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• Guidance on how to stay relevant and involved when outside counsel is involved. 
• Tips on how to manage some of the common pain points between in-house and outside counsel. 
• Perspective from outside counsel on how successful in-house lawyers have leveraged their relationships to advance internally.

Join fellow ACC MN members via Zoom at Noon on Wednesday, September 29, for a follow-up one-hour discussion of the concepts presented by Tim Velner in his recent Waking Up Work presentation. 

Participants are encouraged to think about their answers to the following questions: 

• What is the goal of my organization’s inclusion/diversity program?
• Is it important to understand another person’s world? If so, why and for whose benefit? If not, why not?

Recommended reading before the event: Rethinking Diversity and Inclusion.

As with all Sounding Board gatherings, previewing the material ahead of time is not necessary to participate. We welcome anyone with interest in this subject and will provide additional questions during the event to generate discussion in small-group breakouts. 

Join us for our September Platinum CLE: ACC-WI Platinum CLE: "To Mandate or Not to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccinations - What Employers Should Know" - Ogletree Deakins.

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval of
the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. What implications does the FDA’s approval have for
employer-mandated vaccination policies? In this webinar, the speakers will discuss the pros
and cons of voluntary and mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies, as well as key steps for
employers to consider in the planning, design, and implementation of such policies. The speakers will
also address practical considerations regarding vaccination policies, masking, and other safety
protocols, and how to grapple with medical and religious exemption requests.

For all of the event information, please visit our event site HERE.

2-Hour Ethics Seminar
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
"Ethics Issues Facing Corporate Counsel: Identifying the Client"

This interactive program uses hypotheticals to explore the most basic question that all corporate in-house and outside lawyers must answer: exactly who is the "client"? Among other things, the program will discuss: (1) who is the corporate lawyer's client within the corporate entity, and whether lawyers can be retained by a constituent such as an Audit Committee or group of independent directors; (2) who is the client within a corporate family, whether outside lawyers can be adverse to one corporate family member while simultaneously representing another on an unrelated matter, and whether in-house lawyers automatically represent their corporate employer's affiliates; (3) the impact of client identity in corporate transactions, including ownership of the attorney-client relationship (and the accompanying privilege) in stock and asset sales, and the effect of joint representations in selling or spinning off subsidiaries; (4) whether corporate in-house and outside lawyers can also represent corporate employees, the implications of such representations, and how to avoid accidentally creating such representations; and (5) whether corporations' shareholders must ever be considered the corporate lawyers' "clients," including the fiduciary exception's application.

2.00 Hours Ethics CLE (TX)

ACC Houston September Chapter Meeting CLE Webinar
ESG What You Need to Know Now
September 14, 2021 | 12-1 PM | 1.00 CREDITS CLE (TX)

DESCRIPTION
Join us for a panel discussion on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) featuring updates on the availability and cost of financing, business strategy and operations, SEC disclosures and investor relations for public companies. Ricardo Garcia-Moreno, a partner at Haynes Boone, will moderate the panel, which will include Deborah Low and Chris Reagen at Haynes Boone, as well as Dan O'Donnell, a Director at Houlihan Lokey.

This event will facilitate a discussion around the book So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. Our discussion will be facilitated by Equity & Inclusion Consultant, Mindy Gulati. 

Book Preview: 

Widespread reporting on aspects of white supremacy -- from police brutality to the mass incarceration of Black Americans -- has put a media spotlight on racism in our society. Still, it is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your employee her jokes are racist? Why did your coworker take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair -- and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?

In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to "model minorities" in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.

How it Works:

1. Register for the Book Club before September 15.
2. You'll receive an Amazon credit to purchase the book format of your choice (paper copy, digital, or audiobook)
3. Read So You Want to Talk About Race
4. Attend the event on October 26 for a discussion of the book

About the Moderator:

Mindy Gulati is founder and CEO of Fundamental Advisory, a consulting firm focused on advising businesses, nonprofits, and law firms on issues related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her focus is anti-racism and equity, implicit bias awareness, creating inclusive and innovative cultures, educating on the ethical implications of bias, as well as guiding organizations on legal issues such as sexual harassment and discrimination. She regularly tackles complex issues such as racial tensions at the workplace, implicit and explicit bias in decision making, creating culturally competent workplaces, compensation equity, and ethical leadership and management. Her legal background gives her a key advantage in understanding these issues with an eye towards risk mitigation and by crafting specific policies and procedures to guard against the harms that workplace inequities create.

Who's Invited:

Anyone! We're opening this event to prospective members who are curious about what ACC Austin can offer. Forward this email to a friend who may want to become a member, and you'll be rewarded for any new members you recruit!

Attendance and COVID Information:

We are moving forward with this event in-person at Culinary Drop Out in the Domain. All attendees must be vaccinated, and we will comply with local mask guidelines. The event will be indoors to maintain privacy during the discussion

Catastrophic events do not just result from fire, rain, wind, or earthquakes but a lot of lessons have been learned in addressing those types of events.  Because of the role and responsibilities of corporate counsel in dealing with crisis management, we thought we would spend a little time sharing some of our experiences with our clients.

Please join us for an ACC-WI Platinum CLE Webinar:  AI: Data Licensing, Usage & Privacy Considerations, presented by: Quarles & Brady

Date: August 24, 2021
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., CDT
Location: Webinar
Overview: Organizations are already using technologies that incorporate AI and machine learning functionalities, but these technologies are not always recognized as such by the organizations licensing those technologies. In this presentation, we will discuss real world considerations to reduce risk when developing, implementing and using AI technologies. We will address key contractual provisions, data privacy and usage rights, IP infringement and product liability concerns related to developing and licensing of AI technologies.

ACC Houston Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group CLE Webinar
A Primer on Energy-Tech Investments
August 26, 2021 | 12-1 PM | 1.00 CREDITS CLE (TX)

DESCRIPTION
Energy-Tech corporate venture funds. Incubators. Accelerators. Labs. As the Energy transition takes off in Texas, it has brought along with it a new way of thinking about corporate innovation, partnering, investments and acquisitions. Join us for a presentation led by Baker Botts offering an overview for in-house counsels on how these innovation programs and corporate venture investments are structured. We will cover setting up corporate innovation programs, making corporate venture investments and supporting portfolio companies. Whether your corporate client is dipping their toes in the energy transition waters or is ready to dive in, we’ll offer insights when preparing for and implementing programs and making investments in Energy-Tech startups.