Corporate Counsel Confront Global Business Challenges and Address Top Priorities at ACC’s Annual Meeting

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), the premier global bar association serving the interests of in-house counsel, welcomed in-house counsel and legal industry professionals from close to 34 countries to its Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. Programs focused on challenges that the in-house community is facing such as risks associated with negotiating joint global business ventures; changing fraud and abuse regulations; diversifying law departments; the C-suite in their role of general counsel; and the criminalization of the practice of law.

“Once restricted solely to traditional legal work, in-house lawyers are now playing an increasingly critical role in the business operations of the companies they serve”

“Once restricted solely to traditional legal work, in-house lawyers are now playing an increasingly critical role in the business operations of the companies they serve,” noted Veta T. Richardson, President & CEO of ACC. “This year’s Annual Meeting turnout of more than 3,000 legal industry professionals from around the world is a testament to the commitment by in-house lawyers to provide solutions to the global challenges today’s businesses increasingly face.”

Noteworthy sessions addressing in-house ethics, compliance, compensation and value-based client-firm relationships were led by industry leaders from Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., Asia-Africa Projects Group, CMS Madrid, Daniel Swarovski Corporation AG, Deere & Company, the Federal Trade Commission, GlaxoSmithKline, Hewlett-Packard Company, Pfizer, Reckitt Benckiser, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Xerox Corporation.

The annual gathering also served as a catalyst for celebrating ACC’s 30^th Anniversary, recognizing ACC members for outstanding achievements and valuable networking opportunities.

2012 ACC Annual Meeting Highlights:

Notable Sessions

Charting the Way Forward: The Growing Influence of the In-house Bar (ACC Chair’s Choice)
Legal industry leaders from the Mayo Clinic, Walgreen Co., bpost (the Belgian Post), The Timberland Company and ACC provided attendees with global insights on educating regulators, the judiciary and other corporate counsel stakeholders about the increasing influence of the in-house bar.

Prosecuted for Providing Advice of Counsel
Lauren Stevens, former vice president and associate general counsel of GlaxoSmithKline, provided an “Insider's Perspective” recounting her experience as an unfortunate target of the U.S. Department of Justice’s effort to target in-house counsel for providing legal advice to corporate clients.

Negotiating Joint Venture Agreements with Your Worst Enemy
Panelists from Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Rogers Communications S.E.N.C., U.S. Steel Kosice, s.r.o., and McKesson Corporation discussed methods for entering new markets, accessing resources and capital and surviving in politically volatile environments while mitigating risk and controlling expenses.

CLO Club Session: Skills for Managing a Diverse Workforce
A roundtable discussion of Chief Legal Officers focused on strategies and management styles for assembling a diverse in-house legal team to best serve their clients.

CLO Club Session: How to Run Your Law Department Like a Business
An exchange of strategies for how to most efficiently manage legal resources and position a legal department as a value driver and critical business partner, rather than a cost center.

Awards

Robert I. Townsend, Jr. Member of the Year: Russ Demsey of United Retirement Plan Consultants
Excellence in Corporate Practice: Mark Roelling of MassMutual
Corporate Pro Bono: Dell Inc. Legal Department
Matthew J. Whitehead, II Diversity: John E. Page of Golden State Foods
Notable awards recognizing service and dedication by ACC Chapters and Committees

Newly Elected Board of Directors

New Officers

Thomas Sabatino, Jr., Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Walgreen Co., as the newly appointed Chair of its Board of Directors.
Vice-Chair: David Allgood, Executive Vice President & General Counsel for Royal Bank of Canada
Treasurer: John Page, Vice President, General Counsel & Corp. Secretary for Golden State Foods Corp
Secretary: Susan Flook, Group General Counsel for The Body Shop International plc

New Board Members

Shawn Cheadle, General Counsel, Surveillance & Navigation Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
Kathryn Chisholm, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Capital Power Corporation
Nancy L. Cohen, Vice President & Sr. Division Counsel, The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc.
N. Alexander Erlam, General Counsel, The Vertical Screen Group of Companies
Matthew, K. Fawcett, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, NetApp, Inc.
Iohann Le Frapper, General Counsel Networks Group, Alcatel-Lucent
William Mordan, Senior Vice President & Group General Counsel, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc
Teigue Thomas, Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, ACER/ Gateway Computers

For a complete listing of the ACC Board of Directors, visit www.acc.com/aboutacc/leadership.

About ACC’s 2012 Annual Meeting: The Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of in-house counsel from around the world. The Annual Meeting serves as the premier professional event for corporate lawyers, where attendees are offered more than 105 courses to complete their continuing legal education, meet with legal service providers and network with their peers. Updates will be broadcast via Twitter (#ACCAM12) and on the In-house Access blog. For more information, visit am.acc.com.

About ACC: The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is a global bar association that promotes the professional and business interests of in-house counsel through information, education, networking opportunities and advocacy initiatives. The association, which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary, has over 30,000 members employed by over 10,000 organizations in more than 75 countries. ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for personal and professional growth. For more information, visit www.acc.com and follow ACC on Twitter http://twitter.com/ACCinhouse. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.^®