Is your company in compliance with import and export laws? Do you have sufficient controls to manage this risk area? This session will cover: a general overview of import and export laws with a focus on US requirements but also a discussion of the proliferation of laws outside the US (e.g., the Malaysian Strategic Trade Act); how to manage a global trade compliance program; and a discussion of specific trade compliance challenges. Most companies think AML and KYC laws are limited to financial industry companies, considering the recent enforcement action against HSBC, but in fact, this presents a compliance issue for all companies to some degree. And these are not just US laws — there are similar restrictions in other jurisdictions, especially Europe.
Panelists are expected to address a number of patent prosecution issues that in-house counsel continue to struggle with, either when dealing with their own outside patent counsel or addressing these issues directly on their own. These issues include: strategies for filing a U.S.-based application or Patent Cooperation Treaty at the outset; proper claim construction; nuances for filing under the AIA and any changes they have seen in prosecution under the America Invents Act; and practical tips for foreign filing strategies, etc. Exercises in claim construction and foreign filing considerations (e.g., a road map to key countries, and why or why not a company should seek protection outside the United States in Europe, Asia, South America) are expected.
Coaching can take you and your law department to the next level of performance. Coaching keeps employees engaged while helping them grow in their careers. Unlike simply supervising or mentoring employees, coaching seeks a specific solution or outcome to further the employee’s professional development. With an understanding of diversity and its role as a critical business and individual success factor, this interactive presentation will also cover some of the more common types of coaching – behavioral coaching, performance coaching, transition coaching, and career development – and how they can meet specific individual needs.
This program will provide a general overview of employment law for in-house counsel, including areas in-house counsel need to be aware of, such as benefits, accommodation, employee investigations/labor relations, severance and discharge, employee handbooks and other topics.
Case laws in Korea, Japan, Germany, England and Israel have shown that the employers’ enormous investment in research and development doesn’t necessarily negate the employees’ right for additional compensation. The legal obligation for financial compensation to employed inventors could be of substantial importance also in investment transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
Public companies and their in-house counsel face new challenges as activist shareholders are demanding a greater voice in the boardroom. At the same time, engaged shareholders and their counsel tread the mine field of regulation as they seek to influence the governance agenda in the companies they own and to hold boards and management accountable for underperformance. Recently, some of the most high profile proxy contests have involved U.S. hedge funds targeting Canadian public companies. In this panel, hedge fund in-house counsel will face off against public company in-house counsel, fresh from their recent battles, to share their experiences and insights gained. Outside counsel with experience on both sides of the fight will discuss how in-house counsel can successfully steer their boards and management through the process.
A round table discussion of leading public- and private-sector Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) attorneys, an in-house counsel to a Fortune 500 company, and leading dispute resolution experts present key issues in EEOC cases and highlight the best practices in typical EEOC mediated settlements — early intervention, court mandated and other opportunities in the life cycle of a case.
Many companies lack a formal process for contract administration. Many others have a contract process which is in need of updating or improvement. This program session will review the lifecycle of contracts and highlight ways to develop and improve a company’s formalized contracting process. This session will emphasize practical tips that can be used to implement a contract management system and enforce up-to-date contracting policies, including who should be responsible for running the process, how contracts should be routed within the organization, signing authority, electronic contract management systems, monitoring contract compliance, and record retention.
One of the in-house litigator's most important roles is quantifying litigation exposure. Whether evaluated at the enterprise level or on a case-by-case basis, the in-house litigator is under more pressure than ever to assist the corporation to manage/contain overall risk. Nuanced high/low analyses or "it depends" answers from a learned legal pulpit will not make the cut in today''s cost-conscious corporate environment. In-house practitioners need to have effective tools and methodologies to assess litigation risks and develop strategies for containing the cost of litigation, as well as financial exposure to the corporation. This program will explore novel ways the in-house litigator can approach litigation, and contain risk and cost, with a business (not only a legal) mindset.
The Stark Law has promulgated complicated regulations for transactions involving payments to physicians. All facets of the healthcare industry also face on a daily basis the shadow of government prosecutors focused on violations of the federal anti-kickback statute. These laws involve both criminal prosecution and civil liability, and in-house attorneys have at times been prosecuted as individual defendants. Enforcement is expanding to cover individual physicians as prescribers of company products and providers of services to companies, such as consulting and clinical investigator services, and to physician ownership of medical device distributors. Looming over healthcare companies and individuals is the potential to be debarred from participation in Medicare, Medicaid & other federal health care programs. In addition, in-house counsel need to be aware of obscure state laws on the issues of physician self-referral prohibition and anti-kickbacks. This program will discuss the government’s new enforcement trend and mechanisms that in-house counsel can employ to reduce these risks.