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ATLANTA, GA—Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys Ted Claypoole, Jennifer Collins and John Perry presented to the Georgia Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 10th. The program featured two CLE presentations including “Professional Rule Requiring Technology Competence: Ethical Rules and How to Comply,” led by Claypoole and “Ethical Minefields for In-House Counsel: Privilege, Conflicts and Internal Investigations,” led by Collins and Perry.
Claypoole discussed the duty of technology competence for all lawyers, which states already include this professional obligation, and what the implications are for Georgia. He touched on the ever-changing role of technology in law and the ethical obligations associated with encryption, e-discovery and artificial intelligence.
Collins and Perry reviewed the ethical obligations and the rules of professional conduct that in-house counsel must navigate daily, including attorney-client privilege, addressing conflicts of interests, and ethical considerations encountered in conducting internal investigations. They presented a case study on Penn State University regarding the handling of internal and external investigations by its general counsel, which illustrates many of these issues and offers lessons on best practices for compliance.
The ACC Georgia Chapter adds value to its community of in-house counsel through educational programs, public service opportunities, and professional relationships. They host monthly CLE luncheons for members. This particular luncheon, held on Tuesday, March 10th, had nearly 100 in-house counsel in attendance.
Ted Claypoole leads Womble Bond Dickinson’s IP Transactions and FinTech Teams and co-chairs the firm’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Team. Ted drafts and negotiates agreements involving software, the internet, data, mobile/remote access, and services. A regular speaker on privacy and security issues, Ted has been selected five times as a presenter for the RSA Data Security Conference in San Francisco, where he recently led a panel on AI’s effect on Information Security.
John Perry is a business litigator who helps business clients address and resolve commercial disputes, including cases involving the Uniform Commercial Code and other consumer protection statutes, securities fraud claims, and allegations of breaches of fiduciary duty. In addition, he counsels clients on disputes involving trade secrets, employee defections and restrictive covenants (non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-piracy agreements).
Jennifer Collins focuses her litigation practice on commercial disputes and product liability litigation. Her complex litigation experience includes defending class actions and multi-district litigation (MDL). Jennifer has represented clients in corporate investigatory and employment matters, antitrust and unfair competition, fraud and civil RICO, trade secrets, unfair and deceptive trade practices, insurance coverage, breach of warranty/UCC disputes, and earn-out and post-transaction disputes.
