Chief Litigation Officer Summit Fall 2011 15-17 September 2011, Red Rock Casino, Resort, Spa, Las Vegas, NV

The National Law Review is pleased to announce the Chief Litigation Officer Summit Fall 2011 is taking place on the 15 through 17 of September 2011, Red Rock Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

A Unique Event

The future of litigation will bring new matters, increased competition and a strong need for budget maximization. Employment, IP, product liability, commercial and securities litigation continue to become more complex and therefore more costly. As a Chief Litigation Officer, one of the main challenges is to stay within budget, and tactics such as eDiscovery and specialized outside counsel certainly compound this challenge.

Executives that can find solutions and best practices to work through these challenges will stand out amid a mounting sea of litigation counsel. By employing alternative billing structures, one can allow for fair and accurate budgeting in hopes of maximizing resources, which will help contribute to a successful trial. Skillful planning, organizing and managing of cases is absolutely necessary to stay on top of your game during the trial or deciding on alternative dispute resolution. Enhancing outside counsel relationships through effective communication can greatly increase your odds and assist in dealing with a building case load.

The Chief Litigation Officer Summit provides a unique forum for service providers to gain access to the leading in-house counsel across the nation. Over three days, service providers will meet and interact with the heads of litigation from the country’s leading organizations through a number of one-on-one business meetings and many networking activities. In addition, service providers will attend strategic conference sessions and keynote presentations delivered by these heads of litigation. Within the luxurious settings of The Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa, this networking event presents a unique opportunity to develop meaningful and valuable business relations.

marcus evans will seek CLE accreditation in those states requested by registrants which have continuing education requirements. CLE credit hour information will be displayed on the certificate of attendance, which is provided to the attendees after the event has run and once each State has confirmed approval. marcus evans certifies that this activity has been approved for CLE credits by the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Pennsylvania.

Our executive delegation is selected according to the following criteria:

Scope of Responsibility
Budget
Sign-off Authority
Company Revenue
Interest in Purchasing Products and Services

Delegates will include decision makers with the job titles of General Counsel Litigation, Assistant General Counsel Litigation, Associate General Counsel, Litigation, Chief Litigation Officer, Vice President, Litigation and Senior Litigation Counsel with ultimate responsibility for litigation within their corporations.
Six Reasons Why You Should Attend the Summit:

Attend innovative summit sessions that outline tools to maximize the profitability of your company or organization
Network with an executive, focused group of your peers to discuss and debate differentiated strategies and develop future business contacts
Meet with leading Solution Providers to gain solutions to your most pressing business challenges
Maximize your time spent at the event by pre-selecting Keynote presentations, summit sessions, one-on-one meetings and networking activities through the Secured Summit Web site and scheduling software
Extensive opportunities for informal peer networking throughout the weekend through day and evening leisure activities
Documentation of presentations and information presented at the Summit via the interactive Web site

Delegate Package

Pre-event Secured Web site access for scheduling
Executive Summit Program
8-10 one-on-one business meetings with Solution Provider executives
Post-event Web site access for documentation and information on next event
Two nights accommodation at the Resort
All meals, receptions & special events
Participation in the Summit networking activities

For information on attending as a Delegate, please contact:
Marketing Manager
E: webenquiries@marcusevansbb.com
T: 246 627 3761

Diversity and Its Impact on the Legal Profession

Recently posted in the National Law Review an article by Jon Minners of Vault Inc. regarding the importance of diversity in law firms:

“Diversity is a very critical element of our society,” said Robert J. Grey, Jr.—a partner at law firm Hunton & Williams—during a keynote speech at the 6^th Annual Vault/MCCA Legal Diversity Career Fair, held on Friday, July 29, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

In discussing his path to Washington and Lee University School of Law, Grey engaged the audience with a story about his first meeting with the then-dean of the law school. While his story was filled with humor, Grey conveyed an important message: rather than judging a book by its cover, the dean gave Grey the opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer. Grey—who formerly served as president of the American Bar Association—has been an influential voice in the legal profession through his work and his commitments to pro bono and diversity. He was nominated by President Obama to serve as a Board Member of the Legal Services Corporation—a post he now fills—and also currently serves as the Executive Director of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

“Recognizing talent and giving it a chance – that’s what diversity is about,” said Grey.

