Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50874
CLOSING • A roundup of legal department news and trends Now go and get a holding midfielder It's not often that your legal advisers tell you to hire a new lawyer, but that is exactly what happened this off-season with the Arsenal Foot- ball Club in London, England. The fourth-place English Premier League club amidst speculation of a take-over bid, began scouting for their first-ever general counsel in May. The move was a result of a recommendation from Nigel Board- man, a partner at the club's external adviser Slaughter and May, who said Arsenal generates enough legal work to merit its own in-house counsel. Slaughter and May will con- tinue to provide legal work in the interim. However, Boardman told Le- gal Week the new counsel could decide if that will continue. Other Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, West Ham United, and Manchester City, employ in-house counsels. Laptop security paramount A slew of lawsuits in the U.S. have recently been launched against for- mer employees for allegedly corrupt- ing files on laptop computers when leaving their employment. What's different about these suits is the accused parties are not sim- ply rank-and-file employees, they are former managers, and in one case a departing chief financial officer. According to the National Law Journal, an Illinois state court is hear- ing a case in which Motorola, Inc. is accusing its former CFO of allegedly erasing evidence from a work laptop computer after he was let go from his job. He, in turn, is suing Motorola for 38 • AUGUST 2009 INHOUSE alleged retaliation over his firing earlier this year. "Employees are engaging in self-help by taking documents and data with them on the way out the door," Anthony Oncidi, a partner with Proskauer Rose LLP, told the Journal, explaining the economy may be driv- ing the behaviour. "The spite-case situation is more common now. They've got something on the em- ployer and take it on their way out to bolster their planned lawsuit." E-mail ideas and questions to: kharris@clbmedia.ca For weekly INHOUSE news and updates go to: www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse Report: EDC effectiveness critical to economic recovery Export Development Canada is "critical" to ensure business recovery according to a Senate Foreign Affairs Committee report. The report was tabled in June and made nine recommendations to Parliament regarding the continued support of the EDC. Among the recommendations is a continued mandate for the EDC, including "the promotion of Canadian businesses abroad by providing services at all stages of the business cycle, and make adjustments as appropriate." The report also recommends the EDC expand its role in the short-term export credit insurance market as demand warrants. And the committee recommends the federal government evaluate and report to Parliament on the continued need for EDC's presence in the domestic credit market and that, as provided by legisla- tion, Parliament be given ample time to study the issue. The report from the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and International Trade was conducted as part of EDC's 10-year legislative review, a legal requirement under the Export Development Act. "EDC welcomes the report and its recommendations, and believes that the review process has independently demonstrated that our strate- gic direction remains focused on the best interests of Canada, its export- ers and investors, and our shareholder," said Eric Siegel, president and CEO of EDC. A full copy of the report is available at www.parl.gc.ca/40/2/parlbus/ commbus/senate/com-e/fore-e/rep-e/FinalReportJun09-e.pdf.