Resource Library

Do you want to give back to your local community by representing indigent or other needy clients? Believe it or not, some states won't allow you to do so (e.g., if you are not locally-licensed, even though the rules permit to provide legal advice to your employer). And, even if a state does allow you to practice pro bono, you still need to keep in mind a whole host of ethical and practical issues, such as confidentiality and client loyalty, avoidance of conflicts and whether or not you should purchase malpractice insurance. Composed of in-house lawyers who have faced these challenges, this panel will explore current pro bono practice and ethics rules, how and where those rules are changing and what you can do to make sure you and your law department are in compliance.

Evaluate various career paths for GCs endeavoring to climb higher or take a different route.

This presentation covers the basics, such as investigating internal complaints, responding to government investigations, addressing ADA and accommodation issues, managing overtime pay and FLSA classification compliance, handling leave issues and avoiding retaliation claims. It also covers emerging issues, such as social media, diversity programs, genetic information discrimination and class action waivers.

In-house lawyers learn every day about the importance of business partnering. Assisting clients with creating alternative solutions to a business problem, understanding the changing nature of the competitive environment, providing strategic business advice, facilitating the implementation of a corporate policy are but a few of the skills needed to reach leadership positions within their organisations. During this interactive session, presenters will illustrate how advance business partnering and expanding our skills sets can turn into a departmental value proposition.

Cybercrime continues to increase and is targeting citizens, businesses and governments throughout the world, introducing unprecedented levels of vulnerability. The increasing trend of outsourcing data to third parties represents a present and imminent risk to security and data protection.<br />As cybercriminals continue to advance their techniques, their focus has shifted to theft of financial information, business espionage and accessing government information, thus threatening the ability of the law enforcement authorities to respond.

The EU national authorities have been consistently imposing increased compliance verification and audits and overall tightening sanctions. As a recent example, restrictions have been placed on financial support for trade and opening of new branches. Supply chain security remains a major concern: are we doing the upfront due diligence and do we have all the appropriate contractual clauses? How can we secure a supply chain in an international export environment where regulatory bodies impose customs and import restrictions on certain products? This session will focus on providing an update from an EU trade and export/import controls perspective.

The session will cover important recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) developments since the ACC 2013 Annual Meeting and will also include highlights from the 2014 proxy season. The program will review significant enforcement actions and trends as well as recent SEC developments related to proxy advisory firms, cybersecurity, conflict minerals, social media, whistleblowing and disclosure reform. The SEC Update session will be a fast-moving program; come equipped with a working knowledge of the 1933 Act and the 1934 Act.

One of the critical roles the general counsel often plays is as a strategic advisor to the company’s Board of Directors, whether formally serving as corporate secretary or not. What are the tips and tricks you would share with others on how you work most effectively with your Board of Directors and become the board’s key trusted advisor? Have you personally considered, or has your executive team encouraged you to consider, serving as a corporate director for another company and, if so, what has been your experience? How do you address the ethical issues that arise for a GC serving on another company’s board?

Your business uses social media to get out its message. That’s fine, right? Well, mostly, but there are a number of ways in which the use of social media can transgress the securities laws in the United States. Which ones? Come to this session to learn about when and how social media conflicts with securities laws, particularly Regulation FD, the safe harbor for forward-looking information under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Regulation G, Rule 10b-5, when it might make sense to use social media in the annual meeting and proxy solicitation process and why more people in your business than ever before need to understand the concept of materiality.

This presentation will examine the risks, rewards and basic steps of evaluating and soliciting offers to monetize intellectual property assets of the company.