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Corporate Counsel Institute

2020 Corporate Counsel Institute Program and Schedule

Our Lavender Law® Conference & Career Fair is going virtual for 2020. The Corporate Counsel Institute will take place on Friday, August 14th as scheduled in a virtual format. Sponsored by White & Case LLP.

The Corporate Counsel Institute is only open to corporate counsel, and requires advance registration. If you are interested in attending the Corporate Counsel Institute, please fill out this form. For questions, please email Seth Rosen at seth@lgbtbar.org.

2020 Program and Schedule

Friday, August 14, 2020 starting at 11am ET/10am CT/8am PT
Please note that the schedule below is listed in Eastern Time.
TimeProgram
11:00am-11:05amWelcome
11:05am-12:15pmEthical Obligations on Lawyers Whose Firms Have Been Subject to Data Breach

In a significant ethics opinion issued in 2018, Formal Opinion 483, Lawyers' Obligations After an Electronic Data Breach or Cyberattack, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility provides a detailed roadmap to a lawyer's obligations to current and former clients when they learn that they - or their firm - have been the subject of a data breach. Notably, the opinion warns that a lawyer's compliance with state or federal data security laws does "not necessarily achieve compliance with ethics obligations," and identifies six ABA Model Rules that might be implicated in the breach of client information. This opinion follows Formal Opinion 477R, released the year prior, in which the ABA explained a lawyer's ethical obligation to secure client confidential client data when communicating over the Internet. The fact that the ABA has issued two formal opinions on the topic of data security in such a short time indicates the importance of ethical principles when lawyers are confronted with the unenviable task of sorting out their own responsibilities in a data breach. Opinion 483 underscores the fact that law firms, "[a]s custodians of highly sensitive information," may be "inviting" targets for hackers. This panel will present some frightening statistics on how woefully unprepared law firms are to protect against a data breach and the ethical obligations that may be violated as such. While the opinion is exhaustive, and certainly worthy of a full read, the panel will emphasize key takeaways from the opinion's guidance: The ethical guidelines set forth in the opinion could apply to any client data that may interfere with representation, instead of being expressly limited to only legally protected information such as personally identifiable information (PII) or personal health information (PHI). The ABA's opinion is a somber but realistic reminder that lawyers and law firms, like other professionals and businesses that deal with sensitive information, must exercise vigilance when it comes to cybercrime. But at the same time, the ABA says, lawyers are required to deal not only with the aftermath of a breach but with all the ethical and legal obligations that may come with it. Download CLE Materials.

Speakers: Mary Grace Guzmán, John T. Hendricks, John Francis Stephens
12:15pm-12:20pmBreak
12:20pm-1:30pmWorking In-House During a Pandemic

The work of an in-house counsel doesn’t stop, even during a global health crisis. But how do you effectively represent your employer during a massive global disruption that can make even traveling to the office a hazard, let alone keeping litigation moving forward? This program focuses on the top practice management issues that in-house counsel address to keep their employer thriving even during the most difficult times. We will discuss:
    -Common challenges presented during the pandemic.
    -When and how to return to work.
    -Employer liability for returning employees to the office.
    -Issues around employees working from home.
    -Handling potential COVID-19 related litigation.
Presented in conjunction with the Association of Corporate Counsel. Download CLE Materials.
Moderator: Ramsey Saleeby
Speakers: Rahwa Ghebre-Ab, Jennifer M. Rafferty, Kristina Vaquera
1:30pm-1:35pmBreak
1:35pm-2:45pmIn-House Counsel Toolkit

In this session, we discuss data and IP issues including best practices when drafting contractual provisions related to data/IP and recent cases regarding web scraping, biometric data, and data privacy in the EU. Not for CLE credit.

Speakers: Matthew Israel, Angela Lim, Vonda Kirby Pardo
2:45pm-3:00pmClose