Grey’s speech formed a fitting backdrop for the day as hundreds of minority, female, LGBT candidates and candidates with disabilities gathered at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown D.C. to speak with recruiters and hiring partners from law firms, as well as corporate and government employers. Earlier in the week, candidates and legal employers on the West Coast participated in the career fair at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles.

Vault kicked off the career fair in D.C. by honoring the Top 25 Law Firms for Overall Diversity, Top 3 Law Firms for Diversity for LGBT, Top 3 Law Firms forDiversity for Women and Top 3 Law Firms for Diversity for Minorities. While recognizing that diversity is important throughout all careers, Vault.com‘s Law Firm Diversity Rankings focus on the legal profession. These rankings are the result of a survey taken by close to 16,000 law firm associates throughout the country. This year, and for the third consecutive year, Carlton Fields was ranked the No. 1 Firm for Overall Diversity.

“This represents how far we have come as a nation and an industry,” said Gary Sasso, President and CEO of Carlton Fields, during the award ceremony. “We have a very long-standing tradition of diversity. We like to say we celebrate diversity in all things at all times. It’s in our DNA.”

And it is fast becoming part of the DNA of many organizations who truly see the potential of a more diverse office makeup. During a panel discussion moderated by Vault.com law editor Mary Kate Sheridan, various professionals in the legal industry weighed in on the subject and discussed ways to make sure that diversity is not just an idea, but a part of the everyday practice.

“Diversity wasn’t really something on top of anyone’s discussion list in the 80s,” said Jackie Stone, a partner at the law firm McGuireWoods. “But it is an important discussion today.”

Thomas E. Zutic, a partner at the law firm DLA Piper, stated that because of its importance today, “diversity is not about window dressing. It’s not a one time, show off to the client aspect of business.”

Stone added: “Clients are watching very closely. They want to see that diversity continues in terms of who actually gets to do the work.”

Lori L. Garrett, vice president and managing director of the southeast region of theMinority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), said that once you recruit diverse talent, the best way to keep them is to make them feel like they are part of the team. “Mentoring is one of the most important ways anyone can connect to supervisors,” she said. “They understand what it takes to reach the next level, but diverse employees should not just speak to supervisors. They need to create relationships everywhere.”

Zutic also noted that diverse candidates need to make sure they take ownership of their careers by making themselves desirable candidates. “Grades are still important,” he said, noting that students should approach law school as their jobs and perform as well there as they would in their careers. “It’s so basic, but it’s so important,” he said. “We can talk diversity, but in the end, if you are not bringing the right skill set and the right credentials, it’s not going to work.”

Strategic Marketing in the Modern Law Firm 2.0 – Value at the Intersection of Communication & Collaboration – Sep 21st NYC

Strategic Marketing in the Modern Law Firm 2.0 – Value at the Intersection of Communication & Collaboration- September 21, New York, NY presented by ARK Group :

As clients push for greater value in legal services, the role of law firm marketing is shifting from simply chronicling the firm’s success—to engaging with clients to understand and deliver value. Clients want direct access to a firm’s knowledge assets—both to assess the firm’s expertise and to obtain legal information that will address their basic legal needs—almost as a precursor to determining whether a firm can meet their higher-value needs. The world is changing and law will “normalize” to look more and more like other industries. Fortunately clients are sharing information about themselves in a variety of new and different ways. And legal marketers with insight and gumption will help their firms deliver superior value at the intersection of communication and collaboration.

Ark Group/Managing Partner’s Strategic Marketing in the Modern Law Firm 2.0—Value at the Intersection of Communication & Collaboration will provide a unique platform for legal marketers to discuss and better understand the value of content and collaboration in creating a “marketing culture” that can help the firm leverage its intellectual capital effectively.

