Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012
Panelists focus on best practices for in-house counsel at the Nov. 30 MBA Conference.
Photos by Andrea Burke.
10th Annual In-House Conference focuses on best practices
Review conference highlights and purchase MBA On Demand recordings today.
The Massachusetts Bar Association held its 10th
Annual In-House Conference on Friday, Nov. 30. The program, which
focused on best practices for in-house counsel, featured opening
remarks by attorney Lauren Stiller Rikleen.
Keynote speaker Rikleen kicked-off the event with a focus on
strengthening multigenerational relationships. The presentation
highlighted key differences between generations and concluded with
recommendations for ways in which to bridge the gap in the
workplace.
"There is just a voice that this [Millenial] generation has been
given that was recognized quite early on," Rikleen said. "We [older
generations] look at respect more as deference…[Millenials] view
respect as being heard."
Rikleen emphasized the benefit of increased orientations in the
workplace as well as team-building programs, like reverse
mentoring, to assimilate different generations. Rikleen ended her
keynote address by quoting Abraham Lincoln, "I do not like this
person. I must get to know him better."
Other conference panelists discussed current areas of interest,
such as cybersecurity, insurance planning and independent
investigations. The conference also featured two brief "lightning
round" presentations on current intellectual property issues.
The conference wrapped-up with an update from the Business
Litigation Session of the Superior Court Department. A panel of BLS
justices discussed the BLS Pilot Project, which was designed to
lessen the burdens of litigation and to emphasize that discovery
ought to be proportional to what is at stake.
Conference co-chair David A. Parke, Esq. was pleased with the
diversity of topics and speakers.
"This year's conference was well received by the audience," Parke
said.
If you missed the In-House Counsel
Conference, click here to view the program via MBA On
Demand.