REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM

OPENING SESSION

8:30 AM - 9:45 AM

WELCOME
BETH K. BAIER, Principal Counsel, Media Distribution, The Walt Disney Company

STRATEGIC NETWORKING FOR IN-HOUSE COUNSEL
HEATHER M. BELL, Associate General Counsel, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
SARAH MARTUCCI GREEN, Associate General Counsel, Sam’s Club Merchandising, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
KERRY KOTOUC, Senior Vice President of Asset Protection and Compliance and General Counsel for Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

To succeed in the expanding role of General Counsel, you must continually connect with new people and develop strategic relationships inside and outside your company. Networking provides the most productive, most proficient, and most enduring tactic to build those relationships. Engage in an interactive session, with our Premier Corporate Sponsor — Walmart — to learn different forms of networking techniques and how to identify, develop, and nurture strategic relationships.

GENERAL COUNSEL PANEL
TIPS AND TRICKS ON SUCCEEDING AS GENERAL COUNSEL IN THE 21ST CENTURY

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Moderator:
SHEILA M. MURPHY, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel, MetLife, Inc.

Panelists:
TRACY ELIZABETH CLAY, Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs and General Counsel, Teach For America, Inc.
MARCY S. COHEN, Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer, ING Financial Holdings Corporation
RHONDA J. PARISH, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary, Ruby Tuesday, Inc.
BJARNE TELLMANN, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Pearson PLC

General Counsels are increasingly taking on broader roles to be much more than strictly a legal advisor. They must also act as a C-suite executive, senior counselor to the Board, the CEO, and the CFO, and the ultimate guardian of the company’s integrity. The General Counsel and her in-house lawyers are expected to understand the full spectrum of their company’s business and provide expert legal advice, business strategy input, and ethical guidance. We will explore the skills necessary to be an effective General Counsel and discuss strategies and approaches for developing and strengthening those skills.

WORKSHOPS

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

TRACK 1 - ROLE AS LEGAL EXPERT
THE INTERNET OF THINGS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRIVACY PITFALLS

Moderator:
SIMA SARRAFAN, Senior Attorney, Microsoft Corporation

Panelists:
ANN SCHOFIELD BAKER, Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
AMY COLANDO, Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation
MEREDITH B. HALAMA, Senior Counsel, Perkins Coie LLP
EMILY S. SCHLESINGER, Attorney, Microsoft Corporation

Global spending on wearable technology, which stood at $750 million in 2012, is expected to reach $5.8 billion in 2018. With more people wearing FitBits, FuelBands, smart watches, and interactive headsets, more personal, health, and general life data is being collected about us than ever before. What happens to all of that data? Who has rights and access to it? What should you know as in-house counsel — and as a consumer — about these devices? Learn about privacy laws that govern these issues, best practices for your website’s “Terms of Use” and “Privacy Policies,” current trends in privacy-related litigation, and tips to deal with the convergence of personal and professional data.

TRACK 2 - ROLE AS BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY PARTNER
BUSINESS STRATEGY: IMPLEMENTING AN EFFECTIVE CORPORATE RECOVERIES PROGRAM

Panelists:
ROSE MARIE E. GLAZER, Senior Vice President and General Counsel - Americas, Siemens Corporation
MIMI B. MacDONALD, General Attorney, AT&T Services, Inc.
ALISON PROUT, Partner, Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP
RANDI ENGEL SCHNELL, Partner, Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP

Each year, corporations forego millions of dollars by failing to assert legitimate claims involving price-fixing, class action settlements, or other causes of action against customers or vendors. Often, the decision not to assert vi-able claims is made because the disadvantages of litigation are mistakenly thought to outweigh the potential benefits. Recently, however, many corporations are recognizing that there are numerous strategic business ad-vantages to asserting such claims when they arise. This session will explore strategies to implement a recoveries program, including how to identify potential claims, when to assert bona fide claims, options for financing recovery activities, and how to track recoveries to improve or adjust business practices to mitigate future missed opportunities and get your company what it’s owed.

TRACK 3 - ROLE AS ETHICAL ADVISOR
LATEST TRENDS AND BEST PRACTICES IN HANDLING REGULATORY INQUIRIES

Panelists:
HELEN V. CANTWELL, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
MEI LIN KWAN-GETT, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Global Litigation, Citigroup Inc.

