What if a drug/device manufacturer adequately warns a doctor of a risk, but makes no effort to warn or notify the specific injured patient of that risk?  Is the manufacturer then “off the hook”?  What if the drug/device is marketed and sold directly to the consumer and not through a doctor?  This tele-seminar addresses the current status of the Learned Intermediary Doctrine, which historically has protected the manufacturer from liability for a breach of its legal duty to warn the ultimate consumer, when a warning instead has been provided to the consumer’s prescribing physician through product literature and other means.  

This ALFA International panel discussed how the courts view this defense, in what investigation and discovery a client must engage to present this defense, and what motions, discovery requests and briefs have been successful in this regard (forms will be supplied).  Hear a client’s perspective from the Chief Claims Officer of Medmarc, one of the leading experts in products liability risks facing medical technology and life sciences companies.     

This H1N1 tele-seminar is designed to address the employment and management issues presented by the wave of contagious disease outbreaks in our workplace.   When is it safe for employees to return to the workforce?  How can you minimize the spread of a contagious disease through the workplace and minimize lost time and productivity?  What protocols, procedures and policies should you draft and initiate to be prepared for the anticipated 3rd wave of H1N1?   These issues and more were discussed in the interactive panel comprised of legal experts, a national employer and a medical expert. All employers, risk managers, human resource specialists, and claims specialists should attend this seminar.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Over the last few years, corporate counsels have seen increased litigation revolving around information technology issues.  As a result of the economic downturn, more software vendors are auditing their customers to generate increased revenue.  This tele-seminar focused on strategies for preventing IT litigation issues, including those relating to outsourcing, software audits and software implementation.  Contract terms for limiting liability and suggestions for assuring, up front, proper project scope and pricing were discussed.

A case becomes high profile when there is a legitimate attempt to depose the CEO or general counsel.  This tele-seminar addressed what to do when you get the notice for a deposition of the general counsel or the CEO, how to prepare them to testify, how to limit or avoid the deposition, and how to handle some of the unique issues that such depositions present. 

The recent change in presidential administrations has produced a wave of legislation having a tremendous potential effect on employers.  The ALFA panel discussed the laws which have been passed and which are being considered as well as the practical impact on employers.  Highlights of the discussion were the Lilly-Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Employee Free Choice Act, Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAA), and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the COBRA subsidy in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as well as others.

Last summer, atop a wave of recalled toys and imported goods, Congress floated the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).  In its wake, the shoreline for manufacturers in the U.S. marketplace was drastically changed.  A year later, manufacturers and retailers of all sizes are still drilling through sand in search of bedrock to plan in the face of changes to the operation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), alterations to manufacturer duties regarding performance, testing, advertising, and tracking of consumer products, particularly children’s products.  This tele-seminar reviews and reassesses and scans the horizon concerning the impact of the CPSIA upon product liability and compliance.  

Do you handle workers compensation claims?  Personal injury cases?  If you are a self-insurer, liability insurer, workers compensation insurer, group-health plan - - you NEED to listen to this tele-seminar!  July 1, 2009 is the compliance start date for MMSEA: Section 111 (Medicare, Medicaid SCHIP Extension Act).  The federal government wants its money back and will hold YOU accountable "or else."  Find out what's up.  Find out how to comply.  Be ready.

ALFA International presented this tele-seminar to examine the effect of the new reporting requirements under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 on Workers’ Compensation plans.  Businesses that fail to comply with the new mandatory reporting requirements – which pertain to general liability and no-fault insurance, as well as workers’ compensation and group health plans – could face fines of $1,000 per day per claimant.  

The collapse of the subprime mortgage industry has sent a shock wave through the financial industry and the entire world economy and has left economic carnage in its path. The deflation of assets, the freezing of capital and the fear paralyzing consumer spending have forced virtually every business and industry to adjust their plans and expectations in ways that are causing their own aftershocks in an unstable and tenuous economy. 

The unfortunate reality is that such economic events dash the reasonable expectations upon which both individuals and businesses have ordered their affairs. The crisis has spawned litigation by, against, and among all those involved in the marketplace.

What hat does the in-house counsel wear:  Lawyer?  Business person?  Or both?  No in-house attorney wants to be greeted with a court ruling requiring the production of handwritten notes from what was believed to be a confidential meeting.  Whether conversations with executives or emails to non-managerial employees are protected by the attorney-client privilege often hinges on the application of murky distinctions between business advice and legal advice.  Sometimes, the line is blurred.  This tele-seminar approached these problems by discussing scenarios illustrating the traps and pitfalls to avoid that could lead to the loss of privilege and by offering practical tips to increase the likelihood that a claim of privilege will prevail. 

Across the United States, health care organizations today must confront a varied menu of laws, rules and regulations that now include multiple legal requirements to retain documents. There are currently over ten thousand federal, state and local laws and regulations addressing the manner in which records must be stored, accessed, maintained and retained.  This new regulatory standard, coupled with the constant threat of audits and the increased use of e-discovery, places each organization at risk if a well-designed and effective document retention and destruction policy and protocol are not active and in place.  This ALFA International Health Care Practice Group tele-seminar discussed many of the critical issues concerning the development and implementation of document retention with an eye towards the legal guidelines. 

Your role today, as in-house corporate counsel leaders within American business, is very different then the role of this position ten years ago.  The demands, legal and business, pull you in many and at times conflicting directions.  Part and parcel of the day to day demands of your position and that of your department is a focus upon ongoing communication and information sharing.  How much is enough and how much might be too much and un-necessary?  Who should be receiving what information and who should be in communication with you and your office with necessary information?  Is there an information protocol and process in place that includes the legal department? What form does the information flow take and what is your company’s highlighted protocol for crisis communications?  This first time ACC Chicago Chapter tele-seminar focused on the “best-practices” and strategies of business communication for in house counsel and their legal departments.  The information presented will assist you in keeping the communications channels open in an effective and efficient manner.

Prescription drugs, and particularly high-powered narcotic pain killers, continue to haunt employers.  The costs are huge, and many employees are unable to return to work because of the disabling effect of many of these drugs.  This tele-seminar approached these problems with a view towards increasing the awareness of the use of the drugs, strategies for curtailing such drugs and alternatives for treatment.  

Bankruptcy law remains a mystery wrapped in an enigma to many lawyers, even experienced corporate counsel. As the economic climate becomes more challenging and bankruptcies (corporate and personal) continue to increase at an alarming rate, more in-house lawyers have been forced to confront bankruptcy-related issues. For many, the mystery of bankruptcy law will need to be solved.  The ALFA International Bankruptcy Law Practice Group created this bankruptcy primer program for the general practitioner and new bankruptcy lawyer. Four key “bedrock” issues were discussed and analyzed by experienced ALFA International bankruptcy lawyers. There were: (1) Do I Really have to Give the Money Back? (2) Priority Claims and Reclamation in Bankruptcy Cases (3) Dischargeability: Not Evey Claim Dies in Bankruptcy and (4) Issues and Trends in Retailer Bankruptcies.

The increasing complexity of corporate structures, regulations, and multi-party litigation often produces results which are unexpected or counterintuitive in the application of the attorney-client privilege.  The legal landscape has become even murkier as the work product doctrine continues to evolve with distinctions between fact and opinion work product.  This tele-seminar approached these problems with a view toward increasing the awareness of the inherent limitations in the once broad protection provided by the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine.  

This tele-seminar focuses on: Recognizing the unique roles of patents, trademarks & copyrights, protecting confidential information and trade secrets, and assessing the cost / benefit of enforcement.