Zapproved has published “The Definitive Guide to Legal Hold Best Practices,” a guide to effectively preserving information for use in litigation.

The guide can be downloaded from Zapproved’s website at no charge.

It provides clear advice on recognizing trigger events and scoping preservation efforts; recommendations for how to issue, monitor, and release legal holds; analyses of common points of preservation failure; helpful checklists; and case law examples.

Download the guide.

ContractWorks has published a guide titled “The Contracts Checklist for M&A Due Diligence” and made it available for downloading from the company’s website at no charge.

“Reviewing the contracts and commitments of a target company is one of the most time-consuming and crucial components of a due diligence inquiry,” ContractWorks says on its website. “This guide serves as a non-exhaustive checklist of important contract types to consider during the M&A due diligence process.”

The guide covers:

• Contract due diligence pre- and post-transaction
• Categories of contracts that are important to review and understand
• Tips for getting started and ensuring success

Download the checklist.

Onit and SimpleLegal have jointly published a white paper on the benefits of disruption in the legal department.

“Driving Disruption in the Law Department” is available on Onit’s website for downloading at no charge.

“The growth of legal operations has been undeniable,” Onit says on its website. “We’re starting to see communities of strategic, business-minded individuals come together to drive disruption and influence operational change within the legal department.”

The joint white paper covers:

• Why legal department disruption is a “good” thing
• How process, technology, and data play a role in disruption
• The rise of industry organizations including CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium) and ACC (Association of Corporate Counsel)
• 7 predictions for the future of legal operations by Onit CEO and founder Eric M. Elfman and SimpleLegal CEO and co-founder Nathan Wenzel
• How the legal community and technology vendors can work together to drive change and innovation

Download the white paper.

Vice News recently reported on the technological revolution overtaking the world in transportation, distribution, food service, health – and legal.

The HBO VICE News special features LawGeex in its report on “The Future of Work.”

In a repeat of the AI vs. Lawyer competition — this time officiated by HBO’s Vice News — the LawGeex AI came out ahead again.

On its website, LawGeex displays a short clip showing how LawGeex performed better in both speed and accuracy.

Read more about the competition.

The Legal 500 United States 2019 Guide recognized nine attorneys resident in the Texas offices of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

• Christopher L. Bell (Houston) – Environmental Litigation; Environmental Regulatory
• Joseph F. Coniglio (Dallas) – Healthcare: Service Providers; Healthcare: Health Insurers
• Karl G. Dial (Dallas) – Dispute Resolution: Securities Litigation – Defense
• William Garner (Houston) – Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas; Energy Regulation: Conventional Power
• Shari L. Heyen (Houston) – Finance: Restructuring (including Bankruptcy) – Corporate
• Michael L. Malone (Dallas) – Healthcare: Service Providers
• Dwayne L. Mason (Houston) – Intellectual Property: Trade Secrets (Litigation and Non-Contentious Matters)
• Alicia Sienne Voltmer (Dallas) – Labor and Employment: Labor – Management Relations; Disputes (including Collective Actions) – Defense; Workplace and Employment Counseling
• Dale Wainwright (Austin) – Dispute Resolution: Appellate

Read more information.

ContractWorks has published a guide to recognizing, establishing, and monitoring the most important key performance indicators for corporate agreements.

“Using KPIs to Measure Contract Management Performance” is available for downloading from ContractWorks’ website at no charge.

This publication can provide guidance on creating effective KPIs for key contracting areas, discussing steps for successfully presenting objectives and KPIs, using KPIs to actively monitor SMART objectives, and discussing tips for getting started and ensuring success.

Download the guide.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, NAVEX Global will host a complimentary Master Class consisting of webinars discussing the topic of diversity and inclusion.

Most compliance professionals know it’s important to highlight “diversity and inclusion” when discussing corporate priorities with your board, executives and employees, NAVEX says on its website. But how do you really move the needle from making talking points to cultivating a truly diverse and inclusive workplace where employees feel a sense of belonging and value?

Attend this class to hear:

• Foundations for an Effective Diversity & Inclusion Program
• Going Beyond Ideology to Achieve Impact with Diversity & Inclusion
• Live Q&A with Instructors

Register for the webinars.

A brief published by the National Association of Corporate Directors takes a serious look at the critical interaction between the general counsel and the board during a crisis.

The information contained in the brief was captured from an in-depth discussion of Fortune 500 board leaders.

