TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023
8:55 Welcome and Introductions
9:00 Using Technology in the Modern In-house Practice†
Catherine Sanders Reach, North Carolina Bar Association, Cary
Are you looking for ways to work smarter, not harder? Tracking emails, deadlines, contracts, meetings, litigation, and more can be exhausting and overwhelming. What are some ways you can use what you already have to manage your time more effectively and stay on top of your work? What tools are available for in-house counsel to collaborate more effectively and maintain transparency and awareness on projects and processes? How can you leverage technologies that improve consistency and accuracy in your documents, plus leverage prior work product and "best of" documents for knowledge management? In this session, we provide a glimpse of tools and techniques to make technology work for you in service to your clients.
10:00 Break
10:10 Capture the Privacy Red Flag: Privacy Issue Spotting for the Non-privacy Lawyer‡
Elizabeth H. Johnson, Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh
Alexander M. "Alex" Pearce, Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh
This presentation addresses a variety of legal topics in privacy and cybersecurity that commonly confront corporate counsel. The presenters focus on helping attendees spot common privacy and cybersecurity issues, and cover topics such as how to identify and react to a data breach, what to watch out for in commercial contracts, how to know if GDPR and new U.S. state consumer privacy laws apply, employee privacy "gotchas," and privacy features that may need to appear on a website. Attendees leave equipped to better avoid privacy and cybersecurity pitfalls for their organization.
11:10 Break
11:20 Supreme Court Update
Christopher G Browning, Jr., Troutman Pepper
Hamilton Sanders LLP, Raleigh
Michael B. Cohen, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, Raleigh
Join us to kick off our Corporate Counsel Section Annual CLE with this interesting and exciting session that focuses on highlights and takeaways from the current Supreme Court term, including notable cases on the docket and emerging themes, especially as they may relate to or impact your in-house practice. Troutman has been carefully tracking some of the most high-profile cases of the Supreme Court and follows all aspects of the Court's work and the public debates surrounding it.
12:20 CLE Adjourn for the Day
12:30 Networking Section Event
This session does not provide MCLE credit.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2023
8:55 Welcome and Introductions
9:00 Managing Outsourced Legal Matters – Panel Discussion
Ken Crutchfield, Wolters Kluwer, New York City, NY (Moderator)
Sneha Desai, Stryker, Mahwah, NJ
Kim M. Keenan, JAMS, Washington, D.C.
Warren T. Savage, Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of NC, Cary
How can you leverage outside sources to provide top-quality legal support and guidance to your organization? Join us for a discussion of outsourcing options and learn how to manage law firms and alternative legal services providers both onshore and offshore in support of your legal department and organization’s goals. We cover when to outsource and how to choose your partners (with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion), best practices in contracting with a law firm or other service provider, ethical considerations, managing outsourced matters, and cost mitigation.
10:00 Break
10:10 Intersection of Legal and Compliance
Jonathan J. Harper, BASF Corporation, Florham Park, NJ
Ebony S. Johnson, Truist Financial Corporation, Washington, D.C.
Tanya Mitchell-Allen, Bank of America Corporation, Chapel Hill
Casselle A.E. Smith, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, Raleigh & Washington, D.C. (Moderator)
In-house legal and compliance teams engage with nearly every aspect of an organization, from employment matters to third-party risk, contracts to cybersecurity, and a myriad of other legal and regulatory compliance obligations. This session focuses on the roles and responsibilities of "legal" versus "compliance," including regulatory interpretation and guidance, risk assessment, jurisdictional and industry requirements, and addressing legal matters that arise out of compliance incidents, all the while protecting attorney-client privilege and fostering good working relationships amongst the legal and compliance functions. Topics include defining roles and responsibilities of your legal versus compliance teams to avoid conflicts of interest, managing investigations, attorney-client privilege, the roles of dual-hatted employees, conducting local/international law surveys and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, and the pros/cons of bifurcated legal versus compliance functions.
11:10 Break
11:20 The Psychology of Transitions for Corporate Attorneys†
Robynn E. Moraites, NCLAP, Charlotte
Transition appears in myriad forms throughout our lives and careers: marriage, divorce, having children, children leaving for college, moving to a new town, leaving a law firm, changing practice areas, retirement…the list goes on. Add to that, many of us spend our days counseling and advising clients who face major change arising from divorce, criminal charges, bankruptcy, starting a new business, selling a business, business breakups, personal injuries, and the like. This session examines the unspoken "elephants in the living room" that directly impact and influence our ability (or seeming inability) to welcome or embrace transition and change. Transition is never easy, but with increased awareness of the invisible forces within us that fight transition, it need not be so difficult.
