The Coming Tsunami in the Legal Profession
April 01, 2016
There have been four waves of change over the last 50 years. We are now entering the fifth wave and this one will be a tsunami. The lawyers who do not recognize the trends will not be able to enter a new era and survive. The fifth wave will turn partnership leverage, compensation systems and the business model upside down. There is not much time to make the incremental changes that will support sustained profitability in law firms.
Leading the Law Department: Hire the Best
April 01, 2016
For the inside counsel revolution to succeed, the General Counsel must follow a basic dictum: Hire the best. The key to the legal function's credibility with the CEO and senior line executives is to seek broad-gauged lawyers who are outstanding technical experts, wise counselors and effective leaders to occupy the top specialists jobs in the company and to be general counsel in the main operating divisions.
The Advice-of-Counsel Defense and the Corporate Employee: A Loss of Balance
February 29, 2016
Ordinarily, a defendant who wishes to assert the defense of advice of counsel must unlock the door that shields his privileged communications with counsel and divulge those communications to his adversary. But when the defendant is a corporate employee who claims to have relied on advice from the corporation's attorney, the employee may not be able to unlock that door.
Enterprise Legal Management
February 29, 2016
The function of legal departments has shifted from primarily managing legal matters and costs to acting as revenue generators that provide information and analytics valuable to the entire company. This article offers a primer about enterprise legal management (ELM).
Data Breach Claims
February 29, 2016
"There are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked and those that will be." ' Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller
Trans-Jurisdictional Transactions
February 29, 2016
This three-part series has analyzed the complex issues that arise throughout the dispute resolution process of cross-border transactions. In this final installment, we look to the beginning and discuss how proper planning and effective drafting of the dispute resolution provisions can infuse predictability and reliability into cross-border business deals.
DE Supreme Court Clarifies <b><i>In Pari Delicto</i></b> Doctrine
January 31, 2016
The Delaware Supreme Court, in a recent order affirming the opinion of the Delaware Court of Chancery, provided clear guidance about when third-party corporate advisers may raise the <I>in pari delicto</I> defense as a shield to claims brought by or on behalf of the corporation.
The Rite of Spring: Preparing for the 2016 Proxy Season
January 31, 2016
More than ever before, public companies are finding proxy season to be an important opportunity to engage with governance-focused shareholders through proxy statements, investor presentations, and direct face-to-face engagement to provide them with the information they need to protect their investments.
Data Breach Liability
January 31, 2016
Today's legal departments are undergoing fundamental changes thanks in part to the imminent threat of ongoing cyberattacks. Given the massive breaches at some of the world's visible brands, it is increasingly clear that cybersecurity can no longer be regarded as the exclusive domain of IT.
