Archive for January, 2008
« Older EntriesRegulatory Compliance for the Insurance Industry
January 31st, 2008
in Insurance & Reinsurance |
Leading compliance officers, regulators, counsel and private practice attorneys will provide valuable, practical information on:
• Assessing the compliance impact of the Optional Federal Charter, principles-based regulation, and other emerging initiatives
• Conducting a risk-based assessment of your compliance program: determining where the focus should be and where the money should be spent
• Innovative strategies for streamlining compliance across multiple jurisdictions while getting buy-in and minimizing costs
• Upgrading your document retention and privacy processes in light of the new Federal rules
• Proactive processes and procedures to avoid penalties and litigation
In an era of increasingly heightened scrutiny, are you confident that your insurance compliance program will withstand potential challenges?
With financial products being a focus of regulators over the last several months, the eyes of the regulators are sure to fall on the insurance industry more intensely than in years past. And, this year saw the perennial task of achieving compliance continue to expand. State regulation is increasingly stringent and as always, a patchwork of differing requirements and expectations from the regulators. Meanwhile, federal regulators have been scrutinizing more aspects of the insurance industry. A new Optional Federal Charter is working its way through Congress, and key states such as New York are advocating initiatives such as principles-based regulation which could fundamentally change insurance regulation.
How do you integrate new legal and regulatory developments into effective, seamless compliance? What’s essential and what’s just not practical? What do you need to do to get your organization to a stage where you can say with certainty that your enterprise-wide compliance strategies are really working?
For answers, look no further than American Conference Institute’s 4th Annual
conference on Regulatory Compliance for the Insurance Industry. With a faculty
packed with senior compliance professionals and regulators, and a program that
covers all the hot-button issues, you can be assured that you’ll come away with
practical, timely information you can really use back at the office, including:
• Using practical, methodical procedures to conduct a thorough risk assessment of your compliance function
• Minimizing privacy, security and data retention risks going forward
• Fine-tuning your OFAC verification process: is it good enough?
• Understanding what training and monitoring is critical to ensuring
on-going compliance
• Integrating new regulatory developments seamlessly into your compliance program
Get your questions answered and network with insurance compliance professionals from across the country. With a focus on practical information, risk-based compliance assessments, and tracking new developments, we think you’ll agree that this program represents two days out of the office extremely well spent! We look forward to seeing you in New York.
Tags: Insurance, Legal conferences, OFAC, Optional Federal Charter, Reinsurance
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REVERSE MORTGAGE COMPLIANCE
January 30th, 2008
in Financial Services, Litigation |
Federal regulators will join forces with compliance executives and senior mortgage banking attorneys to provide you with unparalleled insight on how to:
• Apply forward state required disclosure requirements to reverse mortgages
• Reconcile benefit to borrower provisions with reverse mortgage structure
• Develop a regulatory framework in compliance with HUD
• Maximize potential for securitization of HECM and proprietary loans
• Employ quality control measures to ensure investor acceptance
• Develop fixed-rate and LIBOR indexed products in compliance with state and federal regulations
• Refine your RESPA, TILA and other compliance processes for the reverse product
While the burgeoning reverse mortgage market is full of opportunities, the regulatory pitfalls are ominous. Are your systems in place to meet the demands of rising volumes while ensuring compliance?
In 2008, the baby boomer generation will reach the qualifying age of 62, and according to the NRMLA, by 2030 over 20 percent of Americans will be over age 65. As lenders mobilize to reach this new market, it is imperative to compensate for the current regulatory gaps by extrapolating current legislative requirements for forwards into this burgeoning market. And, as the market continues to grow exponentially, and lenders develop new proprietary products, specific state reverse mortgage statutes and the rules of the forward world will only increase regulatory demands.
