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No one could have anticipated that 2020 would be the year that the legal profession went virtual. In 2019, we talked as it this was 10 years away. Today, legal departments, law firms and courts all across the world have embraced and implemented these technologies and new working practices. This transformative shift for the legal profession has brought new opportunities and risks for General Counsel. The imposing risks have been quick to appear, but understanding the opportunities has been much more clouded. In this new digital age, how can you managing a remote workforce, continuing to drive productivity and inclusivity, over these new digital platforms?

We invite you to join Kasowitz employment litigation partners Mark W. Lerner and Jessica Taub Rosenberg, who have provided guidance to and fielded questions from numerous employers requiring strategic counseling and advice related to COVID-19 issues.

While in-house teams continue to grow and examples of General Counsel with increased influence are more prolific, the impact of the legal function can still be muted. Moreover, while there is still plenty of talk of "demonstrating value" - how to clearly articulate value beyond cost reduction remains a challenge.

Today's boards are holding the purse strings tighter than ever and every department is vying for money. With the predicted economic downturn approaching, legal departments need to make their requests stand out from the crowd in order to gain the budget to drive successful initiatives for the legal team.

With remote working on the rise and its impact on mental health, this will become ever more important. It is important for us to see this as a way to pave opportunities for females, minorities and those with disabilities to gain more senior roles in the future, but we must also be wary of the challenges remote working will also bring to our mental health if inclusivity is not considered.

Companies are increasingly initiating or defending concurrent lawsuits in foreign jurisdictions – each with its own opportunities and risks. Companies competing in the global economy should not ignore the global litigation landscape. Speakers will address opportunities and risks presented by various jurisdictions, and important strategic considerations in managing concurrent disputes throughout the world.

Hackers love exploiting weakness. As data breaches increase in frequency and size, corporate legal departments must be armed and ready to proactively tackle these crises and reduce risk and damage to the company.

In the past few months, we have witnessed a sharp rise in litigation cases. Law firms are inundated with new cases and juggling these over a virtual platform for the first time. General Counsel and their litigation teams are also increasingly feeling the burden of these cases and must work closer than ever before with their law firms and partners to produce a successful outcome.

The pandemic has forced companies to deal with an abundance of contractual challenges across the supply chain and with vendors. With the challenges not likely to disappear for 2020, how can General Counsel successfully navigate these novel contractual issues from force majeure, public disclosure to global supply chain disruption. Collaboration with external advisors and partners will be key to securing successful outcomes, yet for many General Counsel reservations still stand with security fears ranking top of the list.