Ask Friday! The Social Media Tracking Edition
This week's Ask Friday! takes a bit of a turn - I'm asking the questions this time! Check out my video below to see what it is I want to know...
Corporate Breakout Session - Anti-Corruption Laws - UK Bribery Act
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So far, we've re-capped Alishan Naqvee's introduction to anti-corruption laws, and Stuart Gerson's comments on the US's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Following Stuart's presentation, the group heard from Charles Wander of Fladgate LLP, who spoke about the new UK Bribery Act.
Charles began by saying that he would give a brief overview of what's coming on July 1, 2011 in the UK. As he had mentioned during an earlier session, the firm has been doing some work on this with their clients, trying to understand what the issues might be. As Stuart had said, this is going to be applied on a worldwide basis, so it will be applied to anyone with any kind of tenuous connection with the UK.
The UK was not without anti-bribery legislation - through the end of June they would have a piece of legislation dating back to the 19th century. It was ultimately felt that this didn't have sufficient teeth. The UK was criticized in 1997 by the OECD when the incoming Labour administration discontinued an investigation into alleged bribery by British Aerospace, as part of the Al Yamamah contracts in Saudi Arabia. This was heavily criticized as being a decision made for political reasons.
Continue Reading...Corporate Breakout Session - Anti-Corruption Laws - the FCPA
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Yesterday, I shared with you this post re-capping Alishan Naqvee's introduction to the topic of anti-corruption at our 2011 Annual Meeting. To follow up on that, we'll review Stuart Gerson's (Epstein Becker & Green) comments during the session regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and its implications for those in the room.
Stuart provided the attendees with both an article he and a colleague authored on the FCPA, and an overview that their healthcare group had developed. Stuart said that as Alishan had mentioned, both the FCPA and the new UK Anti-Bribery law are extraterritorial - but not only are they applied overseas throughout the world, but they are also applied against non-US citizens, as long as the commerce that they're supporting is in the stream of interstate commerce within the US.
So non-US citizens who have never stepped food in the US are subject to the FCPA, which is a criminal statute that has long jail sentences associated with it. Additionally, they have fines up to $2 million per offense - and an offense is an individual act, so there could be a long series of them that results in the fines adding up to immense sums. And this is applicable all around the world.
Continue Reading...Corporate Breakout Session - A Re-Cap
During our 2011 Annual Meeting in Lisbon, we had specialty group breakout sessions - and lucky for you, our corporate session was recorded! The group had a roundtable discussion dedicated to the topic of "Anti-Corruption Laws and Navigating Client Businesses in Foreign Territories," which was moderated by Alishan Naqvee of LexCounsel Lawyers in India.
Alishan began with some slides to aid the discussion, saying that there is an organization in Japan called Control Risks, who conducted a survey of about 50 companies in Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK and the US. All of them said that corruption is a major cost for international business, and at the same time, an increasing number of companies in the world, while they are not absolutely aware of the anti-corruption laws in their jurisdictions, most of their business is governed by them, even when doing business in other jurisdictions.
However, corruption brings a very different dimension in cross-border investments, because the country from where the investee is investing and the country where the investment is being made may be governed by separate parameters and laws. These could be domestic, but at the same time, there could be laws from the country where the investment is being made.
Continue Reading...Ask Friday! The Building Relationships Edition
This week's Ask Friday! is a special one because it's my first video blog post! I hope there will be many more to come...
This week's question comes from Barry Camson, who wanted to know five tips for building relationships. So without further ado....
ILN-terviews: Emre Özcan, Özcan & Natan
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Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Emre Özcan of our member firm Özcan & Natan in Istanbul, Turkey.
In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
Our practice is working to expand in the corporate-commercial, finance and real estate fields of law without losing its boutique nature.
Who would be your typical client?
Foreign or local entities who have business with an international nature.
What would you like clients and potential clients to know about you?
I would like them to know me as a solution-provider and problem/dispute preventative.
What has been your most challenging case? Why?
A case to strike a decision issued by the Turkish Treasury, for the cancellation of the Free Zone license of a factory. We had to file an action for the cancellation of the complete communiqué issued by the Prime Ministry, but in the end succeeded and forced the administration to amend the communiqué and re-issue the license.
What has been your proudest moment as a lawyer?
The day I took the attorneys' oath at the Istanbul Bar Association.
What do you do when you’re not practicing law?
I like to follow local and foreign politics as well as football. Politics is sometimes more fun!
What would surprise people most about you?
I was almost entering auditions of state acting school instead of the university exams.
What has been your most memorable ILN experience?
The fun we had when we hosted the European Meeting in Istanbul in 2007, especially when I saw how good lawyers could party at the club we went to after the gala dinner!!!
What career would you have chosen if you weren’t a lawyer?
I would either choose to be an actor or a diplomat.
If a movie were made of your life, who would you want to play you?
Bruce Willis
How would you like to be remembered?
Knew how to enjoy life to the fullest!
Ask Friday! The Business Development Books Edition
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Recently, when I was seeking out Ask Friday! questions, Cordell Parvin suggested that I answer the question of "What would you recommend busy lawyers be reading on business development and what will they get from it?"
Nothing immediately popped into my mind, and Cordell was nice enough to share his list with me, as well as what's on his Kindle. Then, coincidentally, the same question appeared on the Legal Marketing Association's listserv. Those who responded were gracious enough to be included in my post, so without further ado, here is the recommended reading straight from legal marketers and business development coaches!
Continue Reading...Social Media - What Are Mid-Sized Firms Doing?
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Last week's post covered the questions of what the panelists discussing social media are doing at their firms, and the challenges they've faced. This week's looks at their social media policies and the effect of the approval process in blogging.
Social Media Policies
We next covered the question of social media policies, and whether firms are looking only at what their attorneys and staff are doing professionally, or also at their personal social networking habits.
Continue Reading...