At American Conference Institute’s Reverse Mortgage Compliance event, you will gain practical strategies from leading regulators and compliance professionals as well as senior mortgage banking attorneys on how to:
• Determine which disclosures are necessary at the state and federal level
• Meet specific state regulatory approvals for originating reverse mortgages
• Respond to a HUD findings letter
• Identify default conditions to ensure compliant servicing
• Document borrower competency to stay in compliance with FHA and state counseling requirements
• Meet investor demands to ensure securitization of reverse mortgages
Tags: Legal conferences, Litigation strategies
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American Conference Institute presents The 5th National Conference Pharma/Biotech IP Due Diligence
January 30th, 2008
in Pharmaceuticals / Biotech / Life Sciences, Regulatory & Compliance |
YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE FOR M&A’S, LICENSING, AND OTHER COLLABORATIONS
Leading IP practitioners, in-house counsel and industry experts will examine
the latest due diligence challenges and show you how to:
• REPOSITION due diligence strategies in light of –
- USPTO Claims and Continuations Practice – Final Rule
- recent court decisions, including KSR, MedImmune and more
- patent reform legislative efforts
• PREPARE for the diligence review BEFORE the next merger, license or collaboration
• PREDICT the strength and validity of patents under the new obviousness regime
• LEARN what VCs are looking for when assessing IP risks and strengths
• UNCOVER hidden issues with ownership rights and inventorship
• ENSURE freedom to operate
• FACTOR IP valuation assessment into the diligence process
• PROTECT privilege during the review
• COMMUNICATE the results of a diligence analysis
Give your diligence its due: Ensure the value of the IP with a thorough and effective review.
IP due diligence is now a central concern and struggle for companies in life science-related industries, due to the substantial growth of mergers and acquisitions, spin-outs, and divestitures, as well as the evolving role of licensing and collaborative arrangements. If the due diligence is not properly conducted, you run the risk of loss of reputation, loss of profits, or even ruin.
Adjust your IP due diligence strategies in accordance with PTO
reform and recent case law.
Since the intellectual property at issue can make or break a deal, it is imperative that you are aware of all of the current changes to patent practices. This past year has seen patent reform efforts at all levels – in the courts, legislature and
USPTO. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc. and its progeny could have a significant impact on the validity of a patent and consequently the value of the IP in question. The recently enacted USPTO Claims and Continuation Final Rule
complicates the patent landscape even further.
Run an informed and well organized IP diligence review.
As the person responsible for ensuring the IP’s value, you need to know the structure of the deal, what assets are important and the business drivers behind the transaction. These influence the type and depth of diligence needed.
Only then can you develop an appropriate diligence strategy, build the team, and devise the right checklist.
Assess the strength of the IP portfolio.
As part of any diligence review, you need to determine whether title is clear, and whether there is the right to commercialize the IP. The portfolio’s value must be evaluated, including the validity of the patents involved and the potential risks.
With all of this in mind, ACI has developed the 5th National Conference on Pharma/Biotech IP Due Diligence: Your Complete Guide for M&As, Licensing, and Other Collaborations. An unparalleled faculty of leading IP practitioners and experienced in-house counsel will provide you with best practices for conducting a successful and cost effective IP diligence review.
Tags: Biotech, Due Diligence, Intellectual Property, IP, KSR, Legal conferences, Licence, Pharma, Pharmaceutical, PTO, USPTO
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American American Conference Institute’s Forum on Drafting the CD& A 2008
January 29th, 2008
in Regulatory & Compliance |
Meeting The SEC’s Clarified Standards
While Protecting Confidential Information
GAIN EXPERT INSIGHTS ON
✓ Disclosing performance targets without tipping off competitors
✓ Valuing hard-to-quantify components of executives’ actual compensation
✓ Clarifying and articulating your compensation philosophy in the absence
of a documented policy
✓ Incorporating the necessary level of analysis when disclosing peer
group benchmarks
Overcome the challenge of drafting your CD&A in a vacuum by brainstorming with our experts on the best language, approaches and analytics for the second
season of the new requirements.
The SEC has made it clear that the 2007 filings were not what they were
looking for: too little discussion on material items; too much verbosity on
non-material items; and not enough focus on the analysis on which
compensation decisions were made. With the SEC stating the intent to come
down harder in the next proxy round, it is imperative that you nail the
disclosures for this round. Attend this interactive seminar and gain the most
practical, expert guidance available from leading authorities to ensure you are
not on the receiving end of the next round of comment letters.
By the end of this essential seminar, you will:
- Be able to protect confidential information while satisfying the SEC
- Know exactly how to avoid the issues that came out of the 2007 proxy season
- Be confident that your CD&A will not be a target of further inquiries
In addition, to complete your overall conference experience, take advantage
of our interactive post-conference workshop, Preparing for 10b5-1 Plan
Investigations. Our expert faculty, including a member of the SEC Division
of Enforcement, will give guidance on overcoming the challenges surrounding
Rule 10b5-1 Plans and potential SEC enforcement actions on the horizon.