The publication, titled “Communicating in Times of Crisis: Insights From Fortune 500 Committee Chairs,” can be downloaded from the NACD website at no charge.

It addresses the question: How can the general counsel manage the timing of communications with stakeholders and balance the need for transparency with the organization’s risk appetite—amid an ongoing investigation?

Download the brief.

Zapproved has tallied the results from nearly 250 survey responses to compile its annual Corporate Ediscovery Benchmark Report, providing valuable insights into the current state of corporate litigation response and the direction of developing trends.

The report is available for downloading at Zapproved’s website at no charge.

The company says this year’s report includes comprehensive information about how organizations handle every stage of ediscovery, considering litigation volume, use of technology, and more.

The report can be used to show how an organization measures up and how to make next-level improvements. It also shows what data sources are on the horizon for ediscovery managers.

This is the seventh consecutive year Zapproved has conducted the survey.

Download the survey report.

Exterro has published the second edition of its Comprehensive Guide to E-Discovery Preservation, containing tips, best practices and case law reviews.

The guide may be downloaded from Exterro’s site at no charge.

“The preservation process may just be the most important stage of the e-discovery process, as it is the foundation of everything that follows,” the company says on its website. “There can be no collection, review, or production of relevant information if your organization failed to preserve it in the first place. But unlike the other stages of e-discovery, there isn’t a clearly indicated starting point—just an obligation to preserve once there is ‘a reasonable anticipation of litigation.’”

The guide covers:

• Practical definitions and best practices for preserving electronically stored information (ESI)
• Baseline requirements for the legal hold process
• Preservation challenges and ways to overcome them

Download the guide.

The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics’ 18th Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute will feature leading industry experts who will cover real world compliance issues, emerging trends, and practical applications.

The event will be in National Harbor, MD, Sept. 15-18, 2019.

Participants will learn about current hot topics such as global antitrust compliance, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, artificial intelligence, and preventing harassment and discrimination.

The SCCE says CEI is ideal for any professional who deals with compliance and ethics issues as part of their job duties, including compliance and ethics professionals, in-house and outside counsel, audit managers/officers, consultants, corporate executives and leaders, human resource managers, information officers, privacy officers, regulators and other government personnel, researchers and policy makers, risk managers, staff educators and trainers.

Get more information or register.

Center for Board Excellence and Corporate Board Member have published “Guide to Board Assessments,” a practical and digestible guide to getting the most out of the board assessment process.

The guide can be downloaded at no charge.

“An annual board assessment is a mainspring process for maximizing board effectiveness,” CBE says. “Corporate governance is not one-size-fits-all, and a board’s assessment process should be appropriately tailored to meet each board’s objectives. Performing an annual board assessment is fundamental to strong governance.”

Some of the benefits of conducting an effective board assessment are:

• Promote stronger board and management alignment
• Enhance focus on key strategic areas
• Clarify board composition needs
• Identify board culture strengths and improvements

Download the guide.

Lawyers with Houston-based Heard Law Firm achieved a settlement for an offshore pipeline technician who was blown into the air, suffering back injuries and burns in an explosion on an oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

Donald Champion, who lives near Lake Charles, Louisiana, was working on the Garden Banks Gas Pipeline owned by Enbridge Offshore LLC more than 100 miles south of New Orleans. In November 2017, an explosion caused by equipment failure knocked him through the air into a stack of pipe, injuring his back and leaving him with serious burns to his face, arms and hands.

In addition to the treatment for his burns, Champion underwent back surgery and may require more operations in the future.

See details and a video.

Michael Mulvania has joined Richards Carrington as of counsel in the firm’s Denver office.

Mulvania focuses on complex commercial and general business litigation at the trial level. He represents clients in diverse industries and areas of practice, including commercial, oil and gas, trade secrets, class actions, securities, antitrust, products liability, and environmental litigation.

Prior to joining Richards Carrington, LLC, he practiced in Denver at litigation boutique Wheeler, Trigg, O’Donnell LLP, and in Washington, D.C. at litigation boutique Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel P.L.L.C.

See more details.

Consilio is conducting its 2019 Law Department Benchmarking Survey covering such topics as legal spending, department organization, staff workload, outside counsel and vendor management, leadership priorities, client service delivery and technology.

The company says the project’s aim is to measure and benchmark to identify best practices. Participants’ answers will help other corporate law departments understand current trends and practices.

Answers to survey questions are confidential. And participants will receive at no cost, access to the aggregated results. Deadline for participation is July 31, 2019.

