InsideCounsel SuperConference

If you've been following Blawg Review on Twitter @blawgreview you already know that some of the well-known lawyers who blog, Dan Hull, Scott Greenfield, Patrick Lamb, and Stephanie West Allen, are among the leading lawyers speaking at the Ninth Annual InsideCounsel SuperConference in Chicago next week.

And you've heard that we'll be getting together with some of the most interesting General Counsel in and around the conference events.

There really are a lot of interesting topics on the program. In addition to the keynotes by Robert Bauer, David Boies, and Dick Thornburgh, there are sessions that I'm especially interested in attending.

The Changing Face of Green Business
An emphasis on environmental concerns has placed a premium on environmental sustainability and the “greening” of mainstream business in both image and practice. In the meantime, “green” start-ups such as alternative energy companies are being talked about as some of the main drivers of the recovering economy. How is this changing the corporate landscape? Can your company go green and stay in the black?

Elisa D. Garcia C, EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Office Depot, Inc.
Howard A. Learner, President & Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center
John Parker Sweeney, Member, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, Chair, DRI Climate Change Litigatin Task Force

Moderator:
Melissa Maleske, Managing Editor, InsideCounsel magazine

The Impact of KSR, Seagate, Quanta, and Bilski on Business Decisions
What will be the impact of recent important decisions in patent law, and what do you need to know to protect your company’s valuable IP assets?

H. Carol Bernstein, VP, Secretary & General Counsel, Cabot Microelectronics Corporation
Michael J. Forzano, Intellectual Property Counsel, Pall Corporation
Robert J. Zeitler, VP & General Counsel, Molex Incorporated

Moderator:
Robert F. Green, Member, Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd.

Secondments: The Immersion Approach
Secondments, which have most often been done by U.K. firms, are gaining traction here in the U.S. There are benefits all around: the outside firm gains a deeper relationship with the client, the client gets a lawyer who understands their needs and culture, and the lawyer becomes more valuable to the firm upon return. Hear from lawyers who’ve been seconded, and in-house counsel who’ve taken them on. What did they learn? What were the benefits? Would they do it again?

Mark Chandler, SVP, General Counsel & Secretary, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Elisa D. Garcia C. EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Office Depot, Inc.

Moderator:
Rees Morrison, President, Rees Morrison Associates

The Business Education of Lawyers
Lawyers are good at problem solving and identifying issues, but often find it challenging to gain a firm grasp of the business side. What are the 10 things lawyers need to understand about business that will make them better able to serve their clients?

Alan K. Tse, General Counsel, LG Electronics MobileComm USA
Karen Wishart, EVP & Chief Legal Officer, TV One, LLC
Marti L. Wronski, VP & General Counsel, Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club

Moderator:
Roger H. Marks, Executive Director, International Affairs, National Safety Council

And, of course, we won't miss this:

Dealing With Gen-Y @ Work
They don’t play by the same set of workplace rules as their boomer parents did. Their sense of entitlement and refusal to follow corporate dictates blindly - not to mention a couple of tattoos or piercings, - make them very different than their colleagues. The flip side is they bring a tremendous energy to their work and are more tuned-in to the world around them than the previous generation was. How do you deal with this new breed, and create an environment in which they can thrive?

Stephanie West Allen, JD, Mediator and Trainer, Author, BrainsOnPurpose blog
Scott H. Greenfield, Attorney At Law, Author, Simple Justice blog
William P. Morelli, EVP & General Counsel, Ingram Industries, Inc.
Marcy Smorey-Giger, Corporate Counsel & Secretary, Wesco International, Inc.
Anthony P. Zana, Corporate Counsel, Intergraph Corporation

Moderator:
J. Daniel Hull, Co-Founder, Hull McGuire PC

Should be interesting, to say the least!

In addition to the InsideCounsel SuperConference Program, there will be meetups and tweetups where lawyers who know each other well online can get together face-to-face, often for the first time.

If you're in Chicagoland next week, even if you can't attend the SuperConference this year, be sure to contact me or any of us who are going to be there, and we'll let you know where we might meet in person. The Cubs and the White Sox are in town. And the Blackhawks are at home, too.

Chicago, my kind of town!