WASHINGTON, D.C., April 8, 2011 — The hottest commercial, financial, banking and cyberspace law developments will be the focus of the American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting on April 14 – 16 in Boston. The section’s largest meeting will bring together nearly 1,500 business law attorneys, judges and academics from across the country and around the globe.

The meeting is taking place at the Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave., and Westin Copley Place, 10 Huntington Ave.

Program highlights include:

“The Mutiny of the Bounties: Heightened Risks for Business Lawyers and Their Clients from Dodd-Frank Whistleblowers, Qui Tam Realtors and Whistleblowers under the Revised IRS Bounty Program” The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act includes bounty hunter provisions designed to increase the voluntary reporting of securities and commodities violations. Panelists will focus on key considerations for in-house and business counsel such as directors and officers’ coverage issues, voluntary disclosure strategies, the state action problem, and ethical issues presented when dealing with identified or suspected whistleblowers.
April 14, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Tremont Room, Lobby Level, Marriott

“Healthcare Reform and the Cost of Electronic Health Records” The use of electronic health records will impact credit ratings, supplier payments and the experience of patients. Experienced health care and business attorneys and leaders will discuss electronic health records and their future uses, the monetary costs to health care providers, the costs of a breach in security and constituents’ rights.
April 14, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Salons C & D, Fourth Floor, Marriott

“Meeting at the Crossroads:  What Business Lawyers Need to Know about the Intersection of Finance, Real Estate and Bankruptcy Law” As the economy struggles to recover from a recession that profoundly altered assumptions in financial and real estate markets and tested the limits of bankruptcy law, navigating the intersections of finance, real estate and bankruptcy law has become critical. Panelists will discuss the treatment of executory contracts, priority disputes concerning real property liens, the effect of the automatic stay on the perfection of real estate liens and title-insurance claims in bankruptcy real estate sales.
April 14, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m., Salons H & I, Fourth Floor, Marriott

“Current Securities Law Issues for Small Business” Panelists will discuss current issues of interest to smaller companies, including alternatives to traditional initial public offerings, changes to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation D affected by the Dodd-Frank law, SEC rulemaking in areas of executive compensation and other topics.
April 15, 8 – 10 a.m., Salons H & I, Fourth Floor, Marriott

“The Future of Consumer Arbitration and Class Action Waivers” Panelists will explore the extent to which the FAA preempts state law invalidating class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements and the fairness of consumer arbitration — issues that are currently being looked at by the Supreme Court and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
April 15, 8 – 10 a.m., Essex North Ballroom, Third Floor, Westin

“Lehman Failure Replayed: Would FDIC Liquidation be More Orderly than Bankruptcy?” This panel will discuss the challenges presented in the various bankruptcy proceedings for Lehman Brothers and its affiliates. The experts will debate whether the Orderly Liquidation Authority of Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act would have avoided or mitigated the problems encountered during the proceedings and, consequently, the systemic effects of the Lehman bankruptcy.
April 15, 10:30 – 12:30 p.m., Essex Center Ballroom, Third Floor, Westin

“How to Maximize the Value and Reduce the Cost of Corporate Legal Services: A View from the Top” will focus on improving the quality and maximizing the value of legal services for corporate clients. Panelists, including general counsels from the top three corporate employers in Massachusetts (Liberty Mutual, Raytheon and Mass Mutual Life), will discuss the challenges and pressures in-house counsel face and how outside counsel can implement practices and procedures that foster strong client relationships while enhancing their corporate clients’ bottom line.
April 15, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Salons H & I, Fourth Floor, Marriott

“Head in the Clouds – Cloud Computing: Back by Popular Demand – The Sequel” Do your business clients want to increase their social media presence or set up remote servers overseas? These questions and more will be discussed by the panelists who will provide practical tips to help in-house counsel address the advanced IT business/legal issues challenging businesses.
April 16, 8 – 10 a.m., Boylston Room, Lobby Level, Marriott

“Compliance and Ethics Programs Refreshed in Light of the UK’s Bribery Act of 2010 and the Dodd-Frank Act” Speakers will review important aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act and the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act of 2010, and the potential impacts of their provisions on corporate compliance programs.
April 16, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Bolyston Room, Lobby Level, Marriott

Learn more about the 2011 Business Law Section Spring Meeting, and view a complete program here.

For media credentialing, please contact Alexandra Buller at Alexandra.Buller@Americanbar.org.  This event is free and open to members of the press.

With more than 60,000 members, the Section of Business Law is one of the ABA’s largest sections.  It provides business lawyers with education and analysis that furthers the development and improvement of business law and helps its members serve their clients competently, efficiently and professionally.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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