Message from the Chair
“Membership Has Its Privileges”
Greetings SLD Members:
Fall is upon us and I hope
that some of you were able to take some time off this summer to relax. As many
of us are getting back into the swing of things, a new “school year” brings
with it new educational opportunities. We highlight some of those opportunities
in this quarterly newsletter with three webcasts, one monthly meeting with
associated Quick Hit and one survey on the slate for September.
In reading through the
eGroups postings, I have noticed that many of you are not aware of one of our
most valuable resources: Meritas, the sponsor for the Small Law Department (SLD) Committee.
Meritas has sponsored our Committee since the inception of the
committee-sponsorship program (over 10 years) and has been involved with ACC
for about 15 years. This month, Meritas is offering SLD members who have used a
Meritas firm an opportunity to win one of three $50 gift cards in a drawing for SLD members completing the Meritas
Survey. For those of you unfamiliar with Meritas, it is a
nonprofit, global network of
regional firms specializing in various areas of law. I have personally visited
Meritas’ headquarters and met with many of the firms and found both Meritas and
its members firms to be a wonderful resource and complement to our SLD members’
needs for counsel worldwide. Meritas regularly vets its member firms for
quality and customer service and the effort is made to insure consistent and
responsive service by all member firms. As a reminder, Meritas offers 30
minutes of free consultation to any SLD member. You can take advantage of that
by reaching out to Kim Heinrich, our Meritas liaison. Just let her know
that you are an SLD member.
Finally,
I encourage everyone to attend the Annual Meeting (AM) events planned by SLD.
Keep your eye out for future announcements and invitations for our evening
party and make sure you sign up for the SLD Annual Meeting Sessions and
Committee Business Lunch (on Oct 20th) through your ACC Annual
Meeting Registration. I look forward to seeing our members in Boston. We have
included a list of AM sessions sponsored or co-sponsored by SLD in this
newsletter. If you cannot make it to Boston this year, please join us on the
monthly calls (second Thursday of each month) for a legal quickhit and prize
drawing.
Sincerely,
Maryrose
Delahunty
Small
Law Department Committee Chair
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Meritas Survey and Prize Drawing
The SLD sponsor Meritas is interested in
finding out how many of our SLD members have used Meritas in the past five (5)
years and also in members’ feedback on the Meritas firms they have used. To be
eligible for a drawing of three $50 gift cards offered by Meritas, you
must have used a Meritas firm in the last five years. If you are unsure
as to whether or not you have used a Meritas firm, a list of Meritas firms
(globally and domestically) can be found here: http://docs.meritas.org/Resources/MeritasRoster.pdf
Please take the five-minute survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Meritas-ACCSLD by Sept 21st to be entered in the prize
drawing.
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G’Day Mate (Welcome Webcast for new Australian Members and Current ACC Members)
As some of you may or may not recall, ACC
has partnered with ACLA (the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association). As welcome to our newest member from “Down Under,” SLD along with
its sponsor Meritas is offering a webcast comparing Australian and U.S.Law in a
handful of areas. The webcast is open tothe public, so feel free to invite your peers.
