In House Tech

News

After 16 Months at Square, GC Hillary Smith Resigns

Caroline Spiezio | May 22, 2018

It's unknown where Hillary Smith of Square will land next, but her successor, Sivan Whiteley, has been named.

News

Chinese Trademark Applications Filed With PTO Could Create Headaches for US Businesses

Dan Clark | May 21, 2018

Chinese companies are on track to file more foreign trademark applications than U.S. companies in the next couple of years, according to recent data.

News

Monsanto and Husch Blackwell's Case Assessment Mastery Made Them ACC Value Champions

Dan Clark | May 21, 2018

As a result of implementing a new algorithm to assess asbestos cases early, the number of active cases has declined by 53 percent and settlement costs were reduced by 30 percent for Monsanto. Spend on outside counsel on these matters is down by 10 percent.

Analysis

NetApp Had a Long Road to the Top of In-house Innovation

Caroline Spiezio | May 18, 2018

NetApp's lawyers are not just committed to improving technology within the legal department--they've spread their tech savvy to other parts of the company (and even outside NetApp) as well.

Wabash National Names Melanie Margolin as New General Counsel

Dan Clark | May 17, 2018

"Wabash National’s leadership also includes the legal function as a proactive partner in the business, which is a great fit for my skills and work style," Margolin said.

News

Is GDPR a 'Spark for New Business Models?' Some Companies Say 'Yes'

Dan Clark | May 16, 2018

A new survey indicates that, believe it or not, GDPR spells opportunity for some companies.

Q&A

HUB International GC John Albright Says Legal Has 'Only Begun to Scratch the Surface' With AI

Dan Clark | May 16, 2018

Albright gave his take on how legal departments should go about purchasing AI and whether or not it's going to replace human lawyers.

News

Association of Corporate Counsel Names 2018 Value Champions

Dan Clark | May 15, 2018

Every year, the ACC rewards innovation and ingenuity from legal departments and their outside partners.

News

Following Uber's Lead, Lyft Ends Mandatory Arbitration for Sexual Assault Claims

Caroline Spiezio | May 15, 2018

Lyft also will end requirements that those who make #MeToo-type claims keep quiet about their stories.

News

Legal Artificial Intelligence Vendors On the Rise, Report Says

Dan Clark | May 14, 2018

Options abound for legal departments attempting to integrate more artificial intelligence into their work.

Expert Opinion

A Legal Ops Pro With His Eyes on the Future: A Q&A With Gary Tully of Gilead

Dan Clark | May 14, 2018

Tully spoke to Corporate Counsel about the evolution of legal ops, his day-to-day challenges, his project to help with law firm data security and more.

News

Kickstarter Picks Former Tumblr Legal Boss as New GC

Stephanie Forshee | May 14, 2018

Mitchell replaces Michal Rosenn in the post of top lawyer at Kickstarter, the company that runs one of the most popular global crowdfunding platforms.

News

The GDPR Deadline is Coming, Get That Cyber Insurance Policy Ready

Dan Clark | May 10, 2018

Attorneys said that companies need to be especially thoughtful about their cyber coverage now that the GDPR is imposing tougher rules on many of them around data.

Facebook is Banning Foreign Ad Buys Around an Irish Referendum. Could it Do the Same in the US?

Caroline Spiezio | May 09, 2018

Facebook Inc.'s strategy around Ireland's Eighth Amendment referendum could also apply to U.S. elections this November, attorneys said.

Ushering Legal Operations Into the Future: A Q&A With Reese Arrowsmith of Campbell Soup

Dan Clark | May 09, 2018

Arrowsmith, who also chairs the ACC's operations group, believes that sharing knowledge and stories of legal ops successes and failures will move the field forward.

How to Handle EU Employee Data Under the New General Data Protection Regulation

Dan Clark | May 08, 2018

There are plenty of complexities around how companies can and can't use the personal data of EU employees under the massive new GDPR.

Building Legal Ops From the Ground Up: A Q&A With Mike Russell of Ingersoll-Rand

Dan Clark | May 07, 2018

Mike Russell of Ingersoll-Rand spoke about artificial intelligence, building an operations function and where legal department outsourcing may be heading next.

Software Company Alfresco Names New General Counsel

Dan Clark | May 03, 2018

Chaudhary's promotion is one of a few executive moves in Alfresco's ranks as of late.