Discussion topics and focal points of the forum include:

Identifying the link between Marketing and Knowledge Management to energize client development
Actionable business intelligence as a byproduct of Knowledge Management
Social CRM & Web 2.0 Collaboration: Elevating the conversation with clients and prospects
Strategic alignment and cross-functional efforts that contribute to value creation for the client
The role of knowledge in developing and retaining clients: Why fresh content will make your attorneys better business developers
Why lawyers and marketers must demonstrate—through their own engagement—that they are worthy of knowledge sharing
Positioning your CRM platform as the lifeline between the various departmental silos, enabling access and an opportunity (across the organization) to contribute to client data
The integration of law firm functions—such as Marketing, Business Development, Client Relationship Management and Knowledge Management
Assessing client relationship-building initiatives: keys to success and seeds of failure

For More Information and to Register:

This event is held on September 21st at the AMA Executive Conference Center ~ New York, NY. Please click HERE for more information.

Affordable Attorney Marketing

Recently posted in the National Law Review an article by Margaret Grisdela of Legal Expert Connections about Affordable Attorney Marketing.

“I am a new attorney in the Northeast looking for a way to get clients. My practice areas are Bankruptcy and litigation. I understand the fundamentals of building a referral base and SEO and are implementing the same now, but those are long term strategies. What is a starving attorney to do in the meantime? This is where I hope you can help me.”

This is a question that came into my inbox this week, and it’s a good one. “Affordable attorney marketing” is the quest when you open a new law practice, or need to rejuvenate an existing one.

Here are a few ideas that come to mind:

1. Join a lawyer referral network. Many local bar associations offer a referral network. While you won’t get rich, you should start to get a few cases coming in. This can give you visibility in the courts and among your peers.

2. Use LinkedIn to build your network and stay connected. Use the “Share an Update” feature from your LinkedIn home page to post an interesting item every 1-2 weeks. This will keep you “top of mind” with those you know.

3. Test a small Google AdWords campaign. While this can be expensive, it is possible to set daily limits on your ad budget and focus on a small geographic area. Also, be sure to filter out terms that don’t apply to you with the negative keywords feature.

4. Start a blog. Demonstrate your knowledge in bankruptcy, litigaion, and other practice areas with an educational blog. WordPress or Blogger allow you to start a blog quickly and easily. Actually the set up is the easy part. Write at least 1-2 blog posts per week, focusing on practice area keywords and also relating stories to your geo area of coverage. Feed the blog posts through other social medial (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) using a service like Hootsuite. Select a URL with important keywords to help get online recognition.

5. Consider BNI or similar lead groups. This can help you to meet other professionals and get the word out about your legal services.

Overall, have lots of business cards and network, network, network! Tell everyone you know what you do. Marketing to those you know is your best source of new business fast. Picking a niche for your practice can also help your marketing dollars work smartly.

LMA Virginias Chapter – Continuing Marketing Education Conference 10-14-11

The National Law Review is pleased to announce The Continuing Marketing Education program presented by the Legal Marketing Association Virginias Chapter will take place October 14, 2011 University of Richmond’s Jepson Alumni Center, 101 College Road Richmond, VA 23229.

Client Service needs, new trends in business development, marketing communications, and how to set yourself apart from the pack are all topics included in The Continuing Marketing Education program presented by the Legal Marketing Association Virginias Chapter. This is the first local, full-day program developed for legal marketing professionals. attorneys, students and other industry professionals to be presented in the Richmond area.

We have created a unique program designed to provide a comprehensive look into today’s legal marketing issues as well as provide an outlook into what to expect in the future. Our goal is to have in-depth discussions on key topics as the next phase in continuing members’ education. Sessions will focus on a hands-on approach showing attendees “how to get it done” and leaving them with ideas to take back with them to jump-start their next initiative.

LMA Continuing Marketing Education Conference

Embracing Technology of Tomorrow

Posted in the National Law Review an article by Kristyn J. Sornat of Much Shelist Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein P.C. on what innovative technology will be available in the next five years or by the end of the decade.

Think of what new platforms have become available for marketing in the past ten years —social media sites (including YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn) and the smartphone/tablet with mobile applications and paid search tools, such as Google AdWords. It makes it hard to imagine what innovative technology will be available in the next five years, let alone by the end of the decade. Plenty of gimmicky technology with a significant “cool” factor will be developed by the year 2020; however, the more important trends to watch involve the transformation of legal marketing staples.

