NAVEX Global has published a new report discussing how to assess your program maturity, gain organizational buy-in and understand the value of a comprehensive third-party due diligence program.

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

“Third parties are an extension of your business and expose your organization to reputational and business risks,” NAVEX says on its website. “Help protect your organization with the latest insights, benchmarks and trends around how to manage these business partners.”

The report answers questions such as:

• What strategies do organizations use to manage third-party risks?
• How do organizations employ risk-based procedures to manage third-party risks?
• How do respondents measure the effectiveness of their program?

Download the report.

 

 

The Eastern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference set a new attendance record this year with more than 450 attendees gathering in Plano, Texas, for three days of programming and panel discussions focused on the diverse legal cases handled by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Andrei Iancu, U.S. Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, delivered a major policy address during the event.

Iancu’s speech at the Inaugural Texas Dinner in Honor of the Judiciary and 7th Amendment was reported by many media outlets as a push back against the “patent troll” narrative that has encircled America’s intellectual property system for more than a decade.

Read details about the conference.

 

 

 

Houston-based construction and business litigation firm West Mermis, PLLC, has earned national recognition among the Best Law Firms in the country by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America.

The firm was selected to the 2019 list of construction litigation firms recognized nationally, and in the Houston metro area, West Mermis is ranked in the top tier of such law firms.

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers selection process involves a lawyer survey and feedback from clients on a firm’s expertise, responsiveness and cost-effectiveness along with other questions.

Read details about the award.

 

 

 

 

 

The  National Association of Corporate Directors has published its 2018 Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Adaptive Governance: Board Oversight of Disruptive Risks to provide directors with valuable insights and tools.

How can directors do a thorough job of assessing disruptive risks and then of guiding their companies toward effective responses? More broadly, how can directors fulfill their core responsibilities for overseeing performance, strategy, risk management, and enterprise content management when volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) are the only constants?

The report provides:

• a functional definition of disruptive risk
• characteristics of the current environment—and their implications
• a definition of adaptive governance as a framework for overseeing disruptive risks
• the essential components of adaptive governance
• recommendations for putting adaptive governance into practice

Download the complimentary report.

 

 

Exterro has published its 2018 Law Firm Benchmarking Report, in which more than 100 law firm professionals supplied advice and tips for getting more out of a law firm.

This is the third annual edition of the Exterro report.

The report includes:

• In-depth analysis of how law firms are working with their clients around e-discovery issues
• New techniques for improving how you communicate and work with your law firms
• Survey responses from over 100 law firm respondents on 25+ questions

Download the report.

 

 

 

Zapproved has published the new Fall 2018 Ediscovery Case Law Summaries. This new edition explores how recent spoliation, proportionality, and other ediscovery-relevant case decisions are guiding litigation.

This free volume, which can be downloaded from Zapproved’s website, includes 12 full summaries, plus brief abstracts of case law from the last 10 years.

The new summaries are:

• World Trade Ctrs. Assoc., Inc. v. Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J.
• BankDirect Capital Fin., LLC v. Capital Premium Fin., Inc.
• EPAC Techs., Inc. v. HarperCollins Christian Publ’g, Inc.
• De Simone v. VSL Pharms., Inc.
• Elliott-Thomas v. Smith
• GoPro, Inc. v. 360Heros, Inc.
• Nece v. Quicken Loans, Inc.
• The Physicians Alliance Corp. v. WellCare Health Ins. of Ariz., Inc.
• Cen Com, Inc. v. Numerex Corp.
• Equal Emp’t Opportunity Comm’n v. FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc.
• In re Simply Orange Orange Juice Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig.
• Johnson v. Ford Motor Co.

Download the summaries.

 

 

Texas Lawyer has singled out Heim, Payne & Chorush partner Miranda Jones as its “Top Woman in IP” for the publication’s 2018 Professional Excellence honors.

The statewide recognition is based on Jones’ intellectual property law experience and numerous successes and professional accomplishments, which include trial counsel leadership roles in multimillion-dollar patent infringement litigation and significant appellate work at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jones is a partner in the firm’s national patent litigation practice group, representing patent holders as trial and appellate counsel in infringement litigation involving new technology in cutting-edge areas.

Read more about the honor.