News

T-Mobile, Sprint Want to Merge. What Should Their Law Departments Do Next?

Caroline Spiezio | May 02, 2018

Legal departments at both companies will have plenty of issues to think through, including the deal's potential effect on the U.S. telecom market as well as its possible international implications.

In-House Counsel Have Plenty to Do to Prepare for GDPR Deadline

Dan Clark | May 01, 2018

In a new Association of Corporate Counsel survey, some 47 percent of respondents reported they must change data security standards; 45 percent said they have to alter their breach notification procedures; and 43 percent said they need to modify incident response plans.

News

Experienced Financial Services Attorney Becomes Top Lawyer at USCF

Dan Clark | May 01, 2018

Daphne Frydman, the new GC at USCF, has over 17 years of experience counseling companies in the financial services industry.

News

US Trade Representative's Office Finds Weak IP Protection Regimes in China (and Canada?)

Dan Clark | April 30, 2018

The USTR's latest "Priority Watch List" for IP rights featured both perennial members and new surprises.

News

How DHL's GC Mark Smolik Became More Than Just a Lawyer, But a Business Partner, Too

Caroline Spiezio | April 27, 2018

Many general counsel aspire to play bigger roles in the business. Here's how one GC pulled it off.

News

Top In-House Lawyers from Cisco, NetApp and HPE Say Legal Ops Rise Has Been Game Changer

Caroline Spiezio | April 26, 2018

At the final panel discussion at the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium's 2018 institute, in-house leaders got thoughtful about ops and how it's affected their lives.

News

Zero to Hero: Legal Ops Leaders Discuss How to Start an Operations Program From Scratch

Caroline Spiezio | April 24, 2018

At CLOC's annual conference in Las Vegas this week, Mike Haven of The Gap and Steve Harmon of Cisco Systems gave some pointers on how to build an ops function where there wasn't one before. "It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon," Haven said.

Mastering Legal Holds: Best Practices for Legal Professionals

John Tredennick | April 24, 2018

This three-part series will provide a primer on the duties surrounding legal holds and preservation and offer tips on how to fulfill your responsibilities as a legal hold administrator. It is written for legal and IT professionals who want to learn best practices for effectively managing and implementing legal holds. This first article focuses on key steps to consider in implementing the hold.

News

Margo Smith Leaves Apttus After 10 Months for Snowflake Computing

Stephanie Forshee | April 24, 2018

Smith replaces Barbara Walkowski in the CLO role at the cloud-based data warehousing company.

News

In-House Leaders From Facebook, Uber and Others Discuss the Complexity of Consent in GDPR

Caroline Spiezio | April 20, 2018

Are companies seeking too much consent to process data? Too little? It's a situation that poses challenges for in-house lawyers far and wide.

News

New Guide Warns GCs of Anti-Corruption Compliance Challenges in Latin America

Caroline Spiezio | April 19, 2018

New anti-corruption laws are taking hold in Latin America, and GCs, even those based in the United States, should take note.

News

Former ClearSlide GC Olga Mack Joins Quantstamp as VP of Strategy

Caroline Spiezio | April 18, 2018

Mack, who was formerly in-house at ClearSlide and Zoosk, was going to take some time off, but then found a job that she couldn't turn down.

News

Microsoft, Cisco and 32 Other Companies Sign 'Cybersecurity Tech Accord' to Build Global Trust

Caroline Spiezio | April 17, 2018

"By putting ourselves out there in this way, it will result in civil society and other organizations looking for other ways to hold the industry to account, in an age where talk is cheap," Cisco GC Mark Chandler told Corporate Counsel on Tuesday.

News

With GDPR Fast Approaching, How Should Companies Fill the Data Protection Officer Role?

Caroline Spiezio | April 13, 2018

Many companies will need to hire or appoint a data protection officer under GDPR. But who should they go for?

News

The Reviews Are in for Zuck: His Big Performance Sounded Scripted, But Is That Bad?

Caroline Spiezio | April 12, 2018

Attorneys and other experts weighed in on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's big week in D.C., explaining how some facets of his testimony proved effective, while others may not have worked as well.

News

Harassment Reports Up Amid #MeToo Movement, New Data Shows

Stephanie Forshee | April 10, 2018

Have the allegations against Harvey Weinstein encouraged more survivors of workplace harassment to speak out? Looks like it.