12:20 CLE Adjourn
12:30 Networking Section Event
This session does not provide MCLE credit.
† Indicates portion providing Substance Abuse/Mental Health credit
‡ Indicates portion providing Technology Training credit
Thank you for joining us for The Future is Here: Managing the Modern In-house Practice (2023 Corporate Counsel Section Program).
In-house legal departments shift and evolve in response to numerous factors: cost constraints, risk profiles, societal changes, and technology. Understanding the foundations of the legal department will help an in-house group flex through these evolutions.
Jennifer M. "Jenn" Ball is Senior In-House Counsel and Business partner at Sumitomo Pharma America Inc in Raleigh.
Jenn has previous in-house experience across many industries, including pharmaceuticals, CROs, and agricultural biotechnology. Previously she was at Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio). Prior to moving in-house, she was an associate at Hutchison PLLC, a boutique law firm catering to start-ups in Raleigh, and at Richards Layton & Finger PA, in Wilmington, DE.
Jenn is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association's Corporate Counsel Section Council.
Jenn earned her B.S. in Biology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law.
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Christopher G. "Chris" Browning Jr is a partner at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP in Raleigh. He is a highly experienced litigator with a strong background in appellate practice, complex commercial litigation, business torts, environmental disputes, and governmental relations.
Chris served for seven years as the first solicitor general for the State of North Carolina. He has argued five times before the U.S. Supreme Court and has had multiple arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals. As solicitor general, Chris worked closely with virtually every division and section within the North Carolina Department of Justice, as well as numerous general counsel and agency heads within the executive branch of North Carolina state government. In recognition of his service as solicitor general, then-Governor Beverly Perdue awarded Chris the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for extraordinary service to the state.
Prior to working for the state, Chris was a partner at a law firm where his practice focused on complex litigation matters.
Chris is among the first attorneys certified as an appellate practice specialist by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. He is a past-chair of the Appellate Rules Committee for the North Carolina Bar Association and served as North Carolina's representative to the Fourth Circuit's Advisory Committee on Rules and Procedures. He has also served as chair of the American Bar Association's Judicial Division Lawyers Conference. He currently serves on the Appellate Practice Specialization Committee of the North Carolina State Bar.
Chris has taught appellate practice at Duke University School of Law as a senior lecturing fellow. He is a frequent speaker before bar associations and other organizations on issues relating to appellate practice, complex litigation, and original actions before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Chris earned his B.A. from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from University of North Carolina School of Law.
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Michael B. Cohen is an Associate at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP in Raleigh, in the firm's Labor + Employment Practice Group. He focuses his practice on representing employers in wage and hour class and collective actions, FMLA claims, ADA claims, restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation, and wrongful termination actions. He has extensive experience representing his clients before federal and state courts across the U.S., as well as federal, state, and local administrative agencies.
In addition to his litigation practice, Michael routinely counsels his clients through a number of complex issues, including independent contractor misclassification, exempt employee misclassification, restrictive covenant violations, trade secret misappropriation, managing leave and accommodation requests, and terminations. Michael also helps draft and revise employee handbooks, employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, severance agreements, and restrictive covenant agreements.
Every year since 2018, Michael has been recognized as a North Carolina "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding attorneys from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional development.
Michael earned his B.A., cum laude, from The George Washington University and his J.D. from University of North Carolina School of Law.
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Clara R. Cottrell is Assistant General Counsel, Compliance & Privacy for BASF Corporation in Research Triangle Park. As part of the Legal Compliance group, she spends her time exploring and implementing data privacy and protection strategies for the company and in relation to the many digital projects, products, and initiatives across the varied business industries serviced by BASF. She also acts as US support on global and regional projects for data privacy and protection issues.
A registered patent agent, Clara was in private practice at Smith Moore Leatherwood, now Fox Rothschild, in Greensboro, before joining BASF in July 2013. Clara moved into her current data privacy role in January 2020.
Clara is actively involved in the North Carolina Bar Association with the Corporate Counsel Section (past Section Chair) and the Privacy and Data Security Section (Council member) as well as Chairing the NCBA CLE Committee and being a member of the NCBA Membership Committee. She has been named a 40 Under Forty by The Business Journal, a 2013 Legal Elite Young Guns Best Under 40 and a North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Star.
