On Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, the experts at NAVEX Global will discuss the challenges of ethics and compliance and offer predictions for 2018’s most pressing compliance issues.

The complimentary webinar will be at 1 p.m. Pacific time/ 1 p.m. Eastern time.

This past year was filled with news headlines that resulted in major legal repercussions for many organizations—causing workplace unrest or wreaking havoc on reputations.

Webinar participants will be able to take a proactive look at their programs and make sure they have a legally defensible strategy that’s prepared for any scenario, NAVEX says in its invitation.

Register for the webinar.

Black Duck will present a complimentary webinar reviewing the past year’s legal developments in open source software.

The event will be on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Two of the leading open source legal experts, Karen Copenhaver, partner at Choate Hall & Stewart and counsel for the Linux Foundation, and Mark Radcliffe, partner at DLA Piper and general counsel for the Open Source Initiative, will lead the discussion.

This annual review will highlight the most significant legal developments related to open source software in 2017, including:

• Current litigation
• An open source security update
• Blockchain and its forks
• Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) and OpenChain
• GDPR
• And more

Register for the webinar.

LawGeex, publisher of “LegalTech Buyer’s Guide,” has published a guide to change management for legal teams: “In-House Counsel’s Guide to Change Management.”

The book delivers the definitive eight-stage process of navigating and reinforcing enduring change. It contains dozens of interviews and real-life experiences from a host of industry leaders, including Pearson, Telstra, Avis Budget Group, NetApp, L’Oreal, Microsoft, Cisco, Google and many more.

The guide includes:

• The secrets of legal change management from Pearson, Telstra, Avis Budget Group, NetApp, L’Oreal, Microsoft, Cisco, Google and many more.
• The definitive eight-stage process of lasting change, including everything from identifying opportunities, to measuring and reinforcing success.
• Dozens of interviews and real life experiences from the world’s leading in-house lawyers and legal experts on navigating lasting change.

Download the guide.

NAVEX Global has compiled an e-book that presents predictions about the top trends and events that will impact ethics and compliance programs in 2018 — along with recommendations for compliance.

The book can be downloaded from the NAVEX site at no charge.

“Business, societal and political events transpired this past year at a pace that left many with a fractured view of the ethics & compliance industry and its expectations,” the company says on its website. “The experts at NAVEX Global and its thought-leadership network discuss these challenges and opportunities based on their experiences with over 12,000 clients to provide well-informed predictions on what’s to come in 2018.”

The e-book covers:

• The top trends and events that will impact your ethics and compliance program in 2018
• How increased awareness and reporting of sexual harassment will affect your program
• The evolving role of the ethics & compliance officer
• How to create a culture of compliance

Download the e-book.

Exterro has published “FRCP & E-Discovery: The Layman’s Guide” to sort out the technical aspects of the FRCP as they relate to e-discovery, supported with relevant case law and expert opinions. The publication can be downloaded at no charge.

“Simply put, The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) prescribe how federal civil lawsuits are governed,” Exterro says on its website. “The FRCP is constantly evolving and many parts may change over the years. The FRCP is intentionally vague, with the idea that judges are not to be constrained by a rigid set of directives, and ultimately, judicial rulings will determine what the FRCP really mean and how they are to be applied.”

The guide includes:

• 30-pages on how the FRCP governs the e-discovery process
• Expert analysis from federal judges and legal scholars
• Practical e-discovery tips for taking advantage of the new FRCP e-discovery rules

Download the guide.

NAVEX Global has released its first ever role-based Ethics & Compliance Benchmark Report for Legal Professionals, designed to help legal professionals get unique insights into compliance challenges and solutions.

Download this report to learn:

• What general counsels value most in their ethics and compliance programs

• A proactive approach to resource constraints

• The most common methods legal professionals use to administer and manage attestations

The report provides insights and benchmarks for compliance programs, from the eyes of legal professionals. It includes best-practice recommendations and discusses how legal departments view compliance training, third-party due diligence and policy and procedure management.

Download the free report.

HousingWire will present a complimentary webinar on digital mortgages on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, at 11 a.m. Pacific time / 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Anyone who cannot watch the presentation in real-time can register to receive a recording of the webinar afterwards.

eSignLive by Vasco will sponsor the event.

