As companies seek to unlock value from their strong brands by expanding into new geographies or product markets, these moves can be fraught with significant legal risks. Panelists will discuss the Kraft Foods Group Brands v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store case, in which Cracker Barrel was preliminarily enjoined from expanding the reach of its brand to new product categories. Learn different techniques to safely accomplish brand expansion, including developing effective licensing, co-branding and merchandising programs that enhance brand equity, updating trademark clearance procedures, employing innovative trademark application procedures, creating international brand expansion policies and implementing trademark portfolio management strategies to establish an advantage in the global marketplace. Discover how your company can leverage its brands’ existing value while protecting itself from missteps that can shrink profitability, dilute brand value and erode hard-earned competitive advantage.
Law schools rarely teach courses in leadership or basic management principles. Yet attorneys are increasingly expected to operate as high-performing contributors to leadership and executive teams, often outside the realm of their true legal expertise. The panelists will steer you through the essential skills required of truly effective managers, including a basic ability to understand goal setting, strategic and tactical planning, motivating high productivity and quality performance, running effective meetings, building effective team relationships and measuring results.
Employee leaves of absence continue to be a source of stress for many organizations doing business in the United States. Not only do employers need to be aware of federal laws that impact employee leaves, but also of state and city leave of absence laws that impose new and, in some cases, unexpected obligations on employers. This panel will provide expert advice about current litigation trends and best practices to avoid common pitfalls with absence management.
As business professionals, in-house counsel are required to collaborate with many stakeholders with different incentives. Join our experienced panelists as they discuss obstacles to collaboration and how to overcome them. Panelists will provide insight and practical tips on working within your legal department, working with different groups within the company (such as sales) and working with those outside the company (e.g., customers, outside counsel and opposing counsel) to achieve corporate goals and succeed within the department and company. Move from, “That's not my job” to “I’ll take the lead.”
This panel will discuss a rational and balanced approach to contracting major IT implementation projects. Service providers will seek to focus on scope of service and shifting project risk to the customer by limiting their liability contractually. In-house counsel will also seek to limit their company’s contractual risk, seek to push for ownership of intellectual property created during the project and require short implementation timelines. The panelists will explain how these opposing needs can be balanced, how to select IT service providers and lessons learned.
Join an experienced panel of attorneys to receive guidance on spotting benefits issues. This panel is particularly geared towards the non-benefits lawyer.
This intensive discussion will focus on related-party transactions entered into by a hypothetical multinational company and how you can recognize transfer pricing issues that arise from transactions involving goods, services and IP. Learn how to resolve common transfer pricing problems that arise before and after an IRS examination.
Workplace investigations are always critical, but they can get more complicated abroad, where the rules are often different. Uncover strategies for international investigations involving expatriates abroad, local employees in foreign countries, allegations involving conduct implicating multiple jurisdictions and extraterritorial application of US substantive and procedural laws. Learn about the complicated practice to implement remedial measures from the top down within an international organization.