CRMs Will Be Easier to Use

Not only will CRMs be more useful, attorneys will be required to use them! By the year 2020, there will be no more excuses as to why attorneys cannot use their firm’s client relationship management (CRM) system to support business development efforts. The most common complaints I hear about our CRM are the following: “It’s too hard to use;” “The process of entering and maintaining my information is too cumbersome;” or “I don’t have time to learn it.” However, I’ve noticed that since the economic downturn (which necessitates working smarter and harder on business development) it has been a lot easier to get the late adopters on board. However, these users still struggle with the functionality of the product.

Over the past decade, software providers have made great strides in improving the user interface of CRM products, and they have gotten smarter by incorporating it into what attorneys do every day — check email. The leading CRM providers in the legal market now allow attorneys to access their products via their email client. Companies like CRM4Legal developed their product with this in mind while others, such as LexisNexis InterAction (with version 6.0), have finally integrated the majority of their main product functionality into Outlook. This integration will make future CRM versions much easier to use. Over the next decade, these companies will take this trend a step further. Not only will using the product be more intuitive for attorneys, but the amount of information automatically pulled into the system will be greater than ever before. In addition to looking up who at your firm “knows” a client, you’ll be able to see what the client was billed in the last year, what practice groups were utilized, where the growth opportunities are and which of your other non-internal contacts have a connection to the client. There may even be access to “personal” preferences for the client (like music and food), and best of all, attorneys will not have to enter this information into the database themselves. Firms have used portal technology to facilitate bringing information into one place, but CRMs will differ from portals by tapping into third-party resources, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and news sources, to deliver unprecedented, one-step access to information that can be useful in pitching a prospect or servicing a client.

The Demise of Email Marketing

In the year 2020, firms will have shifted their efforts from mass email marketing campaigns to other online distribution channels. The effectiveness of email marketing is already on the decline, and over the next decade email clients will become even stricter about the types of information they allow through their spam filters. Compounding this issue, users are now relying on tools like social media, RSS feeds, blogs, search engines and other resources, rather than email, to find the information they need. Firms will no longer have the luxury of knowing they can inform their clients of emerging legal issues just by sending a monthly newsletter or weekly alert. They will need to find new ways to get this information to clients and prospects, preferably through a myriad of distribution channels. To prepare, firms should concentrate on using search engine optimization (SEO) for their websites (especially on pages that tend to get a majority of visitors from email distributions) and encourage attorneys to use social media to proactively share their articles and experience in specific practice areas.

Also, targeted online advertising, such as on LinkedIn and paid search, can be used to promote practice groups and help supplement the lack of exposure for these groups through email alerts. For example, firms can advertise their healthcare practice group to LinkedIn users in the healthcare industry, who have General Counsel as a title and live within 50 miles of the geographic area to which that practice group targets. Another paid search tool that may be useful is Google Remarketing, which allows firms to target ads to users who’ve previously visited their websites. Through this technology, users that find healthcare articles on a firm’s website through Google would later see an ad for the firm’s healthcare practice as they visit other websites or check their Gmail accounts. Legal alerts will still be written, but firms will rely more heavily on searchable syndication services, such as Martindale.com’s Legal Library or The National Law Review’s searchable database. Firms would be wise to prepare themselves for the inevitable by scaling back now on the amount of information they send to contacts through mass email messages. They should start tracking article clicks, opens and other performance data and use it to eliminate contacts from mailing lists. For example, if a contact only opens healthcare alerts or clicks on healthcare articles, a firm should only send them email distributions having to do with healthcare. In the future, if a firm wants anyone to open their email messages, they will need to condition their recipients to expect relevant information in every distribution.