 

 

Texas trial lawyer Rusty Hardin has named Jennifer Brevorka, Lara Hollingsworth, and Megan Moore new partners at Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP, the civil and criminal litigation firm he founded 22 years ago.

“These talented lawyers have repeatedly demonstrated their courtroom savvy and business sense in negotiating and winning the best results for our clients,” said Hardin. “I’m thrilled to honor their achievements and promote them to a higher level of responsibility at our firm.”

Brevorka handles both civil and criminal matters, and she has successfully tried complex lawsuits in courtrooms across the country. She has represented elected officials and CEOs, whistleblowers, and small businesses.

Hollingsworth, who has been of counsel with Rusty Hardin & Associates for 15 years, has shifted to full time and focuses primarily on appellate work. She has extensive experience as lead appellate counsel in commercial trials.

Moore is a commercial litigator who has represented a diverse group of corporate and individual clients in business and employment disputes. She was a key member of a federal trial team litigating a matter with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.

Read details about the new partners.

 

 

 

NAVEX Global will present the 2018 Ethics & Compliance Virtual Conference as an online event Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.

This year’s ECVC focuses on putting the ideals of ethics and compliance into practice. Find out how your program should perform through regulatory scrutiny, leadership influence and program enhancements, then deliver quantifiable proof of success.

The conference will feature:

• 4 Learning Tracks
• 3 High-Profile Keynotes
• 13 Hour-Long Sessions
• No Travel; No Cost
• 6000+ Peers for Networking
• Dozens of Free Resources
• Live Speaker Q&A
• On-Demand Access

Register for the virtual conference.

 

 

 

Bloomberg Law’s 4th annual Talent and Diversity Forum brings together industry leaders to share insights on what can actually increase diversity in the legal industry.

The event will be November 8, 2018, 8 a.m. to noon, in the offices of Bloomberg Government, 1101 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 2005.

With the emergence of new technologies and increased data analysis, the industry has seen significant shifts in recruiting and retention strategies and the emergence of an operations and value-driven business model, Bloomberg says on its website.

The half-day program will bring together corporate diversity champions, general counsel, and industry experts to offer up the newest ideas for bridging the ongoing diversity gap, from using technology to analyze data on prospective attorneys to ways to adapt an organization’s overall diversity initiatives to best suit an in-house legal team.

Key topics will include:

• Harnessing diversity in the changing business of law
• Using data and technology to increase diversity
• Workshopping scenarios to tackle diversity issues

Request an invitation.

 

 

 

Dallas business trial law firm Loewinsohn Flegle Deary Simon won the No. 1 spot for the Elite Trial Lawyers award, based on research by VerdictSearch, The National Law Journal and Law.com.

Three of the firm’s co-founders, Alan Loewinsohn, Craig Simon, and Matt Ray, accepted the award during a reception at the Las Vegas Bellagio Hotel on October 5.

The firm’s recent litigation includes a trial victory that resulted in a $6 billion verdict – the largest verdict of 2017 and one of the Top 10 verdicts in U.S. history.

Read details about the honor.

 

 

Zapproved recently partnered with Corporate Ediscovery to commission an in-depth survey of corporate ediscovery professionals. The resulting benchmark report uncovers key insights about the ediscovery community, including common challenges, aspirations, and approaches to managing each stage of the EDRM.

The 2018 Corporate Ediscovery Benchmarking Report can be download from Zapproved’s website at no charge.

The results and detailed benchmarks include:

• The volume and types of matters that require ediscovery support
• How corporate teams are managing each stage of the EDRM – from data preservation through document review
• Common challenges and goals for 2019 and beyond
• Best practice adoption rates and barriers

Download the report.

 

 

To be most effective, crisis planning has to start now, before there’s a crisis to respond to, advises Androvett Legal Media & Marketing in a new video and post on the company’s website.

“When there is a crisis, you want to be ready to jump into action as fast as possible, not starting from scratch. But remember, being fast doesn’t mean being sloppy. You can take a very strategic approach to putting your plan together,” according to the post.

The authors discuss some simple steps to follow, including: identify what matters, identify your audiences, list the questions, write out your answers, designate a single spokesperson, identify clear lines of authority, and consider media training.

See the video and post.

 

 

 

Bad corporate directorship can be incredibly detrimental to a company or organization. From inattention to detail to feelings of entitlement, bad board members can seriously impede board operations, waste precious resources, and stifle best-practice corporate governance.

