Corporate Compliance

Afternoon Briefs: EPA relaxes pollution rules during COVID-19 crisis; Title IX doesn’t protect trans athletes, DOJ says

EPA relaxes pollution enforcement during coronavirus pandemic The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it would relax enforcement of environmental rules in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The EPA said companies should monitor themselves as the agency focuses on “situations that may create an acute risk or imminent threat to…

Mar 27, 2020 4:50 PM CDT

How to plan ahead for compliance and privacy projections

As general counsel at Checkr, one of the most interesting challenges I face is staying on top of the ever-changing laws and regulations in the background check industry and communicating these changes back to our customers. I regularly meet with regulators and government entities, and I advise general and senior…

Mar 5, 2020 1:30 PM CST

More corporate counsel predict a rise in disputes, signaling a need to prepare for ‘turbulent times’

Some corporate counsel are failing to embrace the most effective measures to mitigate litigation risk, despite an increase in the percentage of companies anticipating an uptick in disputes, according to a survey by Norton Rose Fulbright.

Dec 13, 2019 11:19 AM CST

Hertz lawsuit against former GC seeks return of incentive pay, damages for accounting failures

The Hertz Corp. has sued its former general counsel and two other executives in an effort to claw back $70 million in incentive and severance pay for the group’s alleged failure to recognize and remedy accounting deficiencies that led the company to overstate income. The suit also seeks more than…

Apr 12, 2019 12:03 PM CDT

Ernst & Young entity acquires Thomson Reuters’ business; should law firms worry?

EY, the corporate entity that includes the Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young, has announced an agreement to buy the legal managed services business Pangea3 from Thomson Reuters. The Artificial Lawyer and LawSites view the announcement as a major development. “Those who should be paying closest attention to this…

Apr 5, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

SCOTUS says investment banker can be liable for false email drafted by boss

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an investment banking director can be liable for emailing alleged false statements to prospective investors, even though he sent the emails at the direction of his boss, who had written the content. The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that Francis Lorenzo could be held…

Mar 27, 2019 11:40 AM CDT

Former general counsel’s award of nearly $8M upheld; he claimed he was fired for whistleblowing

A federal appeals court has upheld all but $2.96 million of a nearly $11 million federal jury award obtained by a whistleblowing former general counsel of Bio-Rad Laboratories. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco upheld $2.96 million in back pay and stock compensation and $5 million…

Feb 28, 2019 12:41 PM CST

A tale of two silver markets—and two disasters

Rivalry between gold and silver touched off the Panic of 1893. Speculation roared back in 1980, when the billionaire Hunt brothers nearly cornered the silver market.

Jan 1, 2019 3:10 AM CST

KPMG aims to employ 3,000 lawyers within the next few years

Accounting firm KPMG currently employs 1,800 lawyers in offices across 75 countries, and it has plans to expand the number.

Nov 27, 2018 7:00 AM CST

Are lawyers being trapped in their practice niches?

Specialization may have gone too far. The first generation of specialist lawyers got their initial training from the more generalist lawyers whose apprentices they were. This isn’t the case for the second generation of specialists we are seeing today.

Oct 23, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Should BigLaw firms worry about increasing competition from the Big Four accounting firms?

The Big Four accounting firms have added legal services, moving beyond tax law and integrating their legal services into a multidisciplinary approach.

Sep 1, 2018 1:00 AM CDT

How clients are pushing their outside counsels to adopt stricter cybersecurity standards and protections

Companies are expending more manpower and money on keeping their data safe. The study found that two-thirds of respondents expected their legal department’s role in cybersecurity would increase over the following 12 months, compared with 55 percent in the 2015 survey.

Aug 1, 2018 2:00 AM CDT

What is the FCC going to do about millions of bot comments during the net neutrality repeal debate?

Data scientist Jeff Kao was skeptical of the nearly 23 million public comments the Federal Communications Commission received during the net neutrality repeal debate last year. “I would not guess one in 15 people submitted an FCC comment,” says Kao, a machine learning engineer at Atrium Legal Technology Services in…

Aug 1, 2018 1:50 AM CDT

ABA opposes legislation requiring lawyers to frequently report small-business ownership data

The ABA has taken a stand opposing an anti-terrorism bill under congressional consideration, saying it would impose unreasonable regulations on lawyers and their small-business clients while actually weakening efforts to fight financial crimes. ABA President Hilarie Bass sent a letter (PDF) Monday to the leaders of the House Financial Services…

Nov 29, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Equifax is reportedly reviewing actions of its top lawyer, who oversaw security and stock sales

Equifax’s board of directors is reportedly scrutinizing the actions of the company’s chief legal officer, John Kelley, because of two of his duties—overseeing security and approving stock sales by executives.

Oct 2, 2017 9:04 AM CDT