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Welcome to ACC Charlotte's
1st Quarter Newsletter 2019
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A Message from Chapter President
Taryn Mecia
Greetings, ACC Charlotte Members! 2019 is off to a great start for our chapter, and I hope you'll plan to network and enjoy time with other members and sponsors at several of our fabulous events. One of my priorities as Chapter President is ensuring that ACC Charlotte is providing you, our members, with the content and programming you want, in the locations and times that are most convenient for you. To help the Board and Committees achieve this goal, we'll be conducting a member survey this year (don't worry, it'll be short!) to find out how we can best serve all of our members. Some helpful information that you can provide us will be:
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What content areas (or specific topics) most interest you?
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What locations and times work best for you?
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Are you interested in informal, members-only networking lunches or happy hours in different geographic areas?
Giving us feedback will help us to provide the most benefit to you, so I encourage you to make the most of your ACC Membership and participate in our survey this year. Some other highlights of 2019 will be:
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A new "women's wellness" event that will take the place of our former spa day. This new format is being introduced to accommodate more of our members and allow for better networking;
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2 community service events, which always prove to be fun ways to provide services to worthwhile community organizations;
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2 Winston-Salem events, to reach our members who work in this area;
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The ever-popular Casino Night, with great food, fun gambling and fabulous prizes, which will be held on August 24 (yes, a Saturday night!) at the Extravaganza Depot in Uptown Charlotte; and
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Our most attended events, our monthly Byron's lunches, which will be held the first Wednesday of each month for the rest of the year (except July, which will be the second Wednesday) - mark your calendars!
I look forward to spending time with you this year at our wonderful events. The more of your time and energy that you put into our chapter, the more you will benefit from your membership. I encourage you to attend events, introduce yourself to those you don't know, and consider signing up for a committee at the end of the year!
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Platinum Sponsor:
Parker Poe
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Parker Poe represents many of the region's largest local governments and companies in corporate, finance, regulatory, real estate and litigation matters with more than 200 attorneys serving clients around the U.S. from offices in the Carolinas and Georgia. Our lawyers are rated among the highest quality attorneys across their respective states with recognition by The Best Lawyers in America for more than 80 of our attorneys, and recognition by U.S. News & World Report, Chambers USA, and other ratings publications. Click
here to learn about what makes working with Parker Poe different.
Parker Poe recognizes that promoting diversity is not only the right thing to do - it is essential to the success of the firm, our lawyers, employees, and clients. When people from various backgrounds feel welcome and respected, it leads to creative ideas and new perspectives, thus enriching the practice of law. Click
here to view Parker Poe's 2018 Diversity & Inclusion Report.
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Platinum Sponsor Feature Article
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CHANGES AHEAD FOR GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS IN 2019
By Richard S. Glaser, Jr. and
Katherine H. Graham
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) is still in the early days of applying a significant change to how companies get credit for cooperating during government investigation
s.
In a speech delivered on November 29, 2018, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced that the DOJ was walking back guidance from the Obama administration, commonly known as the Yates Memo. The Yates Memo previously required companies to provide everything they knew about every individual involved in misconduct in order to be eligible for mitigation credit in criminal investigations. Citing the need to create workable and practicable policies, Rosenstein significantly amended this requirement so that companies now only need to identify every individual who was "substantially involved in or responsible for the criminal conduct."
This new "substantially involved" language is a welcome change that allows prosecutors to engage in more meaningful and targeted investigations that focus less on tangential persons and conduct. As importantly, it allows companies to garner credit for internal inquiries that uncover reasonably identifiable and substantial individual culpable conduct; in other words, not all questionable conduct, unless significant, must be uncovered for a company to receive credit.
While this is a major step forward in the white-collar world, it is only one of several things that corporations and their compliance officers should be aware of this year. Specifically, corporations should be aware of the increase in investigations and lawsuits tied to the False Claims Act (FCA), which can be extremely damaging to a company's reputation and bottom line. Essentially any company that receives funding through federal government programs can be a target in an FCA investigation. As such, these companies can also significantly benefit from the new roadmap Rosenstein has laid out for cooperation credit.
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In a civil False Claims Act case, for example," Rosenstein said in his November speech, "a company might make a voluntary disclosure and provide valuable assistance that justifies some credit even if the company is either unwilling to stipulate about which non-managerial employees are culpable, or eager to resolve the case without conducting a costly investigation into identify every individual who might face civil liability in theory, but in reality would not be sued personally."