Tags: 10b5-1, CD& A, Legal conferences, Regulatory, SEC
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Legal and Strategic Forum on Life Reinsurance
January 29th, 2008
in Insurance & Reinsurance |
• Design comprehensive and secure reinsurance agreements
• Upgrade your compliance processes to address the real concerns behind increased regulatory demands
• Account for factors impacting your ability to negotiate reinsurance pricing
• Structure your reserves to meet requirements while freeing capital
• Benchmark operational practices with other insurers and reinsurers
• Utilize technology to improve your treaty management system
• Maximize your position by crafting thorough and practical arbitration clauses
Have your legal and business practices kept pace with changing regulatory requirements, increasingly complex contract agreements and the emergence of
new reinsurance products?
The reinsurance industry used to be known for its insular culture and informal business practices. But times have changed – reinsurance deals are becoming more detailed and comprehensive then ever before. And while many reinsurance companies have struggled with these changes, opportunities exist for companies
that resolve to adapt quickly.
ACI’s 2nd Annual Legal and Strategic Forum on Life Reinsurance will provide you with insight on how to update your legal and business practices to ensure more protection and higher returns in this new business environment. Experienced industry leaders will provide you with expert strategies on:
• Preparing profitable and secure reinsurance agreements
• Establishing operational best practices
• Staying compliant with State, Federal and NAIC requirements
• Developing an effective treaty management system
• Addressing arbitrations in your agreement
• Improving the quality of data that flows between you and your business partners
In addition, a special Fundamentals of Life Reinsurance workshop will provide industry newcomers with a thorough understanding of the complex rules and regulations that govern this area of the law. Don’t miss the opportunity to expand your knowledge through this valuable pre-conference tutorial.
Tags: Insurance, Legal conferences, Life Reinsurance, NAIC, Reinsurance, Strategy
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ACI’s 2nd Annual Conference on SUMMER ASSOCIATE PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
January 28th, 2008
in Law Firm Management |
A Bi-Coastal Event focusing on Successful Recruitment, Development, and Retention Strategies
Providing Law Firm Recruiters with Practical Insight and Best Practices with Key Topics including:
✓ Interviewing techniques to sharpen your recruitment efforts and increase
opportunities for finding the right summer associates for your firm
✓ Recruiting a diverse summer associate class through proper planning,
varied recruitment sources, and firm-wide communication
✓ Creating social opportunities and training to close the generation
gap between summer associates and partners
✓ Developing a refreshed and unique social calendar that offers time for
assimilation into the firm while keeping costs down and the program realistic
✓ Establishing a relevant, and in-depth training schedule that balances
time effectively, while exhibiting the proper way to handle all aspects
of being an attorney
Offering an exceptional Summer Associate program and finding the right candidates for it is the key to reducing turnover and maintaining a strong reputation which leads to increased profitability.
When a summer associate is hired as a junior associate, it is a great feat. However, often times the new associate will leave the firm within only 2 years of joining. The turnover results in exorbitant costs to the firm due to the amount of money that is spent recruiting, training, and entertaining new associates.
What actions can your firm take to effectively hire the right summer associates
who will ultimately return as associates after graduation and stay with the firm for longer than 2 years?
In effort to avoid the loss of time and financial resources your firm may experience, American Conference Institute brings you a one-of-a-kind event – our 2nd Annual Summer Associate Program Development Conference! It is the only conference to solely and thoroughly address all aspects of the summer associate program. Featuring a speaking faculty comprised of the industry’s greatest recruiters from some of the nation’s top-ranked law firms, this engaging agenda provides only exceptional strategies and realistic solutions for proper hiring and future retention of summer associates.
Our speaking faculty is comprised of several firms ranked in the top 50 of last year’s American Lawyer Summer Associate Survey including:
• Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
• Goulston & Storrs
• Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
• Quarles & Brady, LLP
• Snell & Wilmer, LLP
• Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP
• Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Attend this special conference and walk away with tools to:
- Increase retention and positively secure your firm’s bottom line
- Close the gap between GenNext summer associates and traditional associates and partners
- Implement new interviewing techniques to attract the right summer associates for your firm
- Provide dynamic and effective training opportunities for your summer associate class
- Establish a mentorship program that will positively impact the summer associates, and partners
In addition, don’t miss our exclusive post-conference Master Class workshop: Ensuring Continued Satisfaction Following Summer Associates’ Transition to Junior Associates. This workshop will provide tools, innovative methods, and easily-implemented plans to increase retention once the summer associate is hired on as a junior associate. Solutions will be given to ensure that newly hired junior associates will grow with the firm, stay content and fulfilled in their work, and ultimately remain with the firm for several years.
