Today more than ever, litigation is a complex and dynamic journey from initiation of a matter through final resolution. Effective litigation management is focusing on communication, organization and flexibility in the development of a system or set of systems designed to implement series of processes and procedures which meet the needs of the entire legal team in the most effective and efficient manner. What are the critical processes and procedures in effective litigation management? What are typical myths, mistakes and pitfalls that corporate legal departments get lured into? How do you ensure that you incorporate quality, efficiency and accuracy when dealing with complex legal issues and massive document and data populations while at the same time attempting to control costs? In this discussion, our panelists will take you through the lifecycle phases of a litigation case which will help you assess:
Data security is becoming a higher priority for companies of all types and is no longer a “technical” matter handled exclusively by the IT department. It cuts across multiple departments and various functions, and may even impact your IT service providers. This presentation also looks at the context of the relationship between companies subject to the standards and their service providers. Information Security Vulnerabilities and Threats, Developing an Information Security Program, Data Security and the Outsourcing of IT, and select data security standards such as The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), HIPAA, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the EU Data Directive may be among the issues highlighted.
As the chief legal executive of your organization you have to work with your CFO to determine if and where cuts have to be made and make sure that your budget still reflects the needs of your company. You have to have a balance between what is best legally for your company but think of the overall budgets and finances of the entire company. Discuss with your peers the best strategies for creating and managing a legal budget during a declining economy that still reflects business initiatives and does not increase risk.
Efficiency is a business objective for any corporation, and efficiency is at its best when all departments are working in synch with one another. A challenge for any legal department is to not only implement legal policies but to ensure that all employees are following these policies. How can you as the top legal executive at your company work more closely with other department heads to ensure that all polices and procedures are being followed. What are the benefits of having strong intra-company relationship with your colleague?
Michele S. GattoGeneral Counsels have the responsibility to legally protect the company and with an increase in internet activity of employees, legal departments must monitor their employees to warranty that all of their activities are compliant with company policies. But how much monitoring is too much? What rights do employees have, and what rights do employers have over their employees?
Globalization is a common term for the increase in the international economy but what does globalization mean for you, the corporate counsel and your overall legal departments that are now managing numerous international offices? There are many challenges with each country having its own set of regulations and its own legal culture that your corporation must learn to work within. Discuss with a leader in international legal arena the best way to perform in an international market.
As U.S. companies conduct business in an increasingly global marketplace, many companies are necessarily conducting more of their business abroad and competing with companies all over the globe. The protection and exploitation of corporate IP assets in this global environment becomes increasingly complex, while at the same time many legal departments are under great pressure to reduce – rather than increase – their budgets. So, how do you decide what IP to protect, where to protect it and against which threats to protect it? How much of your budget should be directed to protecting IP in developed vs. developing countries? Does patenting innovations actually make good economic sense for your company? Discuss with your peers some best practices for efficiently protecting and exploiting IP assets in an increasingly global economy.