The National Association of Corporate Directors has published  “A Field Guide to Bad Directors,” in which four-time corporate chair and CEO of Special Investigations Michael Pocalyko

• lays out the defining characteristics of a bad director,
• identifies 14 of the most prevalent bad director archetypes, and
• offers suggestions for mitigating the effects of a bad director.

Additionally, Pocalyko interviews three seasoned directors about their personal experiences with deficient board members and what management styles and personal qualities are beneficial in maintaining a high-performance board.

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

Download the article.

 

 

Flexera will present a complimentary webinar discussing the OpenChain Project for a secure and compliant software supply chain.

The event will be Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018, at 11 a.m. Central time.

The Linux Foundation has developed the OpenChain project, a standard that can help software suppliers manage their production process better, to ship secure and compliant software to customers.

In this webinar, Shane Coughlan, general manager – OpenChain at the Linux Foundation, will give an overview of OpenChain; why it is needed and how it helps address issues in software production. Participants will learn how to improve their software production processes.

Register for the webinar.

 

 

Five Estes Thorne & Carr partners have been named to the 2019 listing of The Best Lawyers in America and the 2018 listing of Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters.

In commercial  law, Dawn Estes was recognized by Best Lawyers, and she won Top 100 recognition from Super Lawyers.

In family law, Jessica Thorne won recognition from both awards lists, and Lori Carr won dual recognition in labor law.

In commercial litigation, Carol Payne won dual recognition, and Linda Moore was honored by Super Lawyers.

Read about the honors.

 

 

 

OneSpan has published a white paper titled “User Authentication for E-Signature Transactions” and made it available for downloading at no charge. (See the download form below.)

The white paper provides guidance on how to select and implement user authentication techniques. It answers questions like:

• How do I select the right authentication for my requirements?
• How do I implement strong authentication, without making the process difficult for the customer?
• Can I leverage existing user authentication credentials?
• Can I adjust my user authentication criteria for different transactions and processes?

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Five lawyers with with Houston-based Rusty Hardin & Associates have earned recognition in the 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, a U.S. peer-review guide to attorneys.

Firm founder Rusty Hardin, who has won some of the nation’s most high-profile trials and earned some of the legal profession’s most prestigious honors, is featured for both commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense work. He was also rated Lawyer of the Year for 2019 in the Houston area for white-collar criminal defense.

Firm partners Andy Drumheller and Derek Hollingsworth, both former prosecutors, are recognized for their white-collar criminal defense expertise. Of counsel Cathy Cochran and firm partner Joe Roden are listed for their appellate work. All of the five lawyers have been recognized in previous editions of the Best Lawyers list.

Read details about the honors.

 

 

Lawrence J. West and Joshua W. Mermis, co-founders of the Houston-based litigation boutique West Mermis PLLC, have both been named to the 2019 listing of The Best Lawyers in America as well as the 2018 listing of Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters.

West and Mermis have been recognized for two consecutive years by Best Lawyers for their work in construction litigation.

In addition to this year’s Super Lawyers recognition, West has been named to the Texas Super Lawyers list each year since 2014.

Mermis was first recognized in 2017, after earning appearances on the companion Texas Rising Stars list from 2010-2011 and again from 2014-2016.

Read about the awards.

 

 

Attorney Michael Lyons, co-founder of the Texas-based trial firm Deans & Lyons, has been selected among Dallas-Fort Worth’s Top 100 attorneys in the 2018 edition of the Texas Super Lawyers legal guide.

The Top 100 list recognizes the DFW region’s leading attorneys regardless of practice focus. In addition to this distinction, Lyons earned selection among The Best Lawyers in America for 2019. He has also been recognized among the top “high stakes” trial lawyers in the state as a member of both the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums, as well as a member of America’s Top 100 Attorneys for Texas Lifetime Achievement. In 2017, he was named among America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators for North Texas.

Also earning 2018 Texas Super Lawyers honors were firm co-founder Greg Deans for his products liability and mass tort work and partner Katie Stepp for her general litigation practice.

Earlier this year, three of the firm’s lawyers were selected to the companion Rising Stars list of the top young attorneys in the state. Partners Chris Simmons and Courtney Bowline were recognized along with associate Lana Beverly for their outstanding work on both personal injury and commercial litigation matters.

Read details about the honors.