AGENDA

Managing Litigation as a Business

Supporting the ACC Value Challenge

February 18, 2015

7:30 am – 5:00 pm

BP

501 Westlake Park Blvd.

Westlake 1 Building – Terrace Room

Houston, TX 77079

7:30 – 8:00 amContinental Breakfast

8:00 – 8:10 amWelcoming Remarks / Purpose of the Day & Event Admin Points

8:10 – 9:00 amIdentifying and Tackling Your Law Department’s Litigation Challenges

  • Prioritizing / The Need for Change
  • Utilizing Available Resources
  • The Importance of Defining Value
  • Collaborating with Preferred Firms and Suppliers to Deliver Value

9:00 – 10:00 amPlenary Session – Law Department Leader Panel

Risk, Dispute and Litigation Management Success Examples / Best Practices Capturing Low-hanging Fruit Today for Better Results at Lower Costs Tomorrow

10:00 – 10:20 amMid-morning Break

10:20 – 11:40 amSmall Group Break-out Sessions

Interactive Discussions – Specific Deliverables

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Budgeting and Tracking to Budget
/
  • Early and Periodic Case Assessment
  • State-of-the-Art Law Department Technology

11:40 – 12:50 pmNetworking Lunch - Guest Speaker

12:50 – 1:00 pmIntroduction to the “Managing Litigation as a Business” (MLB) Initiative and

“ManagingLitigation Reference Model” (MLRM) Project

1:00 – 2:00 pmPlenary Session – The Ethics of Aligning Value and Costs

  • Faculty Directed Interactive Discussion
  • Review Rule 1.5 Fees, Texas Rules of Professional Conduct
  • Spotting Ethical Issues in Alternative Fee Arrangements

2:00 – 3:15 pmSmall Group Break-out Sessions

Review each Law Department Participant’s Dispute and Litigation Management Self-Assessment

  • Identify what your in-house team is doing well and where improvement is desired
  • Prioritize areas of desired improvement and indicate why these are important
  • Determine what resources are needed to implement desired improvements
  • Define the criteria your law department uses to determine the “value” of dispute and litigation management services purchased from outside counsel
  • Specify things outside counsel can do immediately or in the near future to improve the value of the litigation services they provide your company
  • Complete the worksheet for your law department’s “Next Steps Action Plan”

3:15 – 3:30 pm Afternoon Break

3:30 – 4:00 pmPlenary Session – Facilitated Brainstorming and Discussion
Law Department Commitments to Action

Comments from in-house counsel attendees indicating (a) primary desired areas for improvement in law department operations; (b) the elements that define “high value” in legal services provided to the company; (c) what specifically can be reasonably accomplished within the next 90 days to 6 months; and (d) the primary resource needed to achieve your goals.

4:00 - 4:15 pmProgram Wrap-up

Implementing to Law Department’s “Next Step Action Plan” – Suggestions for using the ACC Value Challenge and MLB initiative as an ongoing resource

Acknowledgements and closing comments by guest faculty, ACC Chapter Leaders and MLB Project Directors

4:15 - 5:00 pmNetworking Reception