“With emerging alternative lenders aggressively entering the market, traditional banks and lenders are looking to the digital mortgage as a competitive advantage,” HousingWire reports. “While originators have successfully automated the initial stages of the mortgage application and disclosure delivery process with electronic signatures, they haven’t fully digitized the entire mortgage workflow. With the help of eClosing and eVaulting platforms however, the “holy grail” of the digitization of complex mortgage transactions is now at arm’s length.”

Topics will include:

• How and where the industry is adopting eMortgage technology
• Legal and regulatory requirements
• E-apps, e-disclosures, e-closings, e-vaulting… where you should start
• Implementation options for a phased transition
• A live demonstration

Register for the webinar.

For the sixth year in a row, the commercial litigation and intellectual property firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, is being recognized among the nation’s Best Law Firms by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America.

“Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing is our go-to firm for any high-stakes litigation. They are smart, tough and effective,” one C-Suite client executive told the publications’ researchers.

Houston’s AZA is listed in the 2018 top tier of area metropolitan law firms for commercial litigation. The selection of Best Law Firms is based on a rigorous process that includes client and lawyer evaluations and peer review from other attorneys in the same practice areas.

Read details of the award.

Zapproved has published a complimentary recap of the PREX17 keynote address by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, which explores the boundary layer between law and technology in the connected society.

In the fallout of the Edward Snowden NSA leaks, he explores the reasons why monitoring and evaluating the impact of our technology are crucial and discusses in detail:

• When weighing the importance of privacy, consider all of your personal information from all of your email accounts, social profiles and medical profiles.
• Ten years ago technology was the number one way privacy was compromised. Now, technology is the number one leading tool for how privacy is protected.
• Digital surveillance has become so prevalent and consequential that the NSA’s motto for their citizen surveillance programs is “Collect it all.”

Download the keynote summary.

For 10 years, Blickstein Group, in cooperation with Consilio, has surveyed hundreds of law departments solely on the operations function to provide benchmarks that are useful to all law departments.

The written survey report is available now and may be downloaded at no charge.

On December 14, at 1 p.m. Eastern time / 10 a.m. Pacific, Blickstein will host a webinar to provide exclusive LIVE analysis of survey results by five industry leaders.

Those leaders are Brad Blickstein; David Cambria, Global Director of Operations – Law, Compliance and Government Relations at Archer Daniels Midland Co.; Joe Polizzotto, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Client Services at QuisLex; Kristin Calve, Publisher of Metropolitan Corporate Counsel; and Robin Snasdell, Managing Director at Consilio.

They will benchmark topics such as:

• The role of Legal Ops
• Change management
• Alternative fee arrangements
• Technology and tools
• Metrics and reporting

Download a copy of the report.

Register for the webinar.

NAVEX Global will present a webinar to launch a new role-based Ethics & Compliance Benchmark Report for Legal Professionals.

The event will be Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, at 10 a.m. Pacific / 1 p.m. Eastern time.

The program will provide insights into how a legal department manages compliance program initiatives. Participants will discuss best-practices for building effective programs, revealing particular challenges and strengths unique to the legal function.

Featured speakers will be Randy Stephens, Vice President, NAVEX Global; and Scott Nelson, Partner, Baker McKenzie LLP.

Anyone interested in the webinar who is unable to attend the online event may register and receive a link to the recording and a full copy of the report afterwards.

Register for the webinar.

Conga has published an eBook designed to help readers get clearer visibility across contracts  through automating and integrating the contract lifecycle.

“Use-it-or-lose-it budgets are a fact of life, but they don’t have to derail your organization,” the company says on its website. “Your remaining dollars will go farther when everyone in your organization works smarter, more efficiently, and more diligently. Lightning-fast automation, policy enforcement, and true oversight will help you get the most out of end-of-quarter initiatives without taking on unnecessary risk.”

Download “The Path to Year-End Efficiency” to:

• Do more with your year-end dollars
• Learn how to accelerate sales processes
• Understand the importance of getting contract management right
• Stop the bottlenecks associated with year-end
• Boost purchasing efficiency and oversight

Download the guide.

Five partners in Estes Thorne & Carr, as well as the firm itself, have received recognition from lawyer rating publications, including The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers.

Receiving Best Lawyers honors are Dawn Estes, Jessica Thorne, Lori Carr and Carol Payne. They were selected for the awards by their peers in the profession.