Clara earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from North Carolina State University and went on to earn her J.D. from Wake Forest University. After law school, Clara clerked for the Honorable Judge Ben Tennille (retired) in the North Carolina Business Court.
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Ken Crutchfield is the Vice President & General Manager of Legal Markets at Wolters Kluwer in New York City. He leads the Legal Markets Group and is responsible for setting the vision and strategic approach with a focus on developing leading digital products. The Legal Markets Group within Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. provides legal professionals across a wide range of markets with expert content and analysis and leading workflow solutions.
Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer, Ken was the Senior Vice President & General Manager for the Bloomberg Tax Technology division of Bloomberg BNA. He also served in executive-level positions at organizations including Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis. Throughout his career, he has successfully led the growth of multiple businesses in varying industries, including tax & accounting and legal.
Ken earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University and his M.B.A. in Marketing/Finance from Wright State University.
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Sneha Desai is Chief Legal Counsel, Global Litigation & Employment at Stryker, one of the world's leading medical technology companies in Mahwah, NJ. In that role, she has responsibility for the company's non-IP litigation docket, government investigations, and employment matters, with a team of lawyers and other legal professionals.
Prior to joining Stryker, Sneha served as Deputy General Counsel at BASF Corporation in Florham Park, NJ. She managed the company's litigation portfolio in North America for everything from product liability claims to antitrust matters to breach of contract lawsuits. Before that, she worked at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in New York City, where she handled complex commercial litigation as well as trademark and copyright matters.
Sneha attended Villanova University for her undergraduate degree earning a B.S. in Management, International Business and Political Science, followed by University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Justice James H. Coleman Jr, on the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Click here for more information about Sneha.
Jonathan J. Harper is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for BASF Corporation in North America, based out of Florham Park, NJ. He is the Head of the Compliance, Litigation, Employment & Privacy Group within BASF's Legal Department. In addition to being Head of Litigation, Jon serves as a Compliance Officer for BASF in the United States and supports BASF's global compliance program.
Jon has been with BASF since 2005, including a two-year international assignment in Germany working directly for BASF SE's Global Chief Compliance Officer. In the area of compliance, he has been instrumental in developing BASF's approach to legal/compliance risk management along with leading a global project involving an in-depth review of BASF's overall Compliance Management System.
Prior to joining BASF, Jon was an attorney focusing on employment, labor, and litigation matters at Pitney Hardin LLP (now Day Pitney LLP) and clerked for the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Jon is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and Middlebury College.
Ebony S. Johnson is the Senior Vice President Associate General Counsel for Public Affairs for Truist Financial Corporation in Washington, DC, focusing on consumer finance law, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and strategic advocacy. +
Previously, Ebony was Senior Regulatory Counsel at the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), advocating the regulatory interests of 70 consumer banks before federal financial regulators and analyzing regulatory developments impacting the banking industry. Ebony spent five years at the CFPB as Senior Enforcement Litigation Counsel, leading mortgage servicing, consumer reporting, and student loan servicing investigations and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of harmed consumers. She also served on the Office of Enforcement's Mortgage Origination Issue Team, helping to align active investigations with the CFPB's strategic priorities.
Though her practice now centers around regulatory and policy work, Ebony is a litigator at heart, bringing her trial acumen with her wherever she goes. She litigated complex commercial matters as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before leaving to join the CFPB. She clerked for two years on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia's "Rocket Docket."
Before law school, Ebony was an Air Force officer specializing in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. She continued as a military reservist while in law school, receiving the 480th Intelligence Wing's Reserve Officer of the Year Award her 2L year and graduating, cum laude, from Howard University School of Law the year after. She received her B.S. in Legal Studies degree from the United States Air Force Academy.
Click here for more information about Ebony.
Elizabeth H. Johnson is a parnter at Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP in Raleigh and is a member of Wyrick Robbins' Privacy & Data Security Practice Group, which she formerly led for 12 years. Her practice addresses all aspects of U.S. privacy and data security law, as well as GDPR and international data transfer mechanisms.
Elizabeth enjoys helping clients with compliance initiatives to address privacy and data security and has assisted with a wide variety of implementation projects including data subject rights portals, telehealth, health information exchanges, mobile applications ranging from wellness programs to ecommerce to gaming, precise location tracking, biometric authentication, and complex customer insights initiatives including fraud prevention. Elizabeth also supports all aspects of data breach preparation and response, including leading forensic investigations, advising on ransomware response, supporting notification to affected parties, coordinating with law enforcement, and handling government agency notifications and inquiries.