Details are provided below:
Sept 22, 2015 (7:00 pm to 8:15
pm ET)/ Sept 23, 2015 (9:00 am to 10:15 am Sydney time)
Title: “Finding Common Ground: Comparing
Corporate, Contract & Employment Practices in Australia and the US”
Description: The program will discuss
the following topics:
·
Overcoming
the language barrier: Translating Australian "Plain English" into
American legalese (and vice versa)
·
Choosing
the right corporate structure: Distinctions between US and Australian company
structures
·
Contract
terms: Different approaches used in Australia and the US
·
Comparing
employee non-compete arrangements in Australian and US companies
·
Secured
Property: Registering your security interests against assets located in the US
and Australia
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Upcoming Events
EMEA (Europe, Middle
East, Asia) Quarterly Call
Sept 16, 2015 (10 am to 11 am
ET)
Title: Challenges and new opportunities arising
from the Recent Greek crisis – Exposure, protection and perspectives for
foreign corporations and investors
Description: Greece has recently
entered into a new chapter in the financial crisis it is facing for the last 6
years, which brought about, amongst other, capital controls, complicated new
processes of dealing with the banks, additional financial challenges for
the local corporations as well as changes in various fields of the
economy and the regulatory framework. Foreign corporations that have Greek
assets or deal with Greek partners and counterparties come up with ways to
realize their plans within this new challenging environment and be protected
from such risks and exposure. At the same time, the need for immediate new
recapitalization of the Greek banks, restructuring and refinancing of
business entities, completion of already initiated privatization projects and
the launching of new ones in all sectors, including real estate and
infrastructure, present new investing opportunities for foreign companies and
international players. The governing party, that was negative to
privatizations, has accepted the need for realizing such projects, reducing
thus seriously the existing, until recently, legal risk for foreign investors,
given the fact that at this point all major parties in parliament are in favor
of privatizations. The presentation will focus on the interesting possibilities
for investment that emerge from bank recapitalization and privatization needs,
but also on protection mechanisms against the aforementioned new challenges.
MERITAS CAPABILITY
SEMINAR (ONLINE)
Thursday – Sept 17, 2015 (10:00
– 12:00 PM CT)
The Small Law Department Committee
Sponsor (MERITAS) is offering the opportunity for SLD Member to register and
participate in a Webcast offered to Meritas Member firms.
Register here for the following topic: REGISTRATION
Topic: “How Businesses Can Benefit from the New CANADA / EU Free Trade Agreement”
The
Government of Canada and the European Union signed a free trade agreement on
September 26th, 2014. Because of its widespread implications and the scope of
its implementation, the CANADA / EU Free Trade Agreement represents a unique
opportunity for companies to increase their transatlantic bilateral trade.
Join us for an online
webinar to discover how businesses can take advantage of the new agreement
for trading goods, services and investments. We will further touch on the
expected benefits from an immigration perspective.
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SLD Members in ACC News
SLD would like
to extend a note of congratulations to the following committee members who have
been nominated to the ACC Board of Directors.
· Jeremy Ladle
· Nicolle Schippers
· Jeffrey Wheeler
Members can
view the formal announcement in the July/August 2015 Docket.
WELL DONE – Jeremy, Jeff and Nicolle!
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Annual Meeting Sessions:
Session 202 – “When Common
Law Isn’t So Common: Drafting Enforceable Agreements in Civil Law and Other
Jurisdictions”
(Oct 19th - Mon 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
Session 310 – “Dealing with
Multiple Policies and Procedures”
(Oct 19th - Mon
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM)
Session 702 – “Real Estate
Leasing Agreements Primer”
(Oct 20th - Tue 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM)
Session 708 – “Tools and
Tips to Maximize Efficiency in the SLD”
(Oct 20th - Tue 2:30 PM -
4:00 PM)
Session 804 - A New World:
Bankruptcy Law for the Non-bankruptcy Lawyer
(Oct 20th - Tue 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM)
Session 902 - Peace of
Mind: Risk Management and Insurance for In-house Counsel
(Oct 21st
- Wed 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM)
Session 1004 - Successfully
Integrating a Newly Acquired Company
(Oct 21st - Wed
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
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Recent Quick Hits and Webcasts
July
Legal Quickhit: “Your Secret's Safe in
Europe. Or is it?”
Description: From Colonel Saunders’ recipe of 11
herbs and spices to Google’s complex search algorithms, trade secrets have long
been the lifeblood of innovative companies. Unlike patents, trade secrets never
expire and there’s never a risk of giving the game away by publishing. However,
a leak can be disastrous. According to the International Chamber of Commerce,
US federal cases of trade secret theft doubled between 1995 and 2004, and are
expected to double again by 2017. Business is international and it is important
to consider how your trade secrets can be protected abroad. How does the UK and
Europe treat trade secrets? Are they recognized in law? Are they protected? Our
speaker will endeavor to answer those questions in this program. He
will examine both the current law and the forthcoming European Directive on the
protection of know-how and business information, offering practical tips to
improve your trade secret protection. (VIEW ARCHIVE)
Presented by: Robert Lands, Partner and Head of IP &
Commercial,
Firm: Howard
Kennedy LLP (A Meritas
Firm)
August Legal Quickhit: “Affirmative Action
Compliance: Recent Developments, Increased Burdens and Greater Risks.”