All three, as well as partner Linda Moore, also were named Super Lawyers, a rating service of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. This selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

And the firm was recognized by U.S. News & World Report in its Best Law Firms list for 2018.

Read more about the partners.

Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP has been named in U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers list of “Best Law Firms for 2018.”

According to U.S. News and World Report, “Firms included in the 2018 ‘Best Law Firms’ list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.”

The firm received recognition for a variety of litigation areas, including construction, mass torts, commercial, labor and employment, environmental, and trusts and estates.

Read more about the recognition.

The National Association of Corporate Directors has published a complimentary article titled “Assessing the Ability to Change Culture,” providing a quick overview of best practices set forth in the Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Culture as a Corporate Asset.

Most boards recognize that management’s actions create an organization’s culture, and that leaders should “walk the talk.” But few know what’s involved in assessing and changing culture in a rigorous, comprehensive, and data-driven way, NACD says on its website.

The article describes how boards should:

• Assess the company’s commitment to change along four key dimensions
• Oversee management in identifying and implementing needed interventions
• Seek to modify specific behaviors, not just instill values or tone from the top

Download the article.

NAVEX Global has published its 2017 Third-Party Risk Management Benchmark Report to document how practitioners are successfully conducting third-party risk management — including screening, monitoring and auditing techniques.

“Third parties can be unpredictable,” the company says on its website. “When managing hundreds or even thousands of third parties, keeping an eye out for red flags may seem a herculean task. Use the report to improve your own program outcomes, stop bad behavior in its tracks, and ensure you know how to spot the warning signs.”

The study, which includes information from more than 400 professionals, offers guidance on the approach to third-party risk management that organizations find most effective, how they are using outside providers to assist with third-party due diligence, if automated due diligence affects ROI, and more.

Download the benchmark report.

Marcus Evans Summits has announced the schedule for the 2018 Chief Litigation Officer Summit and IP Law Summit, both scheduled for March 11-13, 2018, a the Venetian in Las Vegas.

Both summits will feature networking, presentations and panel discussions.

“With our unique in-house platform, attendees have the ability to pre-select meetings with the delegates/vendors they would like to meet with. This way your agenda is tailored exactly to your needs and maximises your time there,” the company says in its invitation.

Get details about the summits.

Zapproved has published “Building Your Preservation Responsive Playbook,” illustrating ways to adopt, monitor and document a preservation process that is litigation-ready.

The guide can be downloaded at no charge.

Providing insights in the publication are:

• Cortney Starble, E-Discovery Specialist at CBRE, Inc.
• Leslie Kendrick, Litigation Counsel at Daimler
• Bryan Dearinger, Associate General Counsel at University of Oregon

The guide is intended to provide practical tips aimed at helping legal operations teams preserve relevant data, release legal holds and manage clear preservation workflows.

Download the guide.

Exterro has published its 40-page 2017 In-House Legal Benchmarking Report and made the report available for free downloading on its website.

This year’s report shows the areas of focus that corporate legal teams are homing in on in the hopes of gaining the kind of control that will bring efficiency: control over the process, both in-house and with third-party vendors; control over project management through the use of technology; control over data volumes and data types during preservation.

Some points about the report:

• 40-page comprehensive report, which surveyed 85 in-house legal professionals
• Key topics include how legal departments are allocating spend, techniques used to manage legal operations and much more…
• Expert analysis by EDRM co-founder George Socha, on what he sees as the key takeaways from this report

Download the report.

AdvoLogix will present a complimentary webinar designed to help participants learn strategies that legal teams today can employ to streamline matter intake, triage, prioritization, and assignment.

The webinar “Maximizing Impact of In-House Counsel Resources with Cloud-Based Matter Management” will be Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, 1-2 p.m Eastern time.

In-house legal teams today are hindered by the inability to embed unique legal workflows into commonly provided workplace tools, AdvoLogix says on its website. Highly paid individuals are spending too much time in email, phone calls, unproductive organizational meetings and manual document manipulation with lack of complete understanding of the impact of the work item to the business.

The webinar will cover how strategies give legal departments a clear understanding that the most critical legal issues are being worked in a priority sequence by the people with the right skills and availability. Presenters also will discuss tools that can automate workflow, informational intake, task assignment, document creation and more and also provide the metrics needed to provide insight into value delivered and effort expended by in-house counsel.

Register for the webinar.