THE LATEST FROM ACC LEGAL RESOURCES

ACC's Legal Resources Department continues its tradition of providing timely information for ACC members to use for research, benchmarking and resolving everyday issues. Below are the latest  offerings from ACC’s Legal Resources Department, many of which were developed in conjunction with ACC Committees and their sponsors. Need additional information, or maybe information on a different topic, please send an email to legalresources@acc.com

New Practice Profiles

The Use of External Investigators to Aid in Corporate Investigations
This Profile explores the practices of six selected companies in their investigations using outside investigators, as well as examines one multinational law-firm, in its role as an outside investigator for a company. Predominantly, the companies profiled will engage an outside investigator to conduct an investigation in one of two scenarios: (1) where the outside investigator provides added value that the company cannot achieve on its own; or (2) to comply with specific policies within the company, which require the investigation to be conducted externally. Otherwise, the corporations tend to keep the investigations in-house.  

Workspace Accommodations
This Practice Profile examines the workspace design of seven corporations, focusing on workspace allocation within the legal departments. Workspace accommodations vary widely from corporation to corporation. Whatever the arrangement, the decision of where to situate employees is personal to the corporation, driven by its unique needs. What is clear is that corporate attorneys adapt to whatever work environment they find themselves in, contributing productively and with professionalism regardless of the parameters of their workspace.
 

New Survey

2007 Compliance Program and Risk Assessment Benchmarking Survey
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Corpedia, Inc., jointly administered the 2007 Compliance Program and Risk Assessment Benchmarking survey during February and March of 2007.

The survey was “opt-in” and 458 inside corporate counsels participated in the survey. In terms of demographics, over 45 percent of the respondents were from organizations that are publicly traded on a major U.S. stock exchange, and 70 percent of the represented organizations conduct business operations outside of the United States.

Key Findings include:
•    58 percent of all organizations have a Chief Compliance Officer while
     28 percent have a Chief Ethics Officer.
•    Thirty-seven percent of organizations with between 25,000 and 49,999 employees spend between $1  million and $5 million annually on their compliance program.
•    In over half (54 percent) of companies that are publicly traded in the United States, the person with   daily operational responsibility for the compliance program reports to the Board of Directors quarterly.

Complete survey available at: WILL FORWARD URL

Please also see the 2005 Compliance Program and Risk Assessment Benchmarking Survey, available at: http://www.acc.com/resource/v6454

New InfoPAKs

Canadian Competition Law
Canada’s Competition Act is similar in many respects to its U.S. counterpart, the Sherman Antitrust Act, but it is different in a number of important ways that U.S. enterprises doing business in Canada should bear in mind. This InfoPAKSM will provide corporate counsel with a general overview of Canadian competition law.

Nonprofit Organization Affiliates
This InfoPAK provides in-house counsel with information on establishing non-profit affiliates along with a number of sample resources.

Employee Benefits For Domestic Partners and Same Sex Spouses
A company’s decision to offer domestic partner or same sex spouse benefits can be fraught with complications. The legal landscape that governs such benefits is constantly changing as a result of on-going political battles that result in changes to statutes and state constitutions. This addresses both the types of benefits that companies may provide to domestic partners and same sex spouses and the impact of both federal and state laws on those benefits.

Small Law Department Human Resources Manual
Recently added --  US Circuits 1- 5
 

Updated InfoPAKs

Internal Investigations

Role of the General Counsel

Hiring Foreign Nationals in the United States

Drafting and Interpreting Contracts

Corporate Pro Bono

Email & The Internet

Conflicts and Waivers



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ACC is interested in developing programs and resources that are relevant to assisting you with doing business in China. Previous programs have addressed topics such as joint ventures between US and China enterprises and protecting intellectual property rights in China. If you are interested in these topics or have suggestions for additional topics, please contact James Merklinger, Associate General Counsel, merklinger@acc.com.
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