Consilio is offering any company that participates in the survey a chance to win a complimentary assessment of their external legal spend.

Participate in the survey.

Trial law firm Martin Walker has earned honors for winning the largest medical malpractice verdict in Texas in 2018 for the $43.32 million jury award against Tyler-based East Texas Medical Center and one of its doctors. The editors of Texas Lawyer included the verdict in the magazine’s listing of Top Verdicts and Settlements, 10th Edition, based on research gathered by VerdictSearch.

A jury found ETMC grossly negligent for allowing Dr. Gary Boyd to treat 61-year-old Billy Pierce, despite having been placed on probation by the Texas Medical Board. Pierce was admitted in April 2014 with stomach pain and vomiting.

During the trial, Martin Walker attorneys argued the hospital bylaws should have prevented Boyd from practicing at the facility. Testimony showed that Boyd diagnosed Pierce with an abnormality he said would make surgery to remove bile duct stones impossible. For more than a month, the firm said, Pierce was in a medically induced coma during which time Boyd and the hospital abandoned him, according to testimony. Once the hospital sought a second opinion, a new doctor rejected Boyd’s diagnosis and operated without complication.

Jurors agreed that Boyd’s improper care led to the loss of Pierce’s quality of life and his ability to provide for his family. The $43 million verdict included $18.57 million for past and future pain, anguish, loss of earning capacity, and medical care and expenses. The jury also awarded $25 million in punitive damages, after concluding the hospital’s conduct involved an extreme risk of potential harm to others.

Pierce was represented by Martin Walker name partners Reid Martin and Jack Walker and attorney Marisa Schouten. The case is Billy Pierce v. East Texas Medical Center and Dr. Gary Boyd and the ETMC Digestive Disease Center, Cause No. 16-0853-C in the 241st District Court in Smith County.

The firm is based in Tyler, Texas.

Each year, VerdictSearch conducts a comprehensive review to produce the list of top verdicts in Texas. The full list is published in the July 2019 issue of Texas Lawyer.

Research revealed in NAVEX Global’s 2019 Definitive Corporate Compliance Benchmark Report uncovers key program drivers for an ethical organizational culture and improved business performance.

The report can be downloaded from the company’s website at no charge.

The comprehensive report on compliance benchmarks is based on almost 1,000 respondents from companies of all sizes and industries across the world.

Questions addressed in the report include:

• What elements should my compliance program include?
• Is my approach to risk management aligned to best practices and market trends?
• What’s the right amount of budget and resources for the size of my company?
• How do I continue to improve my current program?

Download the report.

Appellate lawyers with Houston-based Wright Close & Barger scored a 9-0 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in a closely watched religious discrimination case that made national headlines and carried big implications for employers and state and local governments.

The ruling in Fort Bend County vs. Davis united both conservative and liberal justices with an interpretation signaling that employers must be expeditious when challenging a worker’s claim of job bias. The opinion also cemented the authority of the courts in discrimination cases like this one, the firm said in a release.

“We are grateful for this important decision, which ensures a fairer system for all victims of employment discrimination. It also clarifies the process for employers and governments,” said appellate specialist Raffi Melkonian who delivered oral arguments on behalf of plaintiff Lois Davis. The case marked his first time making oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

Read details about the case.

A new guide published by Zapproved details a series of real-world best practices for getting ediscovery costs under control. The new guide can be downloaded from the Zapproved website.

The company says the cost of ediscovery is skyrocketing as data volumes and complexity expand. At the same time, your team is being asked to do more with less.

“Driving Down the Cost of Ediscovery” will show readers how to create a comprehensive litigation response plan, preserve and collect the right data from the right places, conduct early case assessment (ECA), reduce the volume of documents for review, and improve the efficiency of the process from end to end.

Download the guide.

PactSafe’s legal experts — after studying more than 1,000 cases from 2002 to 2018  — have identified trends and best practices for defending clickthrough terms of service in court.

The results of that research are available from PactSafe in a free download from the company’s website.

As the rate of litigation around terms of service increases (notably 626% from 2002 to 2018) businesses are increasingly aware of what they need to cover, PactSafe says on its website. While the content of online legal terms may be bulletproof, the way that companies currently track acceptance may leave them at risk.

The report covers:

• Aggregate data complied from the last 15 years of clickthrough cases
• The three different ways of forming online contracts and the success rate of each type.
• The factors that influence the court’s decision as to the validity of an online agreement.
• The types of evidence you should be prepared to bring to court

Download the report.