Effective Management of Legal Risk

Legal risk is just part of the jigsaw of risk and reward which business people have to manage. Once an organisation establishes a legal department, there can be a tendency for business people to abdicate, and the in-house lawyer confiscate, management of legal risk. Poor management of legal risk can impair the prosperity and growth of a business by an accumulation of ineptitude or the drama of a showstopper.

This seminar has been designed for in-house lawyers and business people – why segregate the populations who need to work together to ensure that the relevant legal risks can be well managed with reliable, but not cumbersome, processes as well as awareness and compliance programmes.

It is quite understandable that business people are frustrated by legal constraints on their activities and vent their resentment on the lawyer who reminds them of those constraints. Lawyers have often resorted to communicating less than helpfully or persuasively.

It is undeniable that an organisation will be more agile in today’s demanding environment if business people:

1 EQUIP themselves with a good understanding of the legal implications of their actions (or inaction) and the commitments they enter into
2 INVOLVE lawyers in the right things at the right time

In today’s tough economic conditions in-house legal departments are under pressure:

• To reduce or freeze headcount in line with cost reduction programmes
• To reduce legal spend or keep it under even tighter control
• To be more attentive to the risks of business failure and unreliable commitments

SUPERIOR MANAGEMENT OF LEGAL RISK IS HIGH ON ALL AGENDAS.

By attending this seminar, you will be able to

• IDENTIFY key areas of legal risk
• DEVELOP materials to use when identifying and managing legal risk
• UNDERSTAND how to set up a successful compliance programme
• ESTABLISH materials for legal awareness sessions
• GET-TO-GRIPS with the key elements for managing contractual and third party legal risk
• LEARN how to influence management attitudes to legal risk
• ASSESS the likely outcomes of disputes
• FIND out more about overcoming the barriers on both sides to raising legal awareness

Who should attend?

• In house lawyers
• Legal affairs directors and managers
• Senior corporate counsel and advisers
• Business executives who need a greater understanding of legal risk

UNIQUE FEATURE

A key feature of this seminar is the practical workshop session which is designed to explore more effective ways in which legal awareness can be raised and legal risk better managed

Introduction: Striking examples of legal risk- lessons for us all

The top ten areas of legal risk in today’s business environment

• Customer failure
• Supplier failure
• Product/service failure
• Personal data abuse or loss
• Employment (discrimination) claim
• Health and safety investigation
• Competition investigation
• Infringement of intellectual property rights
• Environment pollution incident
• Impact of new regulation

The full picture of regulatory compliance

• The responsibility of business people
• The role of a dedicated compliance function
• The role of the legal department in compliance
• What are others doing? Benchmarking

Putting in place an effective competition compliance programme which works

• Management buy-in
• Key elements
• Vulnerable individuals
• Roll out
• Follow-up

What does ‘legal risk’ mean to business people and to lawyers?

• Identifying the priority areas of legal risk
• Establishing processes for regulatory compliance
• Establishing processes for relationship management with contracting parties and third parties

Assessing legal risk

• Carrying out a legal review
• Analysing probability and impact
• Benchmarking

Influencing management attitudes to legal risk

• Business culture
• Alignment
• Cultural and behavioural tensions

Positioning recommendations on legal risk to commercial decision makers

• Rationale for better legal awareness on the part of business people
• Increasing commercial awareness on the part of lawyers
• Comfort and discomfort zones

Overcoming the barriers on both sides to raising legal awareness

• Need to do not nice to do for all concerned
• Highlighting the benefits and positive results for the business
• Developing capabilities

Putting business development on a sound footing

• What can the lawyers contribute?
• What do business people need to consider?

Working together when business preservation is under threat

• Recognising the threat and implications
• Responding to contain/defuse and not polarize

Assessing the likely outcomes of disputes

• Trends in dispute resolution
• Forum and jurisdiction issues
• Funding litigation costs
• Signs of the times

Managing legal costs as part of managing legal risks

• Scoping options
• Billing options
• Triangular visibility and communication

Practical workshop session

Group exercises(selected by participants) to explore effective ways in which legal awareness can be raised and legal risk better managed by distilling principles and running workshops, in relation to:

• Winning new customers
• Procuring a vital IT product or service
• Being competitive, not anti-competitive

The aims of the workshops are:

• To make sure that you are equipped to provide preliminary advice
• To help you avoid the pitfalls
• To give you some helpful models for internal communication
• To give you the confidence to play a pivotal role in this sort of situation

Feedback from practical exercises

Wrap up and review of other available material

Seminar leaders

Mark Prebble during his 21 years as an employed in-house lawyer, Mark worked for ICI and The BOC Group plc in the UK, and Biogen and SGS in Switzerland. He held the positions of General Counsel at SGS and Group Legal Adviser at The BOC Group plc. Since 1998 when he established Lawyers in Business, Mark has worked with in-house legal departments, providing coaching and support for in-house lawyers, wherever located, on management issues, legal department performance and projects involving raising legal awareness. Mark runs workshops for in-house lawyers in Europe and Asia. He also undertakes project management work for businesses, which have no legal department and interim management of legal departments. He has written Managing In-house Legal Services for Thorogood Publishing and Right in It – where in-house lawyers should be.

