ELD International

Leading the Legal Function in Economic Instability

Leigh Dance organized and facilitated a timely program with metro area corporate counsel on the occasion of the Global Counsel Leaders Circle gathering in New York . Held at the offices of Paul Hastings LLP in New York, the session addressed how best to lead the legal function in economic uncertainty.

The panel included four highly-respected speakers:
- Peter Beshar, General Counsel, EVP of Marsh &
McLennan Companies, NY
- Bruno Cova, partner, Paul Hastings and former
General Counsel, Fiat and Eni E&P, Milan
- Tom Sabatino, General Counsel, EVP of
Walgreens; Deerfield, IL
- John Suckow, Managing Director, Alvarez &
Marsal and acting President & COO, Lehman
Brothers Holding, NY.

Questions discussed included:

- Given unstable economic conditions in many
markets, how can in-house lawyers best add
value and protect your businesses?
- How can your function be pro-active in assessing
risks or liabilities of suppliers, providers, and
clients that may run into financial difficulties?

Evaluations received from the event were very positive.

World Law Group
October 2011: Istanbul

Client Partnering & Satisfaction: What's Working

Leigh Dance moderated this panel discussion at the World Law Group annual meeting in October 2011 in Istanbul. The presenters are managing partners of Gianni, Origoni, Grippo & Partners (Italy), Rodyk & Davison (Singapore), Drinker Biddle & Reath (US) and TozziniFreire Advogados (Brazil). Case studies of client feedback and survey initiatives were shared, as well as efforts to partner more effectively with clients. Approximately 100 lawyers attended the session.

Managing Cross-border Practice & Industry Groups

ELD International organized and Leigh Dance led a half-day training program for the World Law Group on cross-border practice and industry group leadership. Participants came from 8 countries and 12 law firms. The training agenda included leading remote meetings, such as teleconferences and webinars, with a multi-cultural audience.

Global Counsel Congress
June 2011: New York

Leigh Dance led a panel on Cross-border Internal Investigations at the first Global Counsel Congress, hosted by the International Law Office on 16 June 2011 in New York City.

The panelists included:

- Nino Cusimano, General Counsel, Telecom Italia
- Wally Dietz, Partner, Bass Berry & Sims
- Vivian Robinson, QC, General Counsel, Serious
Fraud Office

The panel discussed:

- Important aspects of the new UK Bribery Act in
relation to conducting internal investigations
- Common mistakes in conducting cross-border
internal investigations
- Legal professional privilege
- Obtaining and preserving evidence
- Considerations regarding self-reporting to
regulators
- Communicating with regulators before, during,
and after an investigation.

The Global Counsel Congress was attended by leading in-house counsel from all over the world. The aim was to encourage the sharing of expertise and experience across borders, and to give attendees the opportunity to exchange knowledge and insight with high-profile speakers including general counsel at multinationals and regulators.

Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
May-June 2011: Brussels, London, Paris

The ACC's Advocacy initiative retained ELD International to organize and moderate three invitation-only roundtables and dinners with legal heads of large multinationals. Up to 25 senior corporate counsel participated in each event, co-hosted by leading law firms Eversheds, Covington & Burling and Paul Hastings. Discussions were co-led by top European CLOs, and Leigh Dance facilitated.

Global Counsel Leaders Circle Conference
London, June 2011

ELD International organized and Leigh Dance facilitated this one-day meeting and dinner of Leaders Circle members from British Telecom, Coca-Cola, Computer Sciences Corp., Dubai World Investments, DuPont, Gucci, Heinz, Hilton and other companies. Our topics included: managing a remote team of in-house counsel, leadership demands, law department as profit center, international benchmarking and best practices.

K&L Gates and Practical Law Company December 2008: London

K&L Gates and Practical Law Company presented a briefing on "What's ahead from Washington?" It focussed on the impact of the Obama Administration and Congress on companies doing business with and in the US. Speakers included Bruce Heiman, Head of Regulatory & Policy practice at K&L Gates in Washington DC and a prominent in-house counsel. Leigh Dance moderated the event.