News

Transportation Blockchain Platform DAV Hires New General Counsel

Stephanie Forshee | April 05, 2018

Tung Chan's varied in-house career has taken her from insurance, to an airline, to blockchain firms.

News

Microsoft CLO Announces 'Shared Innovation Initiative' to Boost Collaboration, Protect IP

Caroline Spiezio | April 05, 2018

"There is growing concern that without an approach that ensures that customers own key patents to their new solutions, tech companies will use the knowledge to enter their customer’s market and compete against them—perhaps even using the IP that customers helped create," CLO Brad Smith wrote in a blog post.

News

Companies Should Get Execs, Board Members More Involved in Cybersecurity, Survey Says

Caroline Spiezio | April 04, 2018

"Just because you have initials or a title following your name doesn't mean you are less vulnerable," said Elizabeth Litten, a partner at Fox Rothschild, the firm that put the survey together.

News

Want to Know Which Legal Spend Management Initiative to Try Next? Enter the Matrix.

Caroline Spiezio | April 02, 2018

A new primer offers a "matrix" that can be used as a tool for in-house lawyers who want to identify the right tactic to help reduce legal spend.

News

After MyFitnessPal Breach, In-House Counsel Should Consider Segregating Sensitive Data

Caroline Spiezio | March 30, 2018

This week's hack holds a simple but important lesson for legal departments about how to handle data storage.

News

In-House Counsel Want 'Appropriate Fee Arrangements,' Data Can Help Them Get There

Caroline Spiezio | March 28, 2018

"I've never met a lawyer who hired a contractor to build their house depending on how long it takes to build it," Cisco deputy GC Steve Harmon said of changing discussions about fee arrangements.

News

CLOC Cybersecurity Initiative Gives Legal Departments System to Judge Outside Counsel Data Defenses

Caroline Spiezio | March 26, 2018

The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium is in the midst of designing a framework that will help corporate legal departments better evaluate how well firms can protect valuable client data, and give firms real standards to shoot for on cybersecurity.

Expert Opinion

ALSPs Coming-of-Age Is Putting In-House Counsel in the Driver Seat of Industry Restructuring

Hugh A. Simons | March 26, 2018

Given lawyers’ predilection for precedent, the probability of a corporation outsourcing to an ALSP depends on the number of corporations who’ve already done so.

News

Former Lyft Government Relations Lawyer Scoots Over to CLO Seat at Transportation Startup

Caroline Spiezio | March 23, 2018

Former Lyft vice president of government relations David Estrada is heading over to Bird, a "last mile electric scooter rental service."

News

For Legal Departments 'Swimming in Data,' Getting Behind the Dashboard Can Help

Caroline Spiezio | March 23, 2018

"The dashboards provide a very effective way to determine or create what people call actionable insights. You want to use the data to inform and drive decision-making," said Scott Fuller, director of legal operations at Applied Materials.

Corporate Counsel Taking Lead Role in Employing Technology

Rob MacAdam, HighQ | March 22, 2018

As technology continues to act as a change agent in the legal industry, the nation's leading corporate legal departments are showing no hesitance in embracing…

News

After Uber Crash, Legal Departments Can Watch Carefully, Work on Disaster Plans

Caroline Spiezio | March 20, 2018

After the recent crash in Arizona, companies involved in the autonomous vehicle space may want to get introspective about how they'd handle a similar crisis.

News

In-House Leaders Say Their Companies Can Be Change Agents for Diversity

Caroline Spiezio | March 19, 2018

"We need general broader power structures to change," said Marie Oh Huber, senior vice president and general counsel at eBay. "I feel like those of us who have that voice, that ability, that power, we need to push for that change."

News

Many Law Departments Don't Think Firms Have Innovated Lately, Data Shows

Rebekah Mintzer | March 16, 2018

New research supports the idea that their law firms and service providers haven't been listening closely to calls from their clients to think differently.

News

You're a General Counsel and You Just Lost Your CEO. Now What?

Caroline Spiezio | March 15, 2018

"Be bold and don't be afraid to step in where you see the gap," said one former GC who has also been an interim CEO.

News

CFIUS Opinion on Qualcomm Deal May Worry Tech Companies, but There Could be an Upside

Caroline Spiezio | March 14, 2018

CFIUS helped initiate the blocking of a massive deal between Asian tech company Broadcom and American tech company Qualcomm this week.