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Question of the Month
How can our company evaluate the performance of members of our board of directors? How would my company go about removing a director from the board?
Answer: ACC has resources that can help you clarify the responsibilities of your board and board committees, train board members on their role, allow board members to evaluate their own performance, and take the necessary steps to remove a board member.
• Benchmarks for Training the Board of Directors
• Checklist for the Removal of a Director
• A Comparative Study of Corporate Governance Across Borders
• Director Self-evaluation Questionnaire
• Sample Code of Conduct Policy
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Upcoming ACC Events in Canada
Keep on top of the latest Canadian legal developments by attending ACC’s educational events. Hear from leading in-house experts about how they would handle difficult ethical issues in “Inhouse Ethics—What Would You Do?” (January 25, Toronto). Find out how and why your company should develop and implement appropriate human rights strategies as part of its business in “The Evolving Interface of Human Rights and Employment Law” (February 15, Toronto). Visit the Canada webpage to get more information and to register.
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ACC’s Canadian CCU Returns to Toronto
Making its second appearance in Canada, this acclaimed ACC program will be offered in Toronto, May 6-8, 2007 at The Metropolitan Hotel. Whether you practice in the United States, Canada, or are involved in work that crosses the border, in-house counsel face a number of similar challenges. Open only to in-house counsel, CCU teaches attendees how to excel in their new role with a focus on the basics you need to succeed. Registrants will learn first-hand from in-house colleagues about the tools and best practices necessary to foster a successful in-house career. Network with the best and brightest in the in-house legal profession! For more information, visit ccucanada.acc.com or contact ACC’s education team at education@acc.com or 202.293.4103, x451.
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Program Materials from Past ACC Canadian Events
Even if you miss one of ACC’s educational events, you can still access program materials from the sessions on our website. Right now, you can get materials from sessions such as:
• “Punching Above Your Weight: Best in Class Law Departments—What Does It Means to Be a High Performing, Best in Class Law Department?”
• “Hot Legal Issues in Canadian Advertising and Marketing Law”
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ACC Scores Victory for Privilege Protection
In December, Deputy Attorney General, Paul McNulty, issued new DOJ guidelines (already being referred to as the "McNulty Memorandum") that place restrictions on some of the tactics being used by its prosecutors. This move to update the controversial "Thompson Memorandum" was prompted in part by legislation introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) on December 7, called "The Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2006.”
ACC has been leading the way in demonstrating that the DOJ's tactics are leading to a "culture of waiver" and undermining the US judicial system. While the announcement by the DOJ is a welcome step forward, the changes they proposed are not strong enough. ACC is preparing resources to help you navigate these new developments, such as a chart comparing the McNulty Memo and Specter's "Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act."
Get more information in the public policy section of ACC’s website.
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ACC’s Newest Top 10: Executive Compensation
ACC’s Top Ten lists provide quick overviews on hot topics for in-house counsel. Check out the latest list: ACC's Top Ten Lessons Learned by CLOs About Executive Compensation From the Stock Option Crisis. In case you missed them, here are some of the other available Top Ten lists:
• Top Ten Methods to Manage Outside Counsel
• Top Ten New to In-house Pointers
• Top Ten Things Your Board Needs to Know About Effective Compliance and Ethics Programs
• Top Ten Tips for Corporate Counsel Dealing with the New FRCP on eDiscovery
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Get the Answers You Need on ACC's Committee Listservs
ACC members are using the committee listservs (especially, the Small Law Department and Employment and Labor listservs) to get answers and advice on their most pressing questions. Recent topics include:
• Approaches to managing litigation
• Attorney “moonlighting” (working for a private company and a law firm simultaneously)
• Employee arbitration agreements
• Referrals for attorneys in Taiwan, Las Vegas, and West Virginia
• Risk management committees
• Solutions to compare various drafts of contracts
Visit the committee page, choose the committee you are interested in, and sign up today.
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Best of ACC Docket 2006
Just in case you didn’t get a chance to read all the stories in ACC Docket last year, here is a list of some of the most popular:
• Beating Vendor Lockdown: Negotiating Software Licenses for Your Organization
• Before Signing Your Next Nondisclosure Agreement, Count to Ten
• Five Ways In-house Counsel Can Talk to Law Firms
• Keeping Secrets: Developing Confidentiality Systems
• Practical Tips and Tools for Negotiating Everyday Contracts
• Setting Up a Compliance Department from Scratch
• Three Hot Ideas for Improving In-house Law Departments
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Become an Author for ACC’s Canadian Briefings
ACC is looking for article submissions for Canadian Briefings, a quarterly supplement to the ACC Docket. To find out how you can submit an article, please contact Diane Rusignola, assistant editor of ACC Docket at rusignola@acc.com or 202.293.4103 x348.
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Exclusive ACC Annual Meeting Resources
If you or your colleagues missed this year’s meeting, you can still get
access to all of the resources that were provided to attendees.
Sessions covered a wide range of topics including litigation,
employment and labor law, and information technology. Top sessions
included, “Leading the Way in Privacy and Data Security Compliance,”
“Care & Feeding of the Board of Directors,” and “How to Apply
Successful Management Techniques to the Law Department.” On our
special Annual Meeting wrap-up page you will find links to session
handouts and background resources, online courses, pictures from the
meetings, and other meeting highlights. Find out what you missed and register for the 2007 meeting.
Online CLE courses from virtually all of the Annual Meeting sessions are available right now. Take advantage of these exclusive resources.
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Corporate Pro Bono Seeks Nominations for the 2007 CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award
Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) is now accepting nominations for the 2007
CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award, which will recognize innovative team
approaches to pro bono work involving corporate legal departments that
partner with law firms or public interest organizations. Recipients of
the award may comprise a two-way (i.e., a legal department and a law
firm, or a legal department and a public interest group) or a three-way
(i.e., a law firm, a legal department, and a public interest group)
partnership. The award will be presented in March at the 2007
Forum/Seminar on In-House Pro Bono in Washington, DC. To nominate a
pro bono partnership, send four copies of the partnership’s description
and your reasons for nominating it to: Corporate Pro Bono c/o Pro Bono
Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Avenue,
NW, Washington, DC, 20001, or email to cpbo@probonoinst.org no later
than January 19, 2007. For award criteria, visit www.cpbo.org or
contact Eve Runyon, Project Director of CPBO, at
erunyon@probonoinst.org or at 202.662.9669.
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LexisNexis Offers New Corporate Counsel Research Tools
LexisNexis can help you protect what matters most and control costs with the best solutions and expertise for corporate counsel. Your company’s reputation is too valuable not to rely on LexisNexis, and as an ACC member you receive an exclusive discount on our Corporate Counsel Research Solutions. ACC members can purchase up to four new LexisNexis analytical content solutions at 75 percent off the regular price with the purchase of one new analytical solution at full price. To learn more, contact your LexisNexis representative or call 1.800.227.4908.
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