On Friday, January 28, 2022, Laura H. Posner will moderate a panel discussion titled “Increasing Diversity & Constituency Representation Within the Corporate Boardroom & Executive Ranks” at the Institute for Law and Economic Policy’s 28th Annual Symposium, “Mechanisms for Corporate Accountability.”

Panel participants will include:

Presenters:

  • Professor Joel Seligman – Washington University School of Law
  • Professor Karin S. Thorburn – NHH Norwegian School of Economics

Co-author:

  • Professor B. Espen Eckbo – Tuck School of Business

Commentators:

  • Anne Simpson – Managing Investment Director, Board of Governance & Sustainability, CALPERS
  • Professor Sarath Sanga – Northwestern Prizker School of Law
  • Jordan Eth, Esq. – Morrison & Foerster LLP

Christine E. Webber has been invited to speak at Yale Law School’s ISP/WIII AI Governance Symposium 2021 on November 12, 2021 at 11:50 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.

Ms. Webber will give a presentation as a part of a panel program, called “Impact through Litigation and Legislative Advocacy.”  Ms. Webber’s presentation is called, “Using Impact Litigation to Fight AI Bias in Employment & Housing: Challenges and Opportunities.” In it, she will will address:

1) The disconnect between well documented concerns about AI in making employment decisions and the lack of employment-related litigation to date.

2) The practical obstacles in pursuing AI-related employment litigation and how AI-related litigation obstacles are more easily overcome in certain housing cases, as illustrated in pending litigation against Corelogic RPS.

3) The existing disparate impact framework and how that is suited to addressing litigation over AI bias, if the hurdles to case identification can be overcome.

This program is geared to not only lawyers, but also professionals in Tech and Public Policy.

Carol V. Gilden will speak on a panel as part of the 41st Annual Ray Garret Jr. Corporate & Securities Law and 60th Annual Corporate Counsel Virtual Institute. The conference, hosted by Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, will take place online September 22-24, 2021.

Ms. Gilden will take part in the September 24 panel “Coffee and Conversations: D&O Liability: New Risks and Emerging Trends.” The discussion will focus on the interplay of directors’ and officers’ insurance and the resolution of claims based on new theories of liability and damages, including those arising from allegations of:

  • Lack of diversity among employees and on boards
  • Mismanagement of internal investigations
  • Inadequate disclosures relating to COVID-19, climate, supply chains, and cybersecurity
  • Financial losses due to inadequately-diligenced acquisitions, ill-conceived mergers, failed IPO/SPAC activity, and financial mismanagement

The conference, hosted via the 6Connex platform, will feature numerous additional sessions on a broad array of topics in corporate and securities law.

Laura H. Posner, a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation & Investor Protection and Ethics & Fiduciary Counseling practice groups, will speak on a panel at the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Annual Meeting on Monday, September 20, 2021.

Ms. Posner will take part in the panel “Words Matter – Holding Companies, Professionals, and Influencers Accountable for What They Say: The Fine Line Between Free Speech and Market Manipulation.” The discussion will examine the impact of social media and “influencers” on investor decision-making and its potential legal implications. Panelists will also include SEC Investor Advocate Rick Fleming, among others.

This year’s NASAA meeting will take place September 19-21, and will have both virtual and in-person attendance options. The in-person event will take place in Chicago.

Cohen Milstein Special Counsel Suzanne Dugan, head of the firm’s Ethics & Fiduciary Counseling practice, has been invited to speak as part of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA) 2021 Legal Education Conference. The conference will be held virtually June 22-24.

Ms. Dugan will speak on the June 22 panel “Whistleblower Complaints and Disability/Member Fraud Hotlines.” The session will focus on various public pension systems’ approaches to handling, investigating, and defending complaints from whistleblowers and callers to disability and other member fraud hotlines.

Cohen Milstein Special Counsel Suzanne Dugan, head of the firm’s Ethics & Fiduciary Counseling practice, has been invited to speak as part of the National Conference of Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) Trustee Educational Seminar. The seminar will take place virtually on June 8, 2021.

Ms. Dugan spoke as part of the session “A Fiduciary Checklist to Help Trustees (and their Lawyers) Sleep at Night,” offering practical tips on building and maintaining an ethical culture at public pension funds. She and her co-panelist, Tony Roda of Williams & Jensen, fielded questions on recent developments in fiduciary law from Richard E. Lorant, Cohen Milstein’s Director of Institutional Client Relations.

More information on NCPERS events is available here.

Takisha D. Richardson, a member of the firm’s Sexual Abuse and Sex Trafficking team, has been invited to speak on Palm Beach County Justice Association‘s (PBCJA) “Best Practices for Selecting & Handling Sexual Abuse Cases” CLE webinar hosted via Zoom on Friday, June 4, 2021 at 11 a.m.

Ms. Richardson will provide practical information on selecting and handling sexual abuse cases. She will also discuss the ethical considerations associated with handling sexual assault cases, or cases with a child victim.

The PBCJA is a countywide organization of more than 450 trial attorneys and paralegals in Palm Beach County. The organization provides resources, education, networking events and more for plaintiff trial attorneys, paralegals and their clients. Ms. Richardson serves on the Board of Directors for the PBCJA.

Christine E. Webber, a partner in Cohen Milstein’s Civil Rights & Employment practice, will speak at the ABA 2021 National Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity Law Midwinter Meeting, which will be held virtually from April 7-9, 2021.

Ms. Webber’s panel, “The Use of Technology in Managing the Workplace,” is scheduled for April 8 at 3:00 p.m.

The panelists will discuss the management of remote workforces, given the significant increase in telework over the past year due to COVID-19. Advanced legal topics relating to the use of technology in areas including recruiting/hiring, evaluating job performance, promotion/advancement, “right sizing” or RIFs, and predicting retention. This panel will address risks and opportunities of AI, machine learning and extracting information from big data; privacy implications; emerging ADA, Title VII and ADEA implications; and best practices for employers and employees alike.

Christine E. Webber, a partner in Cohen Milstein’s Civil Rights & Employment practice, will speak at the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) 2021 Spring Seminar. The seminar, “New Issues, Creative Solutions: Emerging Issues in Wage & Hour,” will take place virtually March 18-19, 2021.

Ms. Webber will take part in the session “What’s the Defense Bar Up To?” on March 19, 2021. This panel discussion will focus on defense bar tactics in wage and hour cases on issues related to jurisdiction, notice, discovery, and arbitration.

Find more information about the 2021 seminar.

Sharon K. Robertson, a partner in our Antitrust practice, will speak on the Cardozo Law Alumni Association’s virtual panel “What It’s Like to Be a Litigator and Defying Gender Norms” on March 8, 2021. The panel is part of the Alumni Association’s “Women Lead the Law” event series, celebrating Women’s History Month.

The discussion, featuring women litigators in the public and private sectors, will address questions such as:

  • What challenges are unique to women litigators?
  • How are women litigators addressing any biases they may face?
  • How can we increase the number and visibility of women trial attorneys?