Thursday, August 13, 2015 at 3:00 PM ET,
7:00 PM GMT
Description: What do legal counsel in Small Law
Departments need to know about Affirmative Action requirements applicable to government
contractors and their subcontractors? This presentation will address this
subject and provide an overview of hot topics in the area including
Affirmative Action regulations regarding protected veterans and individuals
with disabilities, the President’s Executive Order on Fair Pay and Safe
Workplaces, and the Executive Order Prohibiting Discrimination on the Basis of
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
(VIEW ARCHIVE)
Presented by: William H. Pickering, Shareholder
Firm: Chambliss,
Bahner & Stophel, P.C.
(A Meritas Firm)
September Monthly Call and Legal Quickhit: “Squeezing
Blood From a Turnip: How to Respond to a Data Breach When You Have Limited
Resources” (Click on Title to
register)
September
10, 2015 at 3:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM GMT
Description:
It’s easy for companies to be
overwhelmed by the world of big data, and even more overwhelmed by the ins and
outs of preventing and responding to a data breach. This program will provide
you with the state of the law on data breaches, and practical advice for how
legal departments can work with their business partners to mitigate and manage
the risks associated with data, especially when the legal department and/or the
business partners have limited resources.
Presented by: Tedrick Housh
of Lathrop & Gage LLP
***Members interested in
recommending future topics for Webcasts may contact our Webcast Chair, Kristen Chittenden***
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Subcommittee News and call for topic ideas, volunteers, authors:
Membership – SLD Chapter Liaisons
SLD is actively looking
for members willing to serve as “chapter liaisons” to help convey committee
information to the chapter level and to help in planning local joint events for
SLD members. We are looking to coordinate more events with Chapters for SLD
members. If you are interested in being an SLD Chapter Liaison, please email us
at sld@acc.com for a description of the position.
Docket/Top 10
SLD members are a
prolific group and we are always looking for more aspiring or current authors.
If you are interested in authoring or co-authoring an ACC Docket Article or Top
10 List for the ACC Website, please contact our Docket/Top 10 Chair, Elyse Beidner.
Recent
Articles in the ACC Docket by and
about SLD Members
The 12th
Teammate – The Role of the Sports GC by *Norman Wain (July/Aug 2015)
Work It Out: Developing Emotional Intelligence Without Breaking a Sweat by *Stephen E. Roth (Jul/Aug
2015)
Small Law: Traveling Light by
*Maryrose Delahunty (July/Aug 2015)
Once More Unto the Breach: Why and How to be Ready for a Data Breach by *Robert
Jett III and Peter Sloan (Sept 2015)
Creating an ROI for Information Governance with No Budget by *Linda G. Sharp (Sept 2015)
Engaging Your Network – Lisa Sotir
(Sept 2015)
Yazaki North America Inc. –
Building a Best in Class Legal Department (*Lois Elizabeth Bingham)
Lead the Way: Decide. Design. Determine. Do. Duplicate by *Whitnie Wiley (Sept 2015)
Small Law: Please, Not Another Compliance Column by *Jeffrey Wheeler (Sept 2015)
(*SLD
Members)
Webpage
You can
access SLD resources and news at our Committee Webpage. We plan to be doing
some remodeling of our Webpage this year. Stay tuned for the changes. If you
have any suggestions for information that you would like to see, please contact
our Webpage Chair, Matthew Hitchcock.
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Sponsor's Corner
Meritas is honored to be the Small Law Committee Sponsor. We have appreciated the opportunity to work with committee members over the past 10+ years to create resources that help make your jobs easier. Please contact the Small Law Department Committee (sld@acc.com), if you have an idea for a collaborative SLD/Meritas project in 2015.
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