Hello, in-house legal employees! How are we today? I, esteemed Law.com reporter Dan Clark, am doing fine because we are back for another edition of Inside Track. Before we jump into the news, I will be in Austin, Texas from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24 for the Association of Corporate Counsel's Annual Meeting. Feel free to say hi. That said, my next dispatch will be from Austin, and if there are any restaurants you think I should check out, let me know.

I also want to quickly point out a piece we published yesterday about Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs. I'm curious if your legal department collects KPIs and if so, what are the most valuable or meaningful KPIs and which do you find to be the most pointless?

I can be reached anytime through my email at [email protected] or you can find me on Twitter @DanclarkALM.

What's Happening-

 

In-House Bankruptcy 

On Monday, Sears filed for Sears Bankruptcy Fallout. As a part of the bankruptcy filing, the store announced it will be closing 142 stores. I spoke to corporate finance attorney, Dean G. Rallis Jr., who said that will affect the business of the landlords whose shopping centers Sears resides in.

Rallis, who's of counsel at Anglin, Flewelling, Rasmussen, Campbell & Trytten in Pasadena, California, brought this up to me while I was seeking comment for another angle on the Sears bankruptcy.

“For shopping centers andlords that's big,” Rallis said. “Sears has a large footprint. If those stores close, that's going to have a big impact on not just the landlords because of lost rent but on the other tenants because Sears generates a lot of foot traffic, which is what these shopping centers are designed for.”

On that other angle that I was working on, Rallis told me that the first thing an in-house attorney should be worried about is employee morale. He said the company needs to make sure that all of the employees' concerns are answered and that he would expect the in-house team at Sears to work with HR to build a web portal for employees to ask questions about the Chapter 11 process.

From Taking a Knee to Filing a Trademark Application

Colin Kaepernick, last week, applied with the USTPO to register a trademark of a black and white image of his face and hair. The application lists several items he wishes to use the trademark on which include lotion, backpacks and jewelry.

However, the application also indicates that he wants use the trademark on civic classes. I spoke to IP attorneys on the matter and both felt that this is the beginning of the former 49ers' quarterback putting action to his political beliefs. Kaepernick is of course known for being the first NFL player to kneelduring the national anthem.

Kaepernick is not the first athlete to take advantage of trademarking their names or a phrase associated with them. In June, Inventors Digest released a list of athletes who have applied for trademarks.

New Cyber Guidance

In honor of National Cyber Security Month (who knew that was actually a thing?) companies have been using public relations folks to tell us to tell you how to best protect your company. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice has released new guidelines on just how to do that. Lucky for you, Law.com reporter Phillip Bantz, read those guidelines and below are some takeaways from his report.

➤ Educate Senior Management. The new guidelines say that there needs to be an awareness among senior management. There should be regular IT security briefings with senior management and the company should identify, what the DOJ calls, a company's “Crown Jewels” which are most likely to be targeted.

➤ Keep Legal Requirements Top of Mind. Even before a cyber incident, your company should know what laws it needs to follow in the event of a breach or what policies it needs to follow.

➤ The Aftermath. Even when a cyber incident appears to be resolved, there is still work to do. The DOJ says once the incident has been cleared up, an organization should go over the entire incident with a fine comb and see what went wrong and how it can be prevented in the future.

Don't Miss-

Wednesday, October. 24 Take note: Global Leaders in Law will be hosting an event on managing risk in an age of disruption at Bar Boulud in New York.The next day,Thursday, October 25, the organization will be hosting an event on the changing world of global trade at Club Industriales in Mexico City.GLL is an invitation-only membership group offering general counsel a global platform for in-person collaboration to exchange ideas and receive advice and guidance from peers. For more information, contact Meena Heath at [email protected].

Sunday, October 21-Wednesday October 24. One of the biggest in-house counsel conferences, The ACC Annual Meeting is in Austin, Texas this year. Saddle on up to hear in-house lawyers speak on a variety of topics, from the first 100 days of the GDPR to pay equity and salary inquiry bans. High-powered in-housers from companies like Google, Clorox, Bayer, Honda and more will be taking the stage.

Thursday, November 1. The Economist is hosting its 15th General Counsel conference at the Jumeriah Carlton Tower in London. The event seeks to find “compelling solutions to meet changing expectations.” Speakers include Sarah Jones, the group general counsel to the BBC, Dervish Tayyip, assistant general counsel at Microsoft, and Mark Maurice-Jones, the general counsel of Nestle UK and Ireland.

Wednesday, November 14. In-house lawyers from leading Bay Area companies will come together at Perfecting Your Pitch in San Francisco, a forum for women lawyers to practice pitch delivery, perfect their presentation skills and get business development tips straight from top in-house lawyers. Panelists include Ashlie Beringer, deputy GC at Facebook; Eleanor Lacey, general counsel at Sophos; and Dana Rao, general counsel at Adobe.

On the Move-

 

➨ All Day I Dream About…General Counsel. The athletic apparel company Adidas announced on Thursday that Jan Heinemann (above) will move from New York to Herzogenaurach, Germany to be the GC of Adidas. He replacesPaul Ehrlich who has been the interim legal leader since Frank Dasslerretired earlier this year. Heinemann was previously the head of law, patents and compliance in the U.S. for Bayer Corp.

➨ Change During Litigation. While Insys Therapeutics Inc. faces a number of lawsuits over wrongful death, negligence and fraud, the company announced the hiring of Mark Nance as the CLO and GC. Nance replaces Franc Del Fosse who will be staying with the company as its senior vice president of corporate affairs.

➨ Staying In Ohio. A company that makes polymer for automotive and agricultural products announced that Andrean Horton is its new Chief Legal Officer. Myers Industries said in a press release that Horton started in her role on Oct. 8.

➨ Going To Crypto. A veteran financial services attorney has joined the ranks of many of her peers by becoming a general counsel for crypto company Celsius Network. The company announced that Ann LaCarrubba will become its first GC. LaCarrubba will also serve as the company's chief compliance officer.