Two Virtual Sessions You Don’t Want to Miss at the Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Annual Meeting officially kicks off today in San Antonio and runs through Wednesday, October 27. If you are not familiar with ACC’s Annual Meeting, it is the largest gathering of in-house counsel from around the world. Attendees can earn CLE/CPD credit, learn from other thought leaders in the industry, network with colleagues and browse the exhibit hall that houses more than 100 law firms and legal service providers.

Okay. This is all great but its Monday morning and it’s just not feasible to get to San Antonio. You’re in luck. For the first time, ACC will be streaming two major events live from the show and you can attend for free.

• Today at 2:30 p.m. EDT you can join in fun for a fast-paced Ethics Follies musical performance resented by ACC’s award-winning South/Central Texas Chapter. The unique and well-received musical comedy will bring current ethics issues to life in a memorable and entertaining act.
• Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. EDT watch as the GCs of Microsoft and Google talk about technology at the Chair’s Choice Lunch Session. They’ll discuss the latest advances in technology, new ways to work and more.

On the off chance you are attending the ACC Annual meeting this week, we’ve highlighted a few sessions we think you’ll find valuable:

Monday, October 25

2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Track: ACC

310 – Outside Counsel Fee Valuation Toolbox, Part 1

Ready to move from the billable hour to value-based fee structures for at least some of your outside counsel spend? Not sure how to decide which fee structures are most appropriate for which matter types or stages of matters? Come to this session to learn how to put together your own decision tree. We’ll walk through the considerations you need to weigh when deciding fee structures – with a focus on two increasingly popular approaches: risk collars and fixed fees. We recommend that you combine this with session 401, to expand your toolkit of options.

Speakers:

Elisa Garcia
EVP and General Counsel
Office Depot, Inc.

Fred Paulmann
Principal
The Counsel Management Group, LLC

Monday, October 25

2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Track: Technology

310 – Reducing Risk for Your Company Through Cloud Computing

Companies with server networks to bring “infrastructure on demand” to their customers provide cloud computing. In busy times, customers can dramatically ramp up their computer usage without investing in equipment and software, and then quickly ramp down when the extra capacity is no longer needed. This session will address challenges faced by companies that use or provide cloud computing services. Discussion topics will include: service standards and reliability measurements, confidential information and trade secrets, data privacy, security and encryption, liability limitations, indemnification, and risk allocation and international regulatory issues.

Speakers:

Ieuan Mahony
Partner
Holland & Knight LLP

Constance Mitchell
Counsel
CSC

Thomas Molchan
Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel
ARAMARK Corporation

Richard Raysman
Partner
Holland & Knight

Monday, October 25

4:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Track: ACC

401 – Outside Counsel Fee Valuation Toolbox, Part 2

Continue your exploration of value-based fee structure options – looking beyond what was covered in Session 301. We’ll walk through the considerations to weigh when deciding fee structures, focusing on three more popular approaches: portfolio retainers, success/incentive fees, and contingencies. We recommend that you combine this with session 301, to expand your toolkit of options.

Tuesday, October 26

9:00 – 10:30 p.m.

Track: ACC

501 – Outside Counsel Management: Staffing the Work for Value-Based Fee Structures

If you’re ready to move to value-based fee structures, you know that you need to collaborate with your outside counsel to drive efficiency. This session will focus on process management – specifically disaggregating processes to determine which pieces can be improved, making sure that legal knowledge is being leveraged (not re-invented), and making better decisions about who should be doing which piece of the work. We’ll examine internal and external staffing options, include out-sourcing and off-shoring, and connect the options to value-based fee structures that you may be considering.

Speakers:

Lisa Damon
Partner
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Kenneth Grady
General Counsel and Secretary
Wolverine World Wide, Inc

Joseph Spratt
Director of Communications
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Tuesday, October 26

11:00 – 12:30 p.m.

Track: ACC
601 – Outside Counsel Management: Project Management for Successful Value-Based Relationships

Make sure your new value-based fee structures with law firms are successful by focusing on forging long-term relationships, goal alignment, and solid project management. In this session, we’ll discuss how to assess firm project management capabilities, and ways to manage the outside counsel interface over the life of a matter to ensure you are satisfied with outcome. We’ll cover tools and techniques of successful project management, such as defining scope, requirements and milestones up front, conducting progress assessments along the way, ensuring the budget is on track (and how to anticipate and deal with variances), and concluding matters with assessments that foster continuous improvement.

Speakers:

Janine Dascenzo
Associate General Counsel
General Electric Company

Fredrick Dempsey
VP & Chief Legal Officer
National Investment Managers, Inc.

Vincent Gonzales
Senior Environmental Counsel
Southern California Gas Company

Randall Hafer
Attorney
Kilpatrick Stockton LLP

Byron Kalogerou
Partner
McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Aileen Leventon
President & GC
QLex Consulting Inc.

Paul Williams
Partner
Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P