In that case, Rosenstein said his attorneys "may reward cooperation that meaningfully assisted the government's civil investigation."
One of the best ways to ensure a company is ready for any type of white-collar investigation is through the proactive maintenance of an effective compliance program. The key is defining "effective" in the same terms as the federal government. That way, if a company does end up having to deal with a government investigation, its compliance program is already designed to maximize available mitigation credit.
Examples of what the government considers positive steps in building a compliance program include but are not limited to:
- Establishing a written program with standards and procedures to prevent and deter criminal conduct.
- Ensuring oversight of the compliance program by the board or equivalent governing authority.
- Training and communicating periodically with employees across the organization about compliance and ethical standards.
- Monitoring and evaluating the program, including through a confidential mechanism for employees to report potential or actual criminal conduct without fear of retaliation.
By taking these and other steps to build an effective compliance program, as well as staying up-to-date on how the DOJ is applying its new cooperation policy, corporations and their compliance professionals can significantly reduce the risks they face.
To get Parker Poe articles like this and others directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
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Welcome New ACC Charlotte Members!
Kerry-Ann Archer, Counsel at Wells Fargo Law Department
Cheryl Ardin, Counsel at Barings
Laura Ardrey, Corporate Counsel at Lowe's Companies, Inc.
Julia Atchison, Sr. Associate Counsel, Compass Group USA, Inc.
Jeffrey Wayne Bishop, VP & General Counsel at National Truck Protection Co., Inc.
Andre M. Board, Associate Counsel at Compass Group USA, Inc.
Charlotte Borroughs, Counsel at Collins Aerospace
Brandon Brown, Counsel at Integration Point, Inc.
Colin Andrew Campbell, Corporate Counsel at Carolina Motor Club, Inc.
Natalie C. Carter, Senior Counsel at Duke Energy Corporation
Graham Claybrook, Counsel at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
David R. Crowe, Corporate Counsel - Intellectual Property at Ingersoll-Rand Company
Emily Davidson, Counsel at Bank of America
Ashley Durbin, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Culp, Inc.
Meredith Elder, Counsel at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Gonzalo Frias, Senior Counsel at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Randall C. Gregory, Deputy General Counsel at BWX Technologies, Inc.
Jason Idilbi, General Counsel at Passport Labs, Inc.
Jonathan Kinny, Sr. Associate Counsel at Compass Group USA, Inc.
Christopher Klein, General Counsel at Novolex, Inc.
Alexandra Villarreal O'Rourke, Senior VP & Assistant General Counsel at Bank of America
Brittni Pickering, Vice President at Extended Stay America, Inc.
John Piller, Director, Associate General Counsel at TIAA
Tanya E. Pino, Corporate Counsel at ASSA ABLOY Entrance Systems
Jackson R. Price, Senior Counsel at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Whitney Pryor, Counsel at Wells Fargo Law Department
Hayden P. Ridore, Corporate Counsel at Thomson Reuters
Jon Schalit, Senior Counsel at Wells Fargo Law Department
Edrei Swanson, Counsel at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Adam Thackston, Senior Counsel at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Mark Wierman, Senior Counsel - Division Initiatives at Wells Fargo Law Department
LaGail Williams, Corporate Counsel at Lowe's Companies, Inc.
Eva Wojtalewski, Corporate Counsel at Passport Labs, Inc.
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Charlotte Community Spotlight
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ACC Charlotte & UNCC Team up to Offer
Executive Education Program
By Charlotte Buell
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ACC + UNCC = AMP. This isn't some funky millennial texting acronym. It represents a unique partnership that can help you move forward in your career.
ACC Charlotte partnered with the UNC Charlotte Executive Education to offer members an Advanced Management Program for Legal Executives. Currently, the program is hosting its second cohort. It is no coincidence this program won an Outstanding Achievement Award for "Best Partnership Program" at our 2018 International ACC Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas. Our chapter was chosen as the only winner in this category among all ACC chapters in the country.
UNCC's webpage explains that "the Advanced Management Program for Legal Executives ("AMP") is a graduate level "mini-MBA" for legal executives presented by the ACC Charlotte Chapter in partnership with UNC Charlotte Executive Education. "ACC Charlotte's objective is to provide a strategic foundation in business and management that will help you move forward in your career."
The Advanced Management Program ("AMP") is specifically designed to upgrade students' business acumen and offer them an edge in our all too well known competitive business atmosphere.