Every General Counsel can expect to receive a serious regulatory inquiry during her tenure, which may develop into a more significant long-term matter for the company. What is the first thing you need to do and who do you need to notify? How will decisions you make at the outset affect the assertion of attorney-client privilege down the road? What does the Board need to know and at what point do you need to advise the directors? In light of recent statements from regulators and prosecutors, how do you handle the gathering of information from employees in the face of increased focus on holding those same employees “responsible” for the alleged wrongdoing? Update your knowledge of best practices to ensure that you are protecting your company’s interests and minimizing the risk that such an inquiry paralyzes your organization.

TRACK 4 - ROLE AS LEADER
LAW DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT: HOW TO EFFICIENTLY MANAGE COSTS AND SIGNIFICANT MATTERS BY PARTNERING WITH OUTSIDE COUNSEL

Moderator: ANNE WEISBERG, Senior Vice President for Strategy, Families and Work Institute

Panelists:
LORI G. COHEN, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
MATTHEW BEEKHUIZEN, Chief Pricing Officer, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
JENNIFER BENENSON, Vice President and NA General Counsel, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
JENNIFER G. SWANTON, Discovery Counsel and Discovery Team Lead, Medtronic, PLC

The age of Big Data and shrinking budgets can mean big headaches for just about anyone. However, General Counsels are often most affected as they attempt to manage technology and other resources to cut costs and still remain efficient and competitive, all the while managing risk and ensuring that procedures are prudent from a business perspective and comply with all applicable laws. Maneuvering through this digital journey with outside counsel on your side can help General Counsels find balance and real-world support to tame that “Big Data Beast,” from helping with e-Discovery and document retention issues to legal project management. Join us to learn how to leverage your relationships with outside counsel so that your legal department becomes more efficient, you realize internal and external cost-savings, and achieve higher quality legal work driving value to the company.

LUNCHEON KEYNOTE

12:15 PM - 1:45 PM

LEANING FORWARD, SCRAMBLING AND MUDDLING THROUGH--
AVOIDING INERTIA AND REALIZING YOUR POTENTIAL

SUSAN BLOUNT
Executive Vice President,
Law, Compliance, Business Ethics and External Affairs,
Prudential Financial, Inc.

In a stressful world with competing demands, it is easy to focus on everyone else's priorities. If your goal is to enter the C-suite you need a strategy to avoid the forces of inertia and invest in your future. This keynote will use real life examples to look at the issues in our life that can so easily divert us from our goals and techniques for scrambling forward while meeting our other obligations and living into our values.

WORKSHOPS

2:00 PM - 3:15 PM

TRACK 1 - ROLE AS LEGAL EXPERT
BREAKING DEVELOPMENTS IN WHISTLEBLOWER ENFORCEMENT: CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS UNDER FIRE

THERESA DONAHUE EGLER, Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
SHARON P. MARGELLO, Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
AMY SMEDLEY, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Compliance and Corporate Legal Services, Huntsman Corporation

 Last year, the Chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Whistleblower advised that the Securities and Exchange Commission would scrutinize companies’ employee confidentiality provisions to determine whether they impeded whistleblowers’ access to enforcement agencies. He also warned of action against lawyers who drafted those provisions. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued the first order against a company whose code of conduct it found to be too restrictive. Join our Premier Corporate Sponsor — Ogletree Deakins — as it addresses what employers and their attorneys need to consider to bolster their policies, procedures, and agreements to withstand agency scrutiny.
 

TRACK 2 - ROLE AS BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY PARTNER
DEVELOPING AND PROMOTING A DIVERSE ENVIRONMENT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE LEGAL COMMUNITY

Moderator:
NANCY ZANGRILLI, Partner, McDonnell & Associates, P.C.

Panelists:
ALAN BRYAN, Associate General Counsel, Walmart Stores, Inc.
JENNIFER A. CHAMPLIN, Director of HR for Walmart US, Walmart Stores, Inc.
COURTNEY SEDA McDONNELL, Co-founder and Managing Partner, McDonnell & Associates, P.C.

Creating and maintaining a diverse professional team continues to be a challenge for general counsel and outside counsel. To succeed in creating a more diverse inclusive professional community, general counsel and outside counsel must work together with the community at large. This interactive panel discusses the ways in which general counsel can partner with outside counsel to further the mission of inclusion in the legal community and professional world in general. Promoting inclusion outside the legal community, particularly with community groups and outside vendors increases the strength and momentum of our mission. The panel will also discuss the importance of pro bono and charity/volunteer work as a tool for communicating and educating the community as to the importance of inclusion.

