AttorneysEd Center

Later this year, companies doing business in the United Kingdom will become subject to its new and expanded Bribery Act, which is in several ways broader than the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Although the Bribery Act imposes strict criminal liability on companies for improper payments made on their behalf, it also enables companies with effective corporate compliance procedures to avoid that liability. Join our presenters from K&L Gates LLP, Robert Hadley (London), Matt T. Morley (Washington, D.C.) and Laura Atherton (London), as they review key provisions of the Bribery Act, and UK guidance as to the elements of “adequate procedures” that will provide a defense to corporate liability. Among other things, our presenters emphasize adjustments that will be required to FCPA-based compliance programs to tailor them to provisions of the Bribery Act. This program will be of interest to any company doing business in the

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and most state rules, require public filing of most pleadings, motions and other litigation-related documents. What happens, however, when some part of such filings contain confidential information? Popular presenter Steve Bennett, a partner at Jones Day, addresses the ethical problems that can arise, the rules that may apply, and practical solutions to avoid or mitigate the problems. Topics include: • Background of the problem: this could happen to you • Pertinent rules / cases • Ethical issues • Best practices • Resources

In-house and outside counsel struggle to adapt their Intellectual Property strategies in a world where new media emerge constantly and old rules are difficult to enforce. Join us as Anthony F. Lo Cicero of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP discusses the legal challenges presented by social media sites, search engines, electronic market sites, online commerce and the like and provides practical suggestions for adapting IP value to these new platforms.

If your practice involves the representation of companies with operations in the European Union, you won’t want to miss this important program by Vanessa Edwards, a partner in the London office of K&L Gates LLP. Our presenter covers recent EU developments in ethics and hot topics in antirust law, including: • Legal Professional Privilege: Akzo Nobel v. Commission (Court of Justice of the EU’s expected September 2010 judgment concerning the extent of legal professional privilege). This important judgment will settle the question of whether communications between a company and its in-house legal advisers is covered by privilege in the context of an EU antitrust investigation. • New Draft Horizontal Guidelines: In May 2010 the Commission published draft guidelines applicable to horizontal co-operation agreements to update the Commission's original guidelines that were adopted in 2000. The draft guidelines present an analytical framework that is intended to assist businesses in self-assessing the compatibility of

A corporate crisis, be it a failed product or service, an allegation of criminal conduct, a major accounting error or restatement, or an employment-related scandal, can result in serious and even irreparable damage to a company's brand and bottom line through increased legal liability, business interruption and a loss of customer and investor confidence. This program, presented by Lanny Davis, Stephen Ryan and Eileen O’Connor, offers tips on what every General Counsel must consider to prevent and prepare for such a crisis, from ensuring regulatory compliance programs are vigorous and employees properly trained in complying with relevant legal requirements, to tips on 'handling' the company's media and internal communications in a way that satisfies legal requirements while saving a corporation's reputation and business plan.

Long-held stereotypical attitudes continue to deprive women of a level playing field in law firm advancement, professional advance, and client-development efforts. For example, we still hear that a woman attorney is weak or ineffective because she speaks too softly or asks a lot of questions (she isn’t being heard) or she is too aggressive, strident, and shrill (she raises her voice), while a male attorney—in the same situation—is viewed as in command and assertive, that is, doing his job. Gender biases and gender communication differences can affect a woman’s success and hurt her professional and business development opportunities. Join Andrea Kramer, a partner in McDermott Will & Emery LLP, and a frequent speaker on improving gender diversity, for this important program for all attorneys. Offering tips for eliminating bias in the legal profession and leveling the playing field for both men and women attorneys, she: • teaches ways

The investor protection provisions of Title IX of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 4173, 111th Cong. (2010), are bound to result in major changes in the world of securities enforcement and regulation. As a result of Dodd-Frank, which provides potentially lucrative bounties for whistleblowers, it is likely that more violations will be reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which, in turn will be larger and more powerful. In addition to seeing its budget likely double over the next five years, the SEC will benefit from relaxed proof standards in pursuing secondary actors, expanded jurisdiction over foreign cases, the ability to obtain penalty awards in SEC administrative cases, industry-wide bars for securities professionals, and the ability to subpoena trial witnesses nationally. The SEC will also have the power to impose fiduciary standards on brokers, regulate short selling, restrict customer arbitration agreements, and engage in other

For years, employers took for granted that it is legal to monitor an employee's every keystroke on work-issued computers, phones and PDAs. With the recent surge in employee privacy claims, some state and federal courts have sided with the employee, particularly where the electronic activity involves personal, rather than business-related, matters. Join Heather Egan Sussman and Stephen Erf, partners at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, who explain the recent developments in the legal framework for this privacy debate and what it means for the American workplace, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Quon, in which the Court unanimously ruled that the employer could lawfully review personal messages sent on work pagers, and the New Jersey Supreme Court in Stengart, in which the Court held that an employer improperly accessed an employee’s private email messages. The program includes practical advice about when and to what extent employers

Leigh J. Martinson, Esq., a partner in McDermott Will & Emery LLP, reviews the Supreme Court’s long-awaited decision in Bilski v. Kappos, in which business methods patents barely survived, and discusses the impact of this decision on future patent litigation and prosecution. Our presenter also discusses previous 35 U.S.C. section 101 precedent, various litigation and prosecution strategies for challenging a section 101 attack, and strategies for attacking existing claims under section 101. A must program for patent practitioners, from the Celesq®-West IP Master Series.

Louis DiLorenzo, the Chair of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group, discusses sexual discrimination in the workplace and how to avoid liability for sexual discrimination claims. Part 2 of this 2-part series covers sexual harassment complaints. Topics include: • Establishing Sexual Harassment Claims—what is and is not actionable • Components of a Lawful Policy Against Harassment • A Program for Avoiding or minimizing claims and damages • The do's and don't of an appropriate investigation and employer response to complaints And you won’t want to miss Avoiding Liability for Sex Discrimination—Pay Equity (Part 1).