Parties often use letters of intent at the start of a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal to outline material terms and establish negotiation parameters. Letters of intent can reduce the time and expense of finalizing a transaction but often have unintended consequences. A major risk of entering a letter of intent is that the document will later be declared binding, even though the parties intended it to be preliminary and non-binding, thus resulting in unsatisfactory or incomplete deal terms. Letters of intent need to be carefully crafted to ensure that the parties’ intent is truly documented and a map to the final deal is determined. The panel of internal and outside M&A attorneys will (1) review the latest legal developments regarding letters of intent, (2) provide best practices for parties negotiating preliminary terms, and (3) discuss proven ways to engage management and internal development teams to maximize the benefit of such letters.
There are multiple approaches to driving more value in legal spending – from converging to a preferred provider network on value-based fees to improving project, process and knowledge management – or developing an innovative approach to add value to the bottom line. Learn from value leaders who have overhauled legal management practices about their initiatives and lessons learned on the road to better value.
Breaches of patient privacy/security are considered the number one risk for liability in the healthcare industry today. Control over patient information in today’s society is becoming ever increasingly difficult with the expanding use of electronic health records, personal health records and social media, plus the advent of Health Information Exchanges. Outsourcing of healthcare operations provides additional risk, especially the enforceability of patient privacy/security law when patient information is sent outside the US. Unfavorable media, government enforcement, class action litigation and identity theft all pose a constant concern to in-house counsel, and vendors themselves are now at greater risk of liability with penalties now imposed on business associates. This panel will provide an overview of the principal federal laws & regulations concerning privacy/security (HIPAA/HITECH/Red Flags), their interaction with select state laws, international laws (EU Data Protection), and practical ways to minimize risk and keep patient information private and secure.
This program will discuss conflicts of interest and its impact on organization by exploring real world scenarios involving family, financial and personal relationships, board memberships, financial self-dealing, gifts and entertainment. The presenters will share best practices for managing the risks created by conflicts of interest, and offer ways to implement practical, flexible solutions, including policies, training, pre-approvals, questionnaires and audits.
Sound marks, holographic marks, three dimensional marks, scent marks and other non-traditional trademarks have become an important means for marketing departments to build and exploit their company’s brand — in addition to logos, phrases and other more traditional marks. In-house counsel need to stay informed about developments in non-traditional marks in order to keep up with business realities and protect their company’s interests. Many countries have regimes that regulate non-traditional marks, and understanding the procedures required to protect a brand’s unique shapes, sounds and smells can provide an important competitive advantage. This program will address: (1) the types of non-traditional marks that may currently be registered, and what lies ahead; (2) clearance procedures; (3) applications to register; and (4) enforcement proceedings.
EU data privacy laws make the collection of Electronically stored information (ESI) and its transfer out of Europe challenging. The session will begin with a brief update of U.S. case law focusing on cross-border discovery generally, and then turn to a discussion of Privacy by Design ("PbD"), which has become the gold standard for privacy protection in the 21st Century. This discussion will cover examples of how PbD has been operationalized and used to address the challenges presented by EU data privacy laws. The session will then cover Europe's acknowledgement of Canada's stringent privacy laws which make it a unique base for e-discovery collection, analysis and review. By collecting ESI from European employees into Canada, and then culling down/reviewing ESI in Canada to identify responsive email and documents, organization can minimize the amount of ESI for which they must obtain consent from employees for transfer to the U.S.
This intermediate-level program will examine the major issues that companies must address when doing business in Brazil, including the following: (1) corporate issues; (2) overview of stock purchases (both majority and minority interests) and asset purchases in both public and private companies: (3) issues upon sale or liquidation of interests; (4) distribution and agency arrangements; (5) major planning issues; (6) employment/labor issues at start-up, day-to-day and at termination; and (7) executive compensation.
This program identifies key considerations for contract negotiations on behalf of entities that both provide and receive unique goods and services and have distinctive business needs. This is a high-level discussion regarding the tactics and approach to reach a resolution that meets the needs of your organization. The panelists will share strategies for successful negotiations when the other party is unfamiliar with the landscape of the industry. This program will not focus specifically on the rules or regulations of one industry.
In the big picture world of project management, ensuring the overall success of a project is a project manager''s top priority. If a project goes wildly over-budget (as they often do), it will not be considered a success, even if it''s delivered on time and meets the customer or client needs. That''s why project managers need to better manage their project plans and budgets. Learn the strategies and techniques for maintaining control of your internal and external projects and budgets and preventing massive cost overruns. This session will help you identify and develop the building blocks and steps that, if followed as a single unit and truly embraced by the entire team, will provide the roadmap to project management perfection.
With over 900 pages of law & tens of thousands of pages of regulations, “ObamaCare” has been in the news and courts & now it’s on your desk and in your board room, C-suite and business units. Get your "cheat sheet" to navigating the implications of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The panel will tackle the hottest Affordable Care Act issues including: (1) Medicaid expansion - what states are expanding and what will be the impact to states that are not expanding; (2) New regulations - what are some of the most significant and controversial regulations and can more be expected in the near future; (3) Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) - great rewards are promised for healthcare companies willing to be accountable for better outcomes and savings, but what “pay for performance” and quality controls are being implemented, measured and reported and is it really worth it?