Legal and Compliance Weekly Insights

In Case of Emergency: Don't Forget Your Employees

This year's corporate crises have reinforced important lessons for how companies should best respond publicly. The verdict on what's critical to public redemption: 1) timing (respond quickly), 2) transparency (be as open as possible about what you know and what you don't), and 3) the right messenger (mind accents and sartorial choices).

Our View:

As companies make improvements to their external response strategies, legal and compliance teams must also help protect the company's internal culture during times of crises. Crisis communication templates should include action steps for shoring up employee morale and facilitating manager communications.

CELC Members:

See how UTC teaches its managers about what employees really “hear,” equipping them to improve their communications effectiveness.

GCR Members:

Review our guidelines for effective crisis communications.
Access member tools and templates to improve communications and minimize events' impact, liability, and reputational harm.

SEC Passes Proxy Access Rule

The SEC approved a rule allowing investors, with certain limitations, owning at least a 3% stake in a company for a 3-year period to nominate directors for the Board. It is expected that union-backed pension funds and shareholder activists will take greatest advantage of this increased access.

Our View:

While the likelihood of shareholders nominating their own directors is difficult to predict, transparency and proactive communication with your largest shareholders may save your company from having to go on the defensive. General counsel, corporate secretaries and/or investor relations executives should improve shareholder communications by understanding the factors that drive activists to target peer companies and the relevant recommendations of proxy advisor firms.

GCR Members:

Stay abreast of shareholder activity trends and practices through our Corporate Governance Resource Center and online peer discussion group.

Strategies of the Most Innovative Legal Departments

A recent publication highlighted the ten most innovative legal departments of the last year, calling out in-house teams that made significant, and original, changes to the way they conduct business. The accomplishments of the featured departments are notable: DuPont learns how to better utilize the talent of their in-house paralegals, Cisco builds an platform to collaborate and share resources internally, and Qwest revamps their ethics training.

Our View:

The key to legal and compliance department success is the ability to remain agile and open to ever-evolving business needs. Those departments that adapt well to changing conditions by rethinking internal processes and making adjustments to their systems and tools will be better positioned to keep employees engaged and clients happy.

CELC Members:

See how your peers are making continuous program improvements, including organizing according to business needs and facilitating access to compliance guidance and resources.

GCR Members:

Hear more about how Cisco and Legal OnRamp built their external knowledge-sharing platform to improve efficiency and innovation.
Learn about peer approaches for developing and motivating paralegals, including creating specific career paths.

Monday Lift – Chinese Traffic Jam Stretches 62 Miles, 10 Days

If you thought your commute was bad, imagine being stuck in a 62-mile long traffic jam that's been clogging China's National Highway 110 outside Beijing for more than 10 days. Although it has cleared up to some extent, some local vendors have cleaned up big by going car-to-car selling instant noodles at four times the regular price.