November's cover story guides in-house counsel through the changing world of compliance with the US conflict minerals legislation. In-house counsel in the manufacturing industry may want to verify their supply chain to check for conflict minerals — metals which finance warfare in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When those two words - Chapter 11 - loom imminently over your company, you may believe that you're well-prepared to press forward. But are you really as ready as you think you are? You will be after reading this article, which highlights the essentials of filing the forms, knowing the details and learning the new perspectives necessary to not only survive, but also succeed during a Chapter 11 proceeding.
Corporate counsel in every industry are facing new and more frequent challenges in dealing with fraud and corruption. As companies grow and expand, gaining knowledge about how to identify and confront these issues is vital to counsel. The key to detecting and preventing fraud and corruption is vigorous employment screening protocols.
As the baby-boomer lawyers retire, legal departments in the United States will be looking to replenish their teams. Unfortunately, decreasing numbers of law school graduates means that there will be a smaller pool of talent ready for in-house work. Legal departments must meet this challenge by changing their hiring practices. Learn tips for recruiting and retaining this emerging crop of millennial lawyers.
Legal teams are increasingly becoming responsible for data management. Like a spider’s web, every strand of data intertwines to support the business. At first glance the spider’s web may seem messy and chaotic, but there is order – each strand has a specific purpose. This article takes a close look at the information governance web and suggests ways to establish an effective, long-term information governance plan.
In-house counsel, whether at a
small, large or mid-size company, should be aware of export licensing issues as they impact almost any company, including those that do not engage in direct exports. If you don’t think implementing an export compliance program at your company is necessary, you might change your mind after reading this article.
Defending a patent infringement lawsuit can be an arduous and costly endeavor. Of course, there can be no infringement if the patent is invalid. One way to prove this is by producing prior art. Although the concept may not seem revolutionary, this article provides eight examples of resourceful patent lawyers in their search for prior art.
Coupled with federal funding, joint ventures with universities or nonprofits often result in major discoveries having significant commercial implications. However, without clear contractual assignments, corporations could discover themselves in front of the Supreme Court. The article describes the proactive steps involved in protecting your company’s IP.
Intellectual property is one of a public company’s most valuable, yet potentially most volatile assets. In one of the Docket's September features, we expand on the new rules and regulations by which companies must abide to secure their IP.
As in-house counsel, you never know when you’ll encounter an unforeseen event that triggers an internal investigation. But when you do, you’ll want to be prepared. Whether it’s a whistleblower complaint or a personnel-related issue, companies can no longer afford to treat claims on a case-by-case basis, and must create precautionary policy that ensures that every investigation is fair and safe for all involved.