Design for Mobile First

Mobile devices are everywhere, and they are fast becoming people’s primary access point to the Internet and email. In the past five years, although mobile devices have been a consideration when firms design websites and email messages, it hasn’t been a necessity to design for them first. By 2020, mobile devices (including tablets) will play the role which PCs do today. It’s important that firms start preparing for that shift now by creating a pared-down mobile version of their websites if all the pages of the site are not already mobile-friendly. Firms working on a website redesign should make sure they are giving mobile devices and PCs equal consideration. For example, if there is a search section for articles, more search buckets with dropdown choices should be created so that mobile users will have to rely less on typing in search terms. If Flash is utilized to emphasize important information on the website, there should be an alternative way to get that information across to iPhone users, who cannot view Flash animation. Although designing for mobile may inhibit creativity, it is better for mobile users to be able to see and use a highly functional website than to become frustrated by (or unable to view) a beautifully designed website. Mobile apps (currently a hot topic in legal marketing circles) will also be important, just not the way we think of them today. Many firms that have taken advantage of this new technology have focused on providing information that is already accessible on their websites and in other places. In the future, successful law firm apps will have two purposes: to aid users in things they are doing every day and to provide better service to clients. For example, Latham & Watkins has already realized this trend and released a useful app that allows people to search a glossary of legal, business and financial terms. How will apps help firms better service their clients in the future? They may allow clients to view hours billed and balances due, or search a firm’s attorney experience database based on specific criteria for a new matter. As firms develop ideas for apps, they should keep usability in mind so they don’t end up with an app that clients download out of curiosity, but then fails to entice them to come back again.

Website Overhauls

Websites will be vastly different by the end of the decade —not only will they be designed with mobile devices in mind, but they also may incorporate technology that delivers a different homepage experience to each user based on past visits. For example, tailored article and event feeds might display, based on previous visits to practice group descriptions, attorney bios or the user’s past site searches. Other website areas that will be affected will be attorney bios, practice group descriptions and resource centers. Firms should begin thinking about attorney bios more like social media profiles (maybe even connecting LinkedIn profiles with attorney pages), because the lines between websites and social media will be even more blurred. Video will be as important as text in getting marketing messages across on practice group pages, and firms will use articles and descriptions of experience to show practice group expertise rather than just “say”they have it in a lengthy practice group description. In the resource area of the website, firms will add more information that is useful to visitors. CLE webcasts may be a way to drive users to the website, much as articles do today. However, the trick to adding CLE resources will be figuring out how to give people their credit and comply with ethics rules for each state. Firms need to start preparing for what is to come in marketing technology — by 2020, tactics and processes will have evolved into a connected, mobile machine. To embrace this technology of tomorrow, firms should keep an eye on trends involving CRM systems, email marketing, mobile technology and websites, while maintaining caution from being distracted by a high “cool” factor that may not deliver real value to the firm or its clients.

This article was first published in ILTA’s June 2011 issue of Peer to Peer titled “Law2020TM: One Year In” and is reprinted here with permission. For more information about ILTA, visit their website at www.iltanet.org.

Tax Court Decision Subjects LLP Service Providers/Equity Partners to Self-Employment Tax

Posted last week at the National Law Review by Paul A. Gordon and Casey S. August of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP new developments concerning partners in a law firm established as a limited liability partnership (LLP) under state law subject to Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) tax on their distributive share of LLP income received in respect of their services.

In a decision issued February 9, the U.S. Tax Court ruled, in part, that the partners of a law firm established as a limited liability partnership (LLP) under state law were subject to Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) tax on their distributive share of LLP income received in respect of their services. In doing so, the court determined that the LLP partners could not avail themselves of the exemption from SECA for nonguaranteed service payments to “limited partners.” This ruling illustrates the potential risk for service provider limited partners and limited liability company members of assuming that state law entity and limited liability classifications alone shield them from being subject to SECA tax.

Background

Generally, payments to service providers who are not classified as employees for federal payroll tax purposes are not subject to any payroll tax withholding or payment liability on the part of the payor. Instead, Section 1401 imposes SECA tax on “self-employment” income at the rate of 15.3%, a combination of a 12.4% old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) tax and a 2.9% Medicare tax. The OASDI tax is only imposed on the first $106,800 of “net earnings” (which allows for offsets to gross earnings for deductible expenses associated with the creation of the income) for 2011. Subject to certain exemption rules, self-employment earnings include income derived by an individual from any trade or business carried on by such individual plus his or her distributive share of partnership income or loss from any trade or business carried on by a partnership in which he or she is a partner. One of the exemption rules, included in Section 1402(a)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code, excludes from self-employment earnings “the distributive share of any item of income or loss of a limited partner, as such, other than guaranteed payments described in Section 707(c) to that partner for services actually rendered to or on behalf of the partnership to the extent that those payments are established to be in the nature of remuneration for those services” (emphasis added). Unfortunately, Congress failed to provide a definition for limited partner in the statute.

