Law Library

New ABA book provides practical advice, pointers for in-house counsel

A new book by the American Bar Association Business Law Section, "Guide for In-House Counsel: Practical Resource to Cutting-Edge Issues," provides practical advice on meeting the daily challenges faced by in-house counsel as the legal industry evolves and changes to accommodate technological advancements in the workplace. Each chapter in the book covers key topics and concerns that arise within a particular area of the law, which are identified throughout the book as practice pointers.

Written by practice leaders in a multitude of specialty areas, this guide covers cutting-edge topics facing in-house counsel today, including:

- Discussion of the attorney-client privilege for in-house counsel: the corporation as client who holds the privilege?

- Examination of corporate internal investigations: employment, cybersecurity risks and corruption;

- Conducting a sexual harassment investigation;

- How to prepare the company and yourself for mediation and arbitration;

- Cybersecurity and data privacy issues;

- The impact of an automatic stay;

- What is a class action and practical considerations in managing a class action?

- What is a trademark, service mark and patent?

In addition, the book identifies particular issues or concerns and assists in-house counsel in the subsequent selection of appropriate outside counsel or experts. By providing insight into the issues, in-house counsel will be able to work more effectively with the appropriate outside counsel or experts.

"Guide for In-House Counsel" was edited by Leslie A. Berkoff, a partner at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP in Garden City, N.Y. She serves as co-chair of the ?rm's Litigation and Bankruptcy Practice Group, as well as co-chair of the ?rm's Alternate Dispute Resolution Practice. Berkoff concentrates her practice in the area of bankruptcy and restructuring litigation and corporate workouts, and she represents a variety of corporate debtors, trustees, creditors and creditor committees both nationally and locally. Berkoff speaks and publishes extensively and is a recognized leader in her ?eld.

ABA book discusses issues surrounding mass ­incarceration and ­suggestions for reform

Just published by the American Bar Association, "Rehabilitation and Incarceration: In Search of Fairer and More Productive Sentencing" provides one judge's viewpoint on the societal realities, public policy and very real human aspects of mass incarceration. The United States imprisons a higher percentage of its population than any other country in the world. U.S. District Judge Harold Baer, Jr. left this manuscript behind after his passing in 2014 as his testament to the collateral consequences of imprisonment and the pressing need to promote rehabilitation for the public good.

"Rehabilitation and Incarceration" provides useful data and perspectives for judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, pre-trial service officers and probation officers. Baer wrote this treatise in response to what he deemed an over-reliance on imprisonment as a result of criminal activity and a punitive approach to crime, offering instead alternatives and supplements to punishments that would benefit society at large. Filled with his experience and discretion, this book discusses the mass crisis of incarceration and the need for reform; penalties past the sentencing and the frequency of offender recidivism; proper paths to rehabilitation; promoting rehabilitation through re-entry courts; and risk assessment of offenders for public safety.

Baer served as a federal district court judge from 1994 until his passing in 2014. Before that, he served on the New York State Supreme Court for 10 years. His most recent book, "Judges Under Fire: Human Rights, Independent Judges, and the Rule of Law," was published in 2011 by the ABA. Baer graduated from Hobart College and the Yale Law School.

Published: Thu, Apr 11, 2019