BLT: September 2014

Business & Corporate

A New Frontier: Supplier Diversity in the Legal Industry

Among the Fortune 500 clients represented by members of the AmLaw 200, supplier diversity is heralded as an important business strategy. While innovative law firms have implemented supplier diversity programs, many corporate firms have not yet explored this area of diversity promotion. There is much to be learned from corporate clients as law firms begin to explore this new frontier for diversity.

Business & Corporate

Civility as the Core of Professionalism

Jayne R. Reardon

The needed rebirth of civility, at a critical juncture in the evolution of the legal profession, should be seen by lawyers not as pain, but as gain. Technology and globalization are facilitating greater client influence and requiring increased transparency; civil behavior is more important than ever.

Business & Corporate

Corporate Internal Investigations and the Fifth Amendment

James D. Wing

Many directors and officers of major corporations believe that if their corporation has procured directors and officers liability insurance for them, they are not taking substantial personal risk by serving. This article discusses new issues and realities that accompany the increasing criminalization of actions of innocent executives that traditional corporate bylaws and executive protection programs do not address.

Business & Corporate

KEEPING CURRENT: Poison Pills Find New Life as “Raider-Like” Activism is on the Rise

Corporate Boards are utilizing poison pills to respond to “raider-like” activism. A well-constructed pill provides a company with time to respond to an activist.

Business & Corporate

KEEPING CURRENT: Second Circuit Adopts Bright-Line Rule for Determining Customer Status for Mandatory FINRA Arbitration

The Second Circuit has ruled that for purposes of demanding FINRA Arbitration, “customers” of FINRA members are those who either purchase a good or service from a FINRA member or have an account with a FINRA member.

Business & Corporate

DELAWARE INSIDER: Delaware Court of Chancery Reaffirms the Right of Corporations to Enact Forum Selection Clauses in Shareholder Suits

A recent decision from the Delaware Court of Chancery has built on an important 2013 ruling protecting Delaware corporations’ right to adopt bylaws that select the forums where shareholders may file suit.

Business & Corporate

ETHICS CORNER: Intra-Law Firm Communications, Conflicts of Interest, and the “Fiduciary Exception” to the Attorney-Client Privilege

Yafit Cohn

Where a conflict of interest between a lawyer and client may be emerging – but has not yet ripened to the point requiring termination of the representation – it is natural for a lawyer practicing in a law firm to seek the advice of the firm's in-house ethics counsel. Does such intra-firm consultation create an impermissible conflict of interest between the firm and the existing client? If it does create a conflict of interest, does this mean that the lawyer's communications with the firm's in-house ethics counsel are not eligible for the protection of the attorney-client privilege?

Business & Corporate

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: An Interview with Former Chief Justice Myron Steele

Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware Myron Steele has published over 300 opinions resolving corporate litigation, LLC, and limited partner governance disputes. He also served on the Delaware Superior Court from 1988 to 1994, and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Chancery Court of Delaware before being selected for the Supreme Court bench in 2000. He recently returned to private practice, where he is a partner at the Delaware law firm, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP, and specializes in litigation.

Business & Corporate

Inside Business Law (Sept. 2014)

The Business Law Section held its first Business Law Section Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on September 10–13, 2014, which was a huge success. More than 1,500 Section members registered for the meeting, which included 69 CLE programs and over 200 committee and subcommittee meetings. This month’s “Inside Business Law” focuses on some of the highlights of the new Annual Meeting, and features details of several noteworthy and well-attended programs.