Richard Norman is an international business lawyer, Richard has worked in Europe, Asia and America for four multinational companies. Most recently he held the position of Vice President, Legal and Corporate Affairs for Dell Inc. from 1993 to 2006 where he built up and managed the 40-strong European legal team from inception as well as establishing the Asia Pacific Legal Department. He was a key member of Dell’s European Management Team and played a significant role in the multi-billion dollar growth of the EMEA business. He was a member of General Counsel’s executive staff and also managed Government Relations issues in individual countries and with the EU in Brussels. Richard joined Dell from Tektronix, Inc. where he was European Legal Counsel based in Switzerland. Previously he worked for Hoover Plc and Grand Metropolitan Plc in London. He is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, with both Masters and Bachelor of Law degrees from University College, London.

Guest speakers

David Lowe is a partner based in the London office of Wragge & Co. He focuses on structuring, reviewing, drafting and negotiating a wide variety of commercial and outsourcing contracts. These range from substantial and complex contracts such as those found in outsourcing and joint ventures to more routine trading contracts. David’s commercial acumen has been reinforced by secondments to British Airways and PA Consulting. His experience highlights include advising the GLA on the Host City Contract with the IOC for the London Olympics 2012; assisting the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders with the long term outsourcing agreement for the Motor Show, moving the show from Birmingham to London; and advising BP on the agreement with Moto Service Stations to supply over 30 service stations with fuel.

Charlie Wedin is a senior associate in the Bristol office of Osborne Clark. Charlie handles large, complex, commercial disputes, often with a cross-border element. He has particular expertise in the digital business and financial services sectors, and in handling fraud claims. He is a skilled negotiator with extensive experience of alternative dispute resolution. His recent experience includes acting for various global telecommunication companies in numerous complex disputes, acting for several ‘household name’ multinational IT companies in a number of software, hardware and IT services disputes, and conducting a high profile internal investigation for a French listed company into allegations of fraud. Charlie qualified in September 2003. In 2006 he was seconded to Sotheby’s, where he worked as one of two in-house lawyers responsible for all of Sotheby’s contentious work across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He was promoted to associate in May 2008, and joined Osborne Clarke in April 2009.

Do you have a team of contract, procurement or project managers who are facing unique challenges in managing your organisations contracts?

Challenges translate to risk and in today’s environment of bespoke and standard contracts these risks can be mitigated with an understanding of the practical legal implications of a contract which can benefit both the Client and Supplier. Falconbury deliver business and contract law programmes In-House for a number of organisations in the UK and Europe. By focusing on Your Contracts terms and conditions we can tailor the course to your needs.

Your next step is to call us now on +44 (0)20 7729 6677 or email us at info@falconbury.co.uk or use our contact form and find out how we can help. There are no commitments, and if we cannot help our advice and recommendations are free of charge.

Drafting Commercial Contracts

Drafting Legal Clauses

Current Contract Law and Practice

This course qualifies for the following CPD programmes:

• Solicitors Regulation Authority: 12.00 hours
• General Council of the Bar: 9.50 hours

• AEGON Nederland NV
• Amadeus IT Group SA
• AXA Portugal Companhia De Seguros
• Azercell Telecom LLC
• Baltika Breweries
• BP Egypt Co
• Danske Bank AS
• Deloitte & Touche CIS
• EISAI Europe Ltd
• Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd
• ETISALAT
• Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd
• Haldor Topsoe AS
• ING Real Estate Investment Management Holding BV
• Klaveness Corporate Services AS
• Litasco SA
• MKB Bank Zrt
• Niger State Development Company
• NNPC
• OMV Aktiengesellschaft
• Rautarukki Corporation
• Rockwool International AS
• SAS
• Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (SATORP)
• Starbucks Coffee Co (UK) Ltd
• Stonebridge International Insurance Ltd
• TOTAL SA
• UMIP
• Vandemoortele
• Yara International ASA