TRACK 3 - ROLE AS ETHICAL ADVISOR
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN NAVIGATING THROUGH A BET-THE-COMPANY DEAL

Panelists:
LISL J. DUNLOP, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
SUZANNE WACHSSTOCK, Vice President and Chief Antitrust Counsel, American Express
MICHAELYNN WARE, Assistant General Counsel, United Technologies Corporation
CHRISTINE L. WHITE, Assistant Vice President, North Shore LIJ Health Systems

Your company’s largest competitor is on the block and your senior management believes that an acquisition would be an industry-changing event, catapulting your company into an exciting new phase of growth and expansion. Such a transaction is likely to pose significant regulatory hurdles. Gain valuable insights on providing strategic legal and ethical direction, managing the interface between the business and regulatory process, and successfully executing complex transactions. Learn how to develop a legal and regulatory strategy that will gain Board support; manage regulators, outside counsel, the other party, and inside stakeholders through antitrust review; oversee integration planning and implementation before and after closing; and handle separation and sales processes for divestitures that may be required by regulators.

TRACK 4 - ROLE AS LEADER
WHAT THE C-SUITE SEES: COMMUNICATING THE TOP PRIVACY & SECURITY TOPICS TO EXECUTIVES

Panelists:
ALEXANDRA BRODIE, Partner, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co LLP
SALLY MEWIES, Partner, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co LLP
RUBY A. ZEFO, Vice President, Law & Policy Group, Chief Privacy & Security Counsel, CIPP/US, CIPM, Intel Corporation

Concisely communicating both risks and benefits of global privacy and security issues facing corporations today can seem daunting given the variety of concerns making headlines and the lack of harmonization of global laws. Yet privacy and security practices have become integral components of corporate governance, accountability, product development, risk management, and brand cultivation and protection in today’s business environment. They are now topics that must be discussed with boards of directors and C-suite level executives. In this interactive session, you will learn from Intel Corporation’s Chief Privacy & Security Counsel, and two partners from Wragge Lawrence Graham &Co LLP working in the field of IP, privacy, and security law, how to communicate the top privacy and security issues in an engaging and persuasive way that puts them in the larger context of corporate governance and global laws, so that executives will have clear vision on the privacy and security challenges impacting their companies. The team from Wragge Lawrence Graham will consider the messages that need to be conveyed about the significant proposed changes in privacy laws currently underway in Europe.

PLENARY SESSION
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND RED FLAGS: WHAT LAWYERS NEED TO KNOW

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

ANN GITTLEMAN, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps Corp.
JENNA O'BRIEN, Vice President, Duff & Phelps Corp.

Headlines inundated newspapers in 2008 describing the collapse of the financial system. But what really happened? By using real case studies, such as Lehman Brothers, Oppenheimer, and Countrywide Financial, this session provides an overview of accounting standards, identifies red flags, and focuses on areas of financial statements that are subject manipulation and/or fraud. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, it is imperative to know what to look for and what questions to ask.

KEYNOTE

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

SAME GAME, NEW RULES: PLAYING TO WIN IN A WAY THAT WORKS FOR YOU

ARIN N. REEVES
President, Nextions LLC and
Author, One Size Never Fits All
 

NETWORKING RECEPTION

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Before you depart for the evening, join us to unwind, debrief your favorite sessions, and have your complimentary copy of One Size Never Fits All signed by author Arin Reeves.

OPTIONAL NETWORKING EVENT
HUDSON TERRACE
 621 West 46th Street, New York City
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

After a day of exciting sessions at the General Counsel Institute, join NAWL for a fun New York City evening at Hudson Terrace. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, hosted beer and wine bar, and private group mixology lesson. 

Attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase Linda Richards' luxury outerwear accessories, including fur scarves, vests, and shawls.

Complimentary transportation between the Crowne Plaza and Hudson Terrace to be provided. Buses will leave from the front/main entrance of the hotel on Broadway (between 48th and 49th Streets) at 6:30 PM.

$34 prepaid fee. 

BREAKFAST

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

KEYNOTE

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

A GC'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE SEC'S WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAM
ANNE SMALL
General Counsel
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Ms. Small, the first female General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission, will provide a unique overview of the Commission's whistleblower program and the rules governing its implementation, which award individuals who provide high-quality tips that lead to successful enforcement actions and protect whistleblowers from employment retaliation. Among other things, Ms. Small will touch on recent litigation concerning the interpretation of these rules, the interplay between the rules and internal compliance program, and company confidentiality agreements.