In order to resolve this definitional ambiguity, the U.S. Treasury released temporary regulations in 1997 under which partners with either authority to contract on behalf of the partnership or who participate in the partnership’s trade or business for more than 500 hours during the partnership’s taxable year could not be limited partners for Section 1402(a)(13) exemption purposes. In addition, no service partner in a service partnership could be a limited partner. This guidance created political shockwaves so extensive that Congress imposed a 12-month moratorium on Treasury’s ability to issue further guidance under Section 1402(a)(13). Since that time, Treasury has not provided guidance on the limited partner exemption from SECA tax.

Confronted with the dearth of authority on this issue, many tax practitioners have taken the position that all partners in a tax partnership, who are limited partners or limited liability company members under state law, are per se eligible for the Section 1402(a)(13) limited partner exemption. Others, although not required by law, have followed the guidance under the proposed regulations.

Renkemeyer Decision

It was this definition of “limited partner” that was at issue before the Tax Court in Renkemeyer, Campbell & Weaver, LLP v. Commissioner, 136 T.C. No. 7 (2011). In that case, the Tax Court addressed an IRS challenge to both (1) the special allocation of the LLP’s (a law firm treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes) distributive share of income to its partners and (2) the treatment of the LLP distributive share allocations of business income to its service partners (the law partners) as being exempt from SECA tax. After ruling in favor of the IRS on the allocation issue (the petitioner could not produce a partnership agreement supporting the challenged special partnership allocations), the court turned to the SECA tax issue.

The LLP partners argued that the limited partner exemption should apply because (1) the LLP organizational documents designated their interests as limited partnership interests and (2) they enjoyed limited liability under state law. The Tax Court disagreed, reaching the result that would have been required under the temporary regulations. Noting that Congress passed the limited partner exemption prior to the state law advent of LLPs and LLCs, the court reviewed the exemption’s legislative history and determined that the impetus for the exemption was not a limited partner’s individual protection from the partnership’s liabilities, but instead its status as a nonservice investment partner in a traditional limited partnership. In doing so, the court found that Congress did not intend for active service partners, such as the LLP partners, to be exempt from self-employment taxes. Specifically, the court referred to the partners’ minimal LLP capital contributions in exchange for their interests in LLP as indicating that the partners’ distributive share of income arose from the legal services performed on behalf of LLP and “not . . . as a return on the partners’ investments and . . . not [as] ‘earnings which are basically of an investment nature.'” (citing the Section 1402(a)(13) legislative history). Additionally, the Renkemeyer opinion hinted that the same rationale could be applied to prevent members of an LLC from qualifying as Section 1402(a)(13) limited partners.

Implications

Renkemeyer demonstrates the hazards of assuming that state law entity and limited liability classifications should control for purposes of determining eligibility for the Section 1402(a)(13) SECA tax limited partner exemption. That is, there may be danger in taking the per se limited partner exemption position described above. Service providers to tax partnerships (including LLCs treated as tax partnerships) in which they are also equity partners should thus be wary of whether both their service-related payments and guaranteed partnership equity allocations would be considered self-employment income subject to SECA tax.

Intensive One-Day Workshop for Law Firm Practice Group Leaders – Chicago, IL Aug 16th

Firing On All Cylinders: An Intensive One-Day Workshop for Law Firm Practice Group Leaders 16 Aug 2011 The University of Chicago – Gleacher Center Chicago, IL

You should attend this program if it is your challenge to:

Create a strong cohesive group out of a collection of bright, intelligent, autonomous individuals
Identify how, as a practice leader, you add value and what specifically is it that you can do, that is likely to actually affect the success of the group you lead
Positively impact and enhance client satisfaction – turning client needs into growth opportunities
Find a way to develop a strategic direction in an intensely competitive marketplace and have your colleagues actually want to work together
Lead effective meetings that result in some action plans being formulated and your colleagues taking responsibility for actually doing something

For more information and to register – please click here:

2nd Social Media Legal Risk and Strategy Conference Jul 19-21 SanFrancisco

The National Law Review would like you all to know about the upcoming 2nd Social Media Legal Risk and Strategy Conference: Minimizing Legal Risk for Corporations Engaged in Social Media July 19-21 in San Francisco, CA.