Elizabeth is a Privacy and Information Security Law Specialist with the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization and a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Elizabeth received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Coe College as a Phi Beta Kappa graduate and her J.D., cum laude, from Duke University. She also received her Master of Environmental Management from Duke University Nicholas School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
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Kim M. Keenan is a mediator, arbitrator and neutral evaluator at JAMS in Washington, D.C. She joined JAMS after an impressive career as a nationally known trial lawyer, mediator and in-house counsel, as well as a recognized leader among multicultural social justice organizations. She earned a reputation as a smart, skilled negotiator adept at crafting realistic and sustainable results while always maintaining a calm and balanced demeanor. She is known for her inclusive style in communicating complex subject matters with clarity across broad stakeholder groups and increasing engagement for shared outcomes.
Notable is Kim's success in varied roles, including law firm litigator for 20-plus years and private mediator and general counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the oldest, largest, and most recognized grass roots civil rights organization in the world.
Along the way, Kim has developed subject matter expertise in negotiation of complex business contracts, mass torts, medical malpractice, employment discrimination and harassment, civil rights, entertainment and public policy, specifically in the areas of telecommunications and digital privacy. She has extensive experience working with global brands from the Fortune 100 and has built long-standing senior-level relationships with private sector, academia, government and nonprofit leaders.
Kim is a past president of the District of Columbia Bar and was the 62nd past president of the National Bar Association, the largest coalition of African American lawyers, judges, law professors and law students. She also serves as the first female co-chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance, a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations working to ensure every American has access to broadband internet.
Kim earned her B.S. in International Economics from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and her J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School.
Click here for more information about Kim.
Lori D. Mahmoud is a Director and Assistant General Counsel in-house with MUFG Union Bank NA in Raleigh, where she manages the Procurement Legal Team and specializes in FinTech, innovation, payments strategy, and corporate transactions.
Lori is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association's Corporate Counsel Section Council, Minorities in the Profession Committee, Wake County Bar Association Memorials Committee Member, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) 2016 Fellow, LCLD Success in Law School Mentorship Program City-Lead and Mentor, LCLD Finance Committee Member, and active volunteer attorney for various programs in the career services offices at UNC School of Law, NCCU School of Law, and Campbell University Law School.
Click here for more information about Lori.
Tanya Mitchell-Allen is the Neighborhood and Community Lending Strategy Executive for Bank of America in Chapel Hill, where she leads strategic enablement and development to identify and drive small business lending opportunities for low-to-moderate income and multicultural clients as well as underserved communities. In her role she is accountable for driving implementation and monitoring the execution of new Neighborhood and Community Lending opportunities.
Tanya joined Bank of America in 2011 as a Compliance Manager supporting various teams within Home Loans Legacy Asset Servicing. Since then, she has held enterprise-wide compliance roles such as the Enterprise Service Member Civil Relief Act (SCRA) Compliance Manager and Enterprise Flood Compliance Manager for the Consumer lines of businesses.
Prior to joining Bank of America, Tanya served as the VP of Operations for Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc.'s REO department where she oversaw the performance, litigation, compliance and associated risk for a $1 billion portfolio. In addition, she served as a Litigation Management Associate for Wachovia Bank's Special Assets Team.
Tanya serves on Bank of America's Greater Triangle Black Professional Group employee network board and is an active participant in multiple employee networks. She enjoys volunteering at her daughter's school and supporting the community by participating in pro bono legal activities.
Tanya earned her B.A. in English/Media Journalism from North Carolina Central University and her J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the state of North Carolina, is a certified mediator and has obtained the Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager designation.
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Robynn E. Moraites is the Executive Director of the NC LAP. She obtained her undergraduate degree in education from Florida State and her law degree from UNC at Chapel Hill. Prior to attending law school, she ran a public health program at the University of Miami where she developed continuing medical education programs for healthcare professionals working in the field of geriatric medicine.
Prior to joining the LAP, Robynn practiced law in North Carolina in large firm, small firm, and in-house settings. She has an extensive background and knowledge in helping lawyers in recovery.
Click here for more information about Robynn.
