Speakers: Lynn Shapiro Snyder, Epstein Becker Green, P.C.; Susan Gross Sholinsky, Epstein Becker Green, P.C.

The health care industry faces a myriad of complex challenges ranging from economic pressures to regulatory compliance to issues surrounding industry consolidation and reform. Counted among those challenges is the need to remain in compliance with the changes in federal, state and local employment law and regulations as well as policy and procedural changes, including those resulting from evolving technology. Health care industry employers are wise to "pause" from time to time to ensure that current human resources and employment practices are compliant and represent industry best practices.

The faculty for this program will address policies, procedures and employment-related records with a particular emphasis on health care industry employers. They will outline important tips that may be implemented to manage a productive, efficient, and compliant human resources department including the development of policies, procedures and training programs.

Speakers: Stacey P. Slaughter, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.; George D. Carroll, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.

As recent U.S. Supreme Court and circuit court cases demonstrate, class action lawsuits remain an important part of today’s complex litigation practice. As they track this year’s top cases, the faculty for this program will focus on recent changes in class action law and provide objective analysis of the decisions and the reasoning behind them. This program provides the basic information you need to stay current in class action litigation, regardless of your practice area or whether your focus is on plaintiff or defense work.

The program will include discussions of prominent cases such as American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, Oxford Health Plans v. Sutter, Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles, Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans & Trust Funds, Mississippi v. AU Optronics Corp., Glazer v. Whirlpool Corp., and more.

Speakers: Moderator: Ronald J. Hedges, Ronald J. Hedges LLC; Thomas Y. Allman; Kenneth J. Withers, The Sedona Conference

The imposition of sanctions for failure to preserve and spoliation of electronically stored information (ESI) may not be a daily occurrence. Nevertheless, the specter of a sanctions-related motion can be a real threat and a basis for what some call the “overpreservation” of ESI and of any other information discoverable under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) and its state equivalents.

Case law regarding what might trigger a duty to preserve and what conduct (or misconduct) could lead to a sanctions award continues to evolve. Against this background, the Judicial Conference of the United States has begun consideration of possible amendments to the Federal Rules that might, if adopted, limit the imposition of sanctions to certain conduct.

Speakers: Robert A. Hussar, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP; Jacqueline C. Wolff, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Heightened government scrutiny, driven by increasingly strict fraud and abuse provisions, has raised the bar—and the risks—for life sciences companies. In 2012, the Department of Justice recovered $4.96 billion under the False Claims Act, more than $3 billion of that from health care cases. Clearly, health care is under a microscope, and the scrutiny is growing. The Department of Justice is reaching beyond the usual health care statutes to go after life sciences and health care companies in an expanding array of areas—from mail and wire fraud to obstruction—and using more aggressive techniques than ever before, including wire taps and video recordings.

This program helps life sciences and health care companies safely navigate today’s increasingly stringent and complex enforcement environment. It also provides a guide to building and implementing effective compliance programs.

Speakers: Andrew P. Loewinger, Nixon Peabody LLP; Carolyn J. Vardi, White & Case LLP

Private equity investments in franchise systems have been increasing. This may be due, in part, to the fact that many franchises have a recognizable brand, a proven business model, reliable cash flow, and already-existing strategies for growth, all of which make them attractive to investors.

This program will address what makes franchise systems attractive to private equity investors and how these investments are typically structured. Additionally, the faculty will discuss certain deal considerations that are important and specific to these types of investments.

Speakers: Joel S. Ario, Manatt Health Solutions; Melinda J. Dutton, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP; Scott Falk, Bloomberg BNA; Lisa Rockelli, Bloomberg BNA

By creating a marketplace in which consumers have multiple choices among products and web-based tools for comparison shopping, health care exchanges will become the public face of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when they open for business in 2014. The ultimate vision is to create an Amazon-like experience, leading to a health insurance system that is more transparent, easier to navigate and more responsive to consumers’ needs. On the path to achieving that goal, both public and private exchanges are experimenting with a variety of approaches and models—and all of the healthcare stakeholders, from payers to providers to pharmaceutical companies—are re-thinking how they’ll operate in the changing environment.

The faculty for this program will take an in-depth look at the emerging exchange marketplaces and how they are transforming health insurance and the broader patient care landscape.

Speakers: Keith A. Barritt, Fish & Richardson P.C.; Jerre B. Swann, Jr., Fish & Richardson P.C.; Scott Gamel, Thomson Reuters CompuMark

Several years ago the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the entity that manages the Internet domain name system, began the process of greatly expanding the “top level” domain space to co-exist with the familiar .com, .net and .org extensions. Applications for new extensions were accepted in 2012, and more than 1900 applications were filed for more than 1400 new extensions. Several of those extensions, including .app and .web, had multiple applicants.

Trademark owners have an opportunity to obtain priority “Sunrise” domain names based on their existing registered trademarks, but they must take certain steps in order to be eligible. At the same time, the expansion of the domain name space greatly increases the challenges of protecting these trademarks on the Internet. Rather than worrying about cyber squatting only in the .com, .net and .org domains, brand owners are now facing over 1000 new extensions in which bad actors can obtain domain names that mimic a trademark and cause all kinds of headaches for a legitimate trademark owner.

Speakers: Matthew L. Cantor, Constantine Cannon LLP; Axel A. Bernabe, Constantine Cannon LLP

This presentation sets out the potential pro-competitive impact and anti-competitive effects that may result from hospitals or other medical providers agreeing to accept lower reimbursement from insurers in exchange for obtaining the exclusive right to serve the insurers’ members in a given service area.

The faculty will highlight criteria that should be used when determining whether the exclusive right may constitute an unreasonable restraint of trade or act of monopolization.

Speakers: Philip L. Gordon, Littler Mendelson P.C.; Barry A. Hartstein, Littler Mendelson P.C.; Adam T. Klein, Outten & Golden LLP

Pre-employment background checks have recently taken center stage. Legislators around the country have imposed new, far-reaching, and maddeningly varying restrictions on the use of criminal history, credit information, and social media for employment purposes. At the same time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), following on its issuance in April 2012 of new guidance on the use of criminal history for employment purposes, is aggressively investigating and litigating the allegedly discriminatory impact of background check standards designed to screen out ex-offenders and applicants with poor credit.

In this program, three seasoned veterans, who represent both the employer’s and plaintiffs’ perspectives, will describe these new developments; explain their practical implications; and identify key steps for responding. Please join us for an engaging and enlightening discussion of this white hot topic.

Speakers: Paul D. Rubin, Ropes & Gray LLP; Megan R. Baca, Ropes & Gray LLP

As social media becomes an increasingly important marketing strategy for consumer-facing companies, including technology, life sciences, media, entertainment, and consumer products companies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau (NAD) have heightened their focus on marketing activities conducted by companies through social media platforms.

The faculty for this program will review a sampling of social media enforcement actions and provide practical advice for handling an investigation or enforcement action from regulatory, corporate technology, and intellectual property perspectives.