Key Conference Topics Include:

Insights and updates on the changing legal landscape for social media
Practical strategies to develop robust and compliant social media strategies

The role and involvement of legal in the social media initiatives

Overcoming the various legal risk from IP, Employment Law to Privacy when organizations engage in social media engagement

Analyzing emerging trends and potential legal risk in social media

Key Conference Features Include:

Pre-Conference Workshop A (July 19th): Uncovering Current and Emerging Social Media Trends and Applications To Forecast and Minimize Potential Legal Liabilities
Pre-Conference Workshop B (July 19th): Monitoring And Tracking Online Activities To Mitigate Legal Risk
For More information and to Register Please Click Here:

Attendees are eligible to receive up to 20 CLE credits!

Implementing Effective Litigation Holds

Posted this week at the National Law Review by Laura Broughton Russell and David L. Woodard of Poyner Spruill LLP – Important things for Employers to Consider about Litigation Holds:

Does your company have an established procedure for issuing timely litigation holds? Recent court decisions make it clear that employers have a duty to preserve electronically stored information and paper documents they know or should know would be relevant to a current or threatened legal action. The consequences for failing to do so can be severe. Events which trigger an employer’s duty to preserve information/documents include, but are not limited to, the following:

Receiving notice that the employer is a party to a legal or an administrative proceeding, such as a charge of discrimination;
Receiving a letter threatening a claim on behalf of an applicant or current or former employee;
A verbal demand from an applicant or current or former employee relating to a legal claim;
Other “red flags” exist or a “totality of circumstances” indicate a claim is likely to be made by an applicant or current or former employee.

A litigation hold notice is best made in writing, It should instruct recipients to preserve and not destroy (or overwrite) electronically stored information and paper documents that are relevant to current or threatened litigation.

Although the litigation hold notice must be tailored to the facts of each particular situation, at a minimum, it should include the following:

Name of the matter or individual involved;
Warning of the importance of the hold and the consequences for not complying with it;
Direction not to alter or destroy information/documents;
Reason for the hold – e.g., legal action;
Reason the recipient (see below) is getting the hold notice;
Types of information included in the hold and the applicable time period. (Information subject to the hold could include personnel files and other employment related documents, e-mail and other forms of correspondence and electronically stored information.)
Instructions for preserving information/documents;
Suspension of any routine document retention/destruction policy;

The hold notice should be issued to all employees reasonably likely to have information relevant to a claim – the “key players” in the matter. There could also be instances in which outside vendors would also need to be issued a hold notice.

The employer’s IT department should help implement litigation holds, particularly with regard to documents housed or stored in e-mail accounts, or on computers, cell phones PDAs, or on flash drives, as well as with regard to taking control of backup tapes and stopping any automatic overwriting of electronic data.

Finally, employers should enforce litigation holds and, if a violation of the hold is discovered, take prompt action to remedy the violation if possible. Steps also should be taken to ensure no further violations occur, such as taking disciplinary action up to termination.

Litigation hold notices must be tailored to the facts of each case and should be reviewed by counsel knowledgeable in this area. If you have a question about litigation hold practices, Poyner Spruill attorneys are experienced in minimizing legal risks through the effective use of litigation holds and are available to assist employers with any of their needs.

Tag: Law Offce Management

Chief Litigation Officer Summit Fall 2011 15-17 September 2011, Red Rock Casino, Resort, Spa, Las Vegas, NV

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Diversity and Its Impact on the Legal Profession

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Strategic Marketing in the Modern Law Firm 2.0 – Value at the Intersection of Communication & Collaboration – Sep 21st NYC

Strategic Marketing in the Modern Law Firm 2.0 – Value at the Intersection of Communication & Collaboration- September 21, New York, NY presented by ARK Group :