Alexander M. "Alex" Pearce is a partner at Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP in Raleigh. He dedicates his practice to privacy and data security law. He assists clients with compliance strategies, policy development and implementation, data monetization and data use analyses, privacy and security issues in transactions, privacy and security incident response, and regulatory and litigation matters that involve privacy and data security issues. He represents clients in the information technology, financial services, healthcare, and retail industries, among others.
Before returning to private practice in 2017, he served for six years as in-house counsel for SAS, a global provider of analytics, business intelligence, and data management software and services. As the company's lead Privacy Counsel, Alex managed the company's global privacy program and advised on domestic and international privacy and data security issues arising throughout the company's operations.
Alex is certified as a Specialist in Privacy and Information Security Law by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. He has also been certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) as a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US), a Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT), and a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP), and in 2018 was designated by the IAPP as a Privacy Law Specialist as part of its inaugural class of specialists in the area of Privacy Law.
Alex received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University as a Phi Beta Kappa graduate. He received his J.D., with distinction, from Stanford Law School. Following law school, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Milton I. Shadur in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Alex writes extensively on privacy matters. Visit the firm's privacy law blog to read his take on current data privacy-related events.
Click here for more information about Alex.
Catherine Sanders Reach is Director for the Center for Practice Management at the North Carolina Bar Association, providing practice technology and management assistance to lawyers and legal professionals. Formerly she was Director, Law Practice Management and Technology for the Chicago Bar Association and the Director at the American Bar Association's Legal Technology Resource Center.
Prior to her work at the NCBA, CBA and ABA she worked in library and information science environments for a number of years, working at Ross and Hardies as a librarian. She received a master's degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa in 1997.
Catherine's professional activities include articles published in Law Practice magazine, Law Technology News and GPSolo Magazine, as well as numerous other publications. She has given presentations on the use of technology in law firms for national bar conferences, state and local bar associations and organizations such as the National Association of Bar Council and the Association of American Law Schools. In 2011 she was selected to be one of the inaugural Fastcase 50, celebrating fifty innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the field of law and in 2013 became a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management. She served on the ABA TECHSHOW Board from 2007-2009, 2014-2016 and is co-vice chair in 2019.
Click here for more information about Catherine. Connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Warren T. Savage is Senior Claims Counsel at Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of North Carolina in Cary. He focuses on litigation, insurance law, appellate advocacy, criminal matters and professional responsibility in his work with Lawyers Mutual.
Warren currently serves as NC State Bar Councilor for District 10 and speaks frequently at CLEs around the state about professional responsibility and malpractice claims avoidance.
Warren graduated from the University of Virginia and earned a M.A. in Teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before graduating, magna cum laude, from Campbell University School of Law. He spent several years as a high school English teacher and junior varsity basketball coach before entering the legal profession.
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T. David Singer serves as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer at Kymera International Inc., a private equity backed, international specialty metals and surface technology company with manufacturing facilities in seven countries in Morrisville.
David has broad experience serving as corporate, litigation and regulatory in-house counsel, with specific expertise in domestic and international commercial transactions, U.S and international food and drug laws, healthcare regulatory compliance, litigation management, M&A, data privacy and security, and corporate governance. He also have experience driving operational initiatives, including sales and marketing restructure, corporate strategy, and organizational management training.
David earned his B.A. from Gettysburg College, his J.D. from Vermont Law School and his M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Kenan Flagler Business School.
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Casselle A.E. Smith is an associate at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP in Raleigh & Washington, D.C. Her areas of focus are white collar, government investigations, securities investigations and enforcement. She represents publicly traded and closely held corporations in sensitive, high-stakes internal and regulatory investigations and enforcement matters across a broad spectrum of commercial enterprises and industries – including financial services, digital media, energy, and health sciences. These matters often involve allegations of corporate malfeasance, professional misconduct, market manipulation, compliance and operational failures, and violation of federal securities laws.
Casselle takes on matters at every organizational level, ranging from discrete matters involving sensitive allegations made by and about frontline employees to "bet-the-company" matters involving credible allegations of misconduct by officers, directors, and entire divisions of publicly traded companies. In addition to investigating the merits of alleged misconduct, Casselle offers strategic direction to help clients anticipate and mitigate regulatory exposure, develop remediation plans, and strengthen their compliance programs.
Casselle earned her B.A., magna cum laude, double majoring in Sociology and Administration of Justice, from Howard University and her M.P.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she served as president and chaired the governing board of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau — the nation's oldest student-run legal services center, and one of the Law School's three historic honors societies. Prior to law school, Casselle was an investigator for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
Click here for more information about Casselle.
