Exploring risk likelihood in commercial contracts

In addition to assessing risk impact, parties should, using real-world evidence and data, consider risk likelihood so they are better equipped to account for risk exposure in commercial contracts.

EEOC sues metal manufacturer LeachGarner for alleged sex discrimination

The agency claims the company segregated jobs by sex and underpaid female workers compared to their male counterparts.

Starbucks union faces 3 decertification petitions in New York

The petitions are unlikely to result in elections to remove the union from the stores, but Starbucks’ hardball tactics may be working. 

Updated May 12, 2023

Burying bad 8-K news raises red flags

Researchers assert some companies “strategically” divert investor attention from negative SEC filings by issuing concurrent press releases on unrelated matters.

Goldman Sachs to pay $215M to settle gender discrimination case

The Wall Street giant will engage an independent expert to review performance evaluation and pay practices to check for gender pay gaps.

SEC fines HSBC $15M, Scotia $7.5M for WhatsApp use

The settlement terms recognize the two companies came forward and cooperated with the agency after they discovered employee and executive use of the instant messaging app and other off-channel communications.

5th Cir.: FMLA leave doesn’t ‘immunize’ employees from termination

A sheriff’s department employee who took FMLA leave a few days before she was slated for termination wasn’t entitled to reinstatement when her leave ended, the appeals court held.

Partner eyes smarter GC engagement now that he’s been one himself

Winston & Strawn’s Dane Drobny, who oversaw legal at Sears and Groupon, says he has new ideas about what GCs should expect from outside counsel.

How in-house counsel can help support legal operations

Every member of the legal department should make some contribution to operations initiatives amid their other duties, a LinkSquares lawyer advocates.

Debunking the top 7 myths about interim attorney work

Interim work can provide inroads to legal skills, practice areas and industries that an individual wouldn’t have easy access to otherwise.

Law firms raised rates 5.5% to start 2023

The rate increases among Am Law 100 firms were even higher and set a new record, helping law firms increase profitability. 

Ransomware claims see 77% spike in early 2023

The figures follow a downward trend in 2022 that had been credited with helping to moderate skyrocketing premiums in the cyber insurance market.

Manage others if you’re aspiring to GC role, recruiter says

Develop your emotional intelligence and business savvy as well, because general counsel are expected to be more than experts in contract law.

Legal chief’s top asset is knowing the business, Macy’s CLO says

By being a business person who went to law school, you can be a strategic partner to the executive team and assume expanded roles, like computer security, audit and investor relations.

How an AI-powered legal assistant can help with contracting

ContractPodAi’s new assistant can answer questions in a human-like manner and suggest contract redlines, the company's GC says.

Whiting-Turner settles EEOC suit for $1.2M

The firm allegedly segregated workers into all-Black crews run by White supervisors who harassed them with racial slurs at a $600 million Google data center project.

Gender pay gap persists at GC-level, report finds

There is greater pay parity among managing counsel and senior counsel, according to a survey of 3,800 in-house counsel.

Deal with non-solicitations now, noncompetes later, as FTC ban looms

Even if the Federal Trade Commission proposal is finalized, there will be court challenges. In the meantime, employer-to-employer agreements can face civil and criminal risk right now.

Former Uber CSO avoids prison time for ransomware coverup

Joseph Sullivan was convicted last year after covering up a cyberattack while the ride sharing firm was under a Federal Trade Commission probe.

How generative AI is changing the game for contract management teams

The technology has already reached a startling level of accuracy, capable of performing a wide variety of research work that can then be reviewed by a trained legal professional.

In-house teams expect law firms to use legal analytics

Law departments want to see outside counsel provide the kind of hard numbers on litigation outcomes and pricing inputs that require data crunching, a survey shows.

Honda’s temporary revocation of remote work from recruiter wasn’t FMLA retaliation, 6th Cir. says

The change didn’t rise to the level of a materially adverse action because it was made to accommodate training and didn’t result in any economic loss, the panel held.

Feds probe Goldman’s dealings with SVB in lead-up to collapse

The investment bank was both a buyer of SVB’s bond portfolio and adviser of its failed capital raise in the days ahead of the regional lender’s collapse in March.

FTC’s Khan cites growing reach of noncompetes as a spark for ban idea

The agency’s chair also highlighted that innovation has not been stifled in states such as California which prohibit noncompetes.

Don’t ignore state antitrust risks, competition specialists say

States tend to be more transparent in their efforts, which can give in-house counsel opportunities to get their company’s story out.