Washington (WA) Business Law CLE Course Catalog

With the legal challenges seeming to grow by the week, we take a look at what you need to have on your radar; the protections you need in place today; best practices for responding to these employment issues, and what we can learn for future scenarios.

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.

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.

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.

In today's world of social media, bad PR travels fast. To combat these situations, the best offense is often good defense. Legal teams, marketing and PR teams and firms must work in tandem to swiftly handle negative attacks against them. Industry leaders know that this requires a well-reasoned crisis management plan, and one that involves multiple key teams to be effective.

With M&A on the rise and cross-industry M&A becoming ever more common, nearly every legal department will be affected by it at some point. Identifying the intricacies of these situations is only the start. It is important to understand the precise impact these will have on the process and the risk they may pose later down the line.

Your clients' contract may be affected by COVID-19 and force majeure. Navigate the legal and business issues with Corporate Counsel Editor-in-Chief Heather Nevitt and International lawyer Lisa Richman in a discussion about the practical implications of force majeure in making business decisions state-by-state and across the globe.

This program is for 0-3 year attorneys who have never experienced transactional law (and maybe even never worked in a law office) to rethink the "litigation-first" perspective that gets ingrained during law school. For a large number of law students interested in working with business transactions, as in-house counsel, in IP prosecution, licensing, etc., we want to provide guidance for what you should be thinking about on your first day of an internship, your first day at a job, or your first day running your own firm. These are tips to distinguish yourself on your first day even if you don't have any direct transactional experience.