15: Practice Point Exclusive Sneak Peek: Labor and Employment, 1:30 p.m. CT, featuring Kate Bally, Co-Director of Practical Law’s Labor and Employment service.

June 16: Practice Point Exclusive Sneak Peek: Capital Markets & Corporate Governance, 1:30 p.m. CT, featuring Chris Roehrig, Senior Legal Editor of Practical Law’s Capital Markets & Corporate Governance service.

June 22: Practice Point Exclusive Sneak Peek: Intellectual Property & Technology, 1:30 p.m. CT, featuring Rita Berardino, Senior Legal Editor of Practical Law’s Intellectual Property & Technology service.

June 23: Practice Point Exclusive Sneak Peek: Commercial Transactions, 1:30 p.m. CT, Featuring Laszlo Serester, Senior Legal Editor of Practical Law’s Commercial Transactions service.

Register for the webinars.