LEGAL
A month dedicated to litigation
Despite all the carefully written policies, multiple compliance trainings, quality assurances and best intentions, it is inevitable: your company will be sued, and as corporate counsel, you’ll have to manage the litigation and any related ramifications. This December issue has been dedicated to litigation and contains practical wisdom covering e-discovery to legal holds, guiding the Board of Directors and senior executives through the litigation process, with specific guidance on how to best prepare your C-suite for depositions. Read about how your company can avoid litigation by minimizing the risks of money laundering, plus see how you can prepare your company for a possible government investigation. Also be sure to check out the Westlaw Corporate Twitter® feed and the Legal Solutions Corporate Counsel blog for more in-depth articles and information on litigation.
Power to the People, Part 2
For legal executive leaders focused on driving value in their work, great “people practices” should be top of mind. If your team isn’t happy, efficient, productive, and constantly evolving, or if the right talent isn’t there, nothing else really matters – even a top-notch litigation strategy or the best technology. This second installment of our two-part series continues the discussion of five different “people practices” that law departments should consider as they examine the kinds of talent, staffing, and development challenges they face today and tomorrow.
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Sterling Miller’s Ten Things: Explaining litigation to the board and the CEO
In many cases, neither senior management nor the directors have much, if any, experience with litigation. You can avoid a lot of frustration and second-guessing by taking the time up front to explain the litigation process to them and by providing regular updates thereafter. The better informed they are about the litigation – and the litigation process generally – the easier it will be for you to get what you need and avoid delays on key decisions.
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Important considerations for mid-range e-discovery data collection
Data collection is an essential element of the e-discovery process because of the important ramifications it can have on the admissibility of evidence and the mitigation of risk during litigation. Organizations involved in mid-range data collection efforts should take special care to follow appropriate best practices so that collected data is defensibly gathered, the costs of data collection are kept as low as possible, and risk is minimized.
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California automatic renewal class action lawsuits on the rise
Imagine having to surrender all revenues your business generated in California over a period of years in connection with customer subscriptions that automatically renewed on a periodic basis. This potential does not just exist in the realm of bad corporate dreams. It is a real-world risk that any business employing automatic renewals faces if it fails to strictly comply with California’s Automatic Renewal law. The potential for huge, “bet the company” damages has created a prime target that contingency fee lawyers are finding increasingly attractive.
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Help executives master depositions with these three depo prep tips
Your company is being sued and your executive officers are soon to be deposed. Thorough, effective deposition prep is one way for in-house counsel to demonstrate their value to the company. While corporate officers might not view depo prep as the most profitable use of their time, devoting significant efforts to preparing effectively can help them reduce the costs of a negative judgment or lengthy trial. Here are three tips for how to prep an executive for a deposition.
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It’s down to Justice Kennedy again after Spokeo oral arguments
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Robins v. Spokeo, Inc. at the beginning of November. The outcome of the case has significant implications for companies – particularly those who engage in any type of collection or aggregation of personal consumer data – since they could be facing lawsuits under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for simply publishing inaccuracies in such collected data.
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When the government comes knocking: Maximizing insurance coverage for government investigations
A government investigation can begin with something as seemingly innocuous as an email from a governmental agency to a company’s general counsel asking for information, or as attention-grabbing as a search warrant (or even arrests) executed at corporate headquarters. Regardless of how an investigation begins, it rapidly becomes a serious matter, to which any company must quickly respond. Many questions will arise concerning both the substance of the matter being investigated and how to deal with the government’s demands.
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Know your customer to protect your organization’s exposure to money laundering
Money laundering has become so rampant and woven into the fabric of our world’s economy that in 2009 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that criminal proceeds amount to approximately 3.6 percent of global gross domestic product. And it’s not just about cleaning illegal drug money anymore. Today, hiding money to avoid taxes or to shift money into investments in other countries represents a large chunk of illegal activity as well.
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Voting requirement disclosure and the proxy card; M&A settlements; Written warranties on consumer goods
Read the recent remarks from the director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance that reporting companies preparing their 2016 proxy statements should make note of. Plus, another recent decision from the Delaware Court of Chancery that signals a stricter approach to approving rote class action settlements related to public M&A deals. Finally, a recent federal law that changes the way businesses can offer written warranties on consumer products.
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Ten tips on educating and training employees about legal holds
When the rubber hits the road, how confident is your legal department in your employees’ understanding and ability to collect and preserve information, data, and correspondence related to high-stakes litigation? Educating and training employees to understand the legal and financial stakes involved in effectively executing a legal hold is critical to what the courts are expecting, based upon multiple rulings over the past several years.
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