You can’t afford to miss this unique opportunity to obtain new recruitment techniques, share ideas, network, and learn from your peers from leading law firms across the nation. Register now to guarantee your space at this exciting event.
Tags: Interview Techniques, Law Firm Management, Legal conferences, Retention, Strategy
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PRIVACY & SECURITY OF CONSUMER AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION
January 23rd, 2008
in Regulatory & Compliance, Telecoms & Technology |
Strategic Approaches for Protecting Sensitive
Information in a Portable Market
Leading Chief Privacy Officers, senior federal & state regulators and private practice attorneys specializing in privacy law will share legal, business, and tactical strategies on how to:
• Comply with the latest state and federal security breach notification laws
• Implement the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
• Protect sensitive information when it’s in third party hands
• Create an incident response plan to handle a security breach
• Ensure compliance with restrictions on social security number use
• Develop and Operationalize a risk assessment program
High profile security breaches continue to attract wide-scale media attention and cost institutions billions of dollars annually.
Since 2005, data security breaches have occurred at companies, schools, and
government agencies involving an estimated 159 million records of sensitive
information. In the past year alone, the cost of a security breach for an
institution has increased by 30% per incident. Moreover, with the upsurge of
national media attention and widely publicized security breaches and cases of
identity theft, regulators have been forced to act with more and more
legislation concerning the privacy and security of personal information.
Do your privacy and data security policies maximize protection and minimize risk of regulatory and information breaches?
At American Conference Institute’s 7th National Symposium on Privacy
and Security of Consumer and Employee Information, you will learn
proactive strategies that will make your compliance with the latest privacy
laws and safeguarding of your customer and employee information more
effective and efficient. You will hear from leading privacy experts, including
federal and state regulators, Chief Privacy Officers and seasoned privacy
attorneys on how to:
• Ensure compliance with the myriad of state and federal security breach notification requirements
• Handle the media frenzy following a security breach and minimize damage to your reputation
• Prepare for the impact of the proposed SSN legislation affecting the sharing and use of social security numbers
• Protect your data at every stage of your vendor and service provider relationships
• Establish proactive strategies to protect against sophisticated hackers and cyber-criminals working 24 hours a day to steal your information
Tags: Cloud Computing, Compliance, Data Breach, Legal, Legal conferences, Privacy, Security
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13th Annual Conference on EMPLOYMENT PRACTICEs LIABILITY INSURANCE
January 23rd, 2008
in Employment & Benefits, Insurance & Reinsurance |
Minimizing Risks in a Soft Market
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Christine M. Griffin
Commissioner
US Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Honorable Mark W. Bennett
Chief Judge
U.S. District Court
Northern District of Iowa
Discrimination, defamation, retaliation and other types of employment cases are crowding court dockets across the country. And, with such cases often resulting in substantial payouts to plaintiffs, either through settlements or verdicts, it is more important than ever that claims professionals, underwriters, risk managers and in-house counsel thoroughly understand their exposures.
To help you avoid and defend yourself against the growing number of claims, American Conference Institute presents its critically acclaimed 13th Annual Conference on Employment Practices Liability Insurance. For the past twelve years, this conference has attracted leaders of both the insurance and employment law communities to receive the most current information on:
■ Underwriting EPL risk for small and large companies
■ Measuring and assessing risk vulnerabilities in companies
■ Utilizing ADR to quickly resolve employment cases and avoid litigation
■ Brokers’ views on new coverages and add-on that clients are demanding
Multiple Perspectives – Our speaker faculty are the leaders in the EPLI world. With the sessions in panel format, you gain multiple viewpoints on the most significant emerging topics.
Networking, Networking – The beautiful Essex House is designed to facilitate the growing number of participants for this event. This conference is not just about what you will learn – it is also about who you will have the opportunity to meet!
Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks
Lucy Ann Galioto
Vice President
AIG Executive Liability (New York, NY)
David L. Keenan
Vice President and Claims Counsel
Chubb & Son, a division of Federal Insurance Co.
(Tampa, FL)
Tags: ADR, Defamation, Discrimination, Employment, EPL Risk, EPLI, Insurance, Legal conferences, Retaliation
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Advertising & promotions for the pharmaceutical industry
January 22nd, 2008
in Advertising & Marketing, Pharmaceuticals / Biotech / Life Sciences |
Special session on the FDA Revitalization Act and its impact on DTC advertising, plus discussions to help you:
- ENSURE substantiation of all claims, make proper challenges,
and engage in successful comparative advertising
- STEP into the regulators shoes – avoid consumer fraud
and false advertising allegations
- CRAFT effective messages without overstepping regulatory
boundaries when creating disease awareness ads
- CREATE a surefire system to map, track, and update
the compliance of a national advertising campaign
- IMPLEMENT key sales representative and MSL training techniques
- CLARIFY the FDA’s rules for off label promotions
Safeguard your clients ads from consumer fraud and false advertising claims.
In the wake of new legislation regulating DTC advertising, and the limited availability of defenses such as preemption and learned intermediary, the pharmaceutical advertising and promotions industry is experiencing significant regulatory and legal changes. Whether advertising on television, print, online, or
through other means, the only way to ensure optimal compliance is with a thorough understanding of how governing bodies such as FDA, FTC, and the state attorney general offices work together to regulate pharmaceutical advertising. It is your duty to stay abreast of these industry-wide changes and advise your clients on how to adapt.
Ensure best practices in pharmaceutical advertising and marketing that will benefit your company and most importantly, the health of your consumers.
As always, careful, in-depth training of sales representatives and MSLs is necessary to ensure proper promotional practices. Now is the time to re-examine in-house programs and uncover the areas that need work. Make sure that the right information is shared and hear what other companies are doing to keep inappropriate information from being disseminated.
American Conference Institute has specifically tailored this year’s program to provide you with a thorough understanding of advertising and promotions law for your industry. You will hear from leading pharmaceutical attorneys who are entrenched in advertising and marketing law, and representatives from the regulatory bodies who are called upon to review ads for improper advertising and promotional practices. Specific highlights include:
- Understanding the implications of FDARA on DTC advertising
- Mapping the regulatory landscape to ensure proper claim substantiation
- Crafting effective disease awareness advertisements without overstepping regulatory boundaries
- Creating an efficient system to map, track, and update advertising practices in compliance with state laws
- Promoting to managed care groups in light of Medicare Part D Changes and other recent developments
-Limiting promotional missteps with calculated sales-force and MSL training
- Clarifying the FDA’s rules for off-label promotions
Tags: Advertising, Compliance, FDA, Legal, Legal conferences, Pharmaceutical, Regulatory
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Reinsurance Boot Camp
January 22nd, 2008
in Insurance & Reinsurance |
BASIC TRAINING FOR INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE PROFESSIONALS
■ Discover why, how and when reinsurance is used
■ Learn about different treaty and facultative reinsurance programs
■ Consider what factors impact the reinsurance buyer
■ Study the underwriting process and learn how their decisions are made
■ Understand the role played by reinsurance brokers
■ Investigate the different markets for reinsurance, including the London and direct markets
■ Calculate the impact of reinsurance on financial statements
The Basics: Understanding & Utilizing Reinsurance
• Why reinsurance is used – and who is using it
• Different types of reinsurance:
- treaty
- facultative
- quota share
- excess of loss
• Determining what reinsurance program is appropriate
to your needs
• Review of key terminology
• Understanding the reinsurance markets:
- brokers
- direct
- London
Purchasing Reinsurance: Key Considerations for Insurers, Brokers and Reinsurers
Richard Ruggiano
Senior Reinsurance Officer – Domestic Operations
American International Group (New York, NY)
• Establishing what your reinsurance needs are
• Determining what market and product meets your needs
• Distinctions between amount placed, amount ceded
and amount retained net
• Considerations when deciding what companies
to do business with
• Security Committees:
- who participates
- committee responsibilities
- criteria for committee approval
- capital surplus requirements
Tags: Brokers, Financial, Insurance, Legal, Legal conferences, Reinsurance, Underwriters
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