KEYNOTE

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

IN-HOUSE COUNSEL: BUSINESS LEADERS WITH LEGAL EXPERIENCE
JULIE SWEET
Group Chief Executive - North America, Accenture
Formerly General Counsel, Secretary & Chief Legal Officer, Accenture

Ms. Sweet will discuss the important role in-house counsel play as business leaders, providing advice on how to deepen your business sense and build legal departments that effectively embrace the twin goals of helping drive shareholder value and protecting the company, and the importance of helping companies focus on behavior rather than policies in creating a culture of ethics and compliance.

WORKSHOPS

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM

TRACK 1 - ROLE AS LEGAL EXPERT
THE ROLE OF IN-HOUSE COUNSEL IN CYBERSECURITY IN BOTH THE PRE- AND POST-BREACH WORLDS 

Moderator:
ALLISON M. RYAN, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP

Panelists:
ANNE FRIEDMAN, Of Counsel, DLA Piper
KIMBERLY KIEFER PERETTI, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP
TARA MCGRAW SWAMINATHA, Of Counsel, DLA Piper

Cyber threats to a company’s networks, systems, and data continue to evolve in sophisticated ways that are difficult, if not impossible, to predict, and cause increasing exposure to significant financial loss and reputational harm. The in-house lawyer’s role in cybersecurity must begin long before an actual data compromise, regardless of the business area you support. Learn about the top legal issues in cybersecurity and the roles in-house counsel can play to support their companies’ cybersecurity preparedness plans. Topics include understanding the cyber risk legal landscape, including enforcement, litigation, and legislative trends; compliance strategies; managing transactional risk, and vendor risk management. This session will also address key legal issues that arise in the aftermath of a significant cybersecurity breach, and practical tips and strategies to navigate through these issues.

TRACK 2 - ROLE AS BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY PARTNER
SHAPING BUSINESS STRATEGY AROUND INCREASED GOVERNMENT SCRUTINY

Panelists:
ELIZABETH FERGUSON, Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Retail & Litigation, CVS
ENU A. MAINIGI, Partner, Williams & Connolly LLP
AMANDA VAUGHN, Associate General Counsel & Managing Director, Bank of America

In the past few years, the Department of Justice and the State Attorneys General have continued to ramp up their investigative and litigation efforts against corporate America. In the process, they have added to their arsenal by, for example, increasing their use of the False Claims Act and relying on a little known statute called FIRREA. They also have expressed a strong desire to include individuals in investigations and actions whenever possible. This session will explore recent developments and trends in government investigations and litigation across several core industries – financial, healthcare and telecommunications -- and will provide tips on how you can shape the response of your Board and senior management to such actions. We will share best practices on such matters as determining the significance for your company of recent decisions and actions, exploring appropriate considerations before recommending counsel for individuals, and handling parallel state and federal investigations ongoing.

TRACK 4 - ROLE AS LEADER
TALENT MANAGEMENT: HOW SUCCESSFUL LAW DEPARTMENT LEADERS DEVELOP THEIR PEOPLE WHILE LEVERAGING THEMSELVES

Panelists:
BEVELYN A. COLEMAN, Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Wells Fargo
SHEILA M. MURPHY, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel, MetLife, Inc.
SUSAN A. STONE, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
HEATHER N. YANAK, Manager, Huron Consulting Group

In this interactive panel discussion, learn how successful senior legal department leaders develop and mentor their attorneys and other reports, empowering them to succeed while simultaneously leveraging their own time. Explore the relationship among professional development, diversity in the workplace, and giving back to the community. Engage with panelists in order to develop strategies for stretching professionally, encouraging professional development sponsorship, partnering with outside counsel to create professional development opportunities for in-house lawyers, and tackling the fine art of delegation (a particular challenge for “Type A” women).

LUNCHEON KEYNOTE

12:45 PM - 2:30 PM

GROW YOUR VALUE: LIVING AND WORKING TO YOUR FULL POTENTIAL
MIKA BRZEZINSKI
Author, Grow Your Value
 and Co-Host, Morning Joe
 

BOOK SIGNING & DESSERT RECEPTION

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Join us to have your book signed by Mika Brzezinski, debrief your favorite sessions, and connect with new (and old!) friends before departing for home.