Specifically, participants can expect to:
* Increase expertise in reading financial statements
* Understand the financial tools that create value for an organization
* Learn how to effectively and ethically manage work relationships
* Develop methods for more strategic decision-making/problem-solving
* Improve understanding and impact of marketing decisions and goals
Taryn Mecia, President of the ACC Charlotte Chapter, shared, "I've really enjoyed the AMP program so far. It has helped to fill in some gaps in my experience and training, particularly on the financial accounting side. And it's always beneficial to get additional management and leadership training."
As a student of the program myself, I believe it is well worth the financial investment (which has an attractive discount thanks to ACC Charlotte). It makes the business side of my company more understandable and relatable. This gives me an educational foundation to build upon when finance, accounting, leadership, ethics, and marketing issues present themselves.
As the ACC is an organization focusing on in-house counsel, members see these topics cross their desks every so often. AMP gives you the space to explore these topics and build a foundation to tap into when advising your clients.
If you're interested in learning more, visit UNC Charlotte's Executive Education website dedicated to the program
here.
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Charlotte Business Journal Awards
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Eighth Annual Corporate Counsel Awards
On January 31, 2019, our chapter joined the Charlotte Business Journal in the Eighth Annual Corporate Awards Dinner at Carmel Country Club. Over 260 members, their companies and sponsors enjoyed a wonderful evening honoring all in-house corporate finalists in various categories.
A judging panel provided by the Association of Corporate Counsel's Charlotte Chapter and CBJ's editorial staff evaluated the nominees. The f
inalists were put into categories based on the size of their departments, ranging from solo practice to companies with more than 30 attorneys.
Congratulations to all of the following winners announced at the dinner:
Outstanding General Counsel: Stacy Gray with Belk, Inc.
Outstanding Corporate Counsel - Large Company: Salim Kafiti with Electrolux North America Inc.
Outstanding Corporate Counsel - Small Company: Anna Early, Britax Child Safety, Inc.
Outstanding Rising Star: Kyle Hoidal of LPL Financial
Outstanding Law Department: Passport Inc.
Outstanding Pro Bono/Community Service Award: John Grupp of Husqvarna Group
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Monthly CLE Event at Byron's South End
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On February 6, 2019, we had nearly 100 members attend our monthly CLE event at Byron's South End where we had a panel comprising of six (6)
leading EU lawyers from Brussels, London (Reading), Milan and Paris who provided insight on incentives, risks and opportunities in doing business in the EU. The moderator was David Conaway of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the topic and panel discussion.
The
Panelists were: Katrien Vorlat, Monard Law, Brussels; Philippa Roles, Field Seymour Parkes, London (Reading); Antonio Debiasi and Enrico Sisti, Rucellaie Raffaelli, Milan; Alexis Marchand and Adrien Debre, Cornet Vincent Segurel, Paris
Thank you to our sponsor, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.
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Women's Group Event: Women in Wine
On February 26, 2019, our Women's group along with our sponsor, Fox Rothschild, enjoyed an evening at Corkbuzz located in SouthPark. The ladies were able to network and learn about four (4) unique female wine makers. They sampled fine wines from across the country and abroad, along with delicious hors d'oeuvres. It was a fabulous evening hosted by the ladies of Fox Rothschild.
Thank you to our generous sponsor, Fox Rothschild,
for a great evening.
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CLE Event: How to Draft a Written Information Security Program
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On February 21, 2019, our Chapter members attended a CLE event in Uptown Charlotte in the Moore & Van Allen offices where they enjoyed a fabulous lunch along with listening to a four (4) person panel discussing Information Security Programs. The Panel was lead by attorneys Todd Taylor & Karin McGinnis of Moore & Van Allen along with Mike Holland and Jefferson Pike of Fortalice Solutions.
Thank you to our generous sponsor,
Moore & Van Allen.
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Did you miss an event? Presentation materials from past events are available on the ACC Charlotte website here.
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| ACC Charlotte Chapter, P.O. Box 2964, Huntersville, NC 28070
704-999-0814, email: [email protected] |
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The contents of this newsletter are intended to convey general information only and not to provide legal advice or opinions. The contents of this newsletter should not be relied upon for, legal or tax advice in any particular circumstance or fact situation. The information presented may not reflect the most current legal developments. No action should be taken in reliance on the information and we disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this site to the fullest extent permitted by law. An attorney should be contacted for advice on specific legal issues.
STAY CONNECTED:
Check out our recent and upcoming events and CLE opportunities at:
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