By David Yurkerwich / Navigant

The Chinese intellectual property sector has been changing and growing for years, but few people would tell you so. The country has long been labeled as an IP rights violator and generally carries a bad reputation in its handling of copyrights. But Chinese companies are becoming more aggressive in building patent portfolios.Continue Reading New Risks – and 3 Tips – for Patent Holders in China: Chinese companies have aggressively grown their portfolios

By Pamela D. Hans & Christina Yousef / Anderson Kill

 

A lawsuit of any magnitude can be devastating for your business, whether it manifests its hardship financially or otherwise. The stress of making the right decision for your company’s future can seem insurmountable at times. And just like that, a light at the end of the tunnel: a settlement offer that is reasonable and good for your business. The only problem is that your insurance company will not consent.
Continue Reading Policyholders’ Hands Are Strengthened When Insurance Companies Refuse to Settle: Appellate decisions on a California case suggest the tables may be turning

By Reese Arrowsmith, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)

Intro: Reese Arrowsmith, who heads legal operations at Campbell Soup Company, is the inaugural chair of the legal operations membership section of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). He spoke with us about his new role at ACC, the growth he’s seen in the field of legal operations and where he thinks it’s going next. His comments have been edited for style and length.Continue Reading ACC Is All In on Legal Operations: The association’s first chair of its ops section explains why

By Rees Morrison, Altman Weil, Inc.

The Roman god Janus looked both ways at once. That’s an apt metaphor for the divergence in how lawyers look at the use of data in management decisions. Some lawyers look askance at data being used to augment decisions; others look with favor on it. The more clearly that lawyers understand the conflicting bases for their own views and those of their colleagues, the more adroitly they will deal with data in decisions.Continue Reading A Metrics Conundrum: What Would Janus Do?: Lawyers are sometimes torn when considering how much to rely on data

By Aaron Fluss, FRONTEO

Aaron Fluss, the National Director of Managed Review for FRONTEO, talks about the value of creativity during document review and explains why, despite an explosion of data – and costs related to corralling all that data – technology can’t replace the human touch. His remarks have been edited for length and style.
Continue Reading How to Design Document Reviews To Cut Costs: It all starts with building the right workflow

By Bill Sowinski, David Moran, Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions

Legal bill reviewers are specialists who can help in-house counsel keep a close eye on the bottom line without spending all day poring over detailed invoice line items. Below, two legal billing and technology veterans, David Moran and Bill Sowinski of ELM Solutions, discuss the obvious, and not so obvious, advantages of third-party legal bill review. Their remarks have been edited for length and style.Continue Reading It’s All About That Bill: Invoice review specialists explain why managing the bill improves relationships with providers

By Lloyd M. Johnson Jr., Chief Legal Executive LLC

For in-house counsel, convincing colleagues in the C-suite —or in the rest of the company, for that matter —is rarely a simple matter of saying, “Do it. I’m the lawyer.” Influence and persuasion require strategic thinking, a deep understanding of a company’s objectives and culture, credibility in the organization, and a keen sense of timing.
Continue Reading Influencing the C-Suite: Advice for in-house counsel on the fine arts of influence and persuasion

By: Eric J. Barr, Marks Paneth LLP

Shareholder agreements document the intentions of the parties in connection with, among other things, the price to be paid for an ownership interest in the event of a shareholder’s death, disability, retirement or other triggering event. There are four commonly used methods to value a company.

By: Carolyn Casey

As the role of the chief compliance officer (CCO) takes on more prominence, many CEOs and boards must evaluate whether their general counsel (GC) can take on this second role or if the function should be led by a separate executive. After the financial crisis, Enron, and growing privacy, corruption, and whistleblower actions, the glare of the regulatory spotlight seems as certain as sunrise. According to Deloitte, “One of the most important regulatory and policy developments in recent years has been the government’s heightened scrutiny of the effectiveness of an organization’s compliance program in making decisions regarding both liability and cooperation.” It doesn’t take a fortune-teller to predict that corporations will increasingly grapple with the dual-role question.

Are GCs One for Two?

Let’s start by considering the traditional role of lawyers. Lawyers give legal advice and advocate to gain the best outcomes for their clients. When a government subpoena or legal claim arrives on their desk, they gear up to do whatever is necessary to avoid costly judgments or fines, reputation hits and even jail time for their C-suite colleagues. They are protectors and risk managers.

Of course, lawyers also interpret regulatory requirements and things like


Continue Reading One for Two or Two for Two with CCOs?: The Chief Compliance Officer Debate