Outsourcing Law & Business Journal™: October 2010
Posted October 29, 2010 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. · 
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OUTSOURCING LAW & BUSINESS JOURNAL (™) : Strategies and rules for adding value and improving legal and regulation compliance through business process management techniques in strategic alliances, joint ventures, shared services and cost-effective, durable and flexible sourcing of services. www.outsourcing-law.com. Visit our blog at http://blog.outsourcing-law.com.
Insights by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C., Editors. www.biercekenerson.com
Vol. 10, No. 10 (October 2010)
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Editor’s Note: Happy Halloween, Happy Election Day (USA)! This month’s article spooks us by helping us wonder whether we are getting all the data protection and integrity we thought we were entitled to. This should make us feel somewhat better about life, since the “robo-signers” and “robo-justice” mills for real estate foreclosures make ITO and BPO look like the solution to the evils brought about by sloppy (if not fraudulent) business practices. We are also pleased to announce a special webinar (full disclosure, the speaker is the Editor of this newsletter).
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Webinar Announcement
“LLC Toolkit for Designing Collaborative Business Models: Sweat-Equity, JVs and Global Services Businesses”
December 9, 2010, 11am – 12:20pm, EST US
Speaker: William B. Bierce, Esq., – Bierce & Kenerson, P.C.
This is an advanced seminar for experienced corporate and commercial lawyers as well as entrepreneurs, CEOs and COOs, investors, bankers, and venture capitalists looking for a different perspective on how LLC’s can be structured and governed. This webinar will address the fundamentals of structuring LLCs for use in special purpose environments, such as service-oriented and Web-based businesses in the US and globally. It will help lawyers understand key legal and tax issues in such environments for tax-efficient operations. This webinar is free and application for Accredited Provider status for CLE credit in New York is currently pending. To obtain more information, please contact Laura Sanfiorenzo and to register, click here.
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1. Belt and Suspenders, and From SOX to SOC’s: Changes in Service Audit Standards on the Service Organization’s Risk Management, Security and Process Controls.
2. Humor.
3. Conferences.
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1. Belt and Suspenders, and From SOX to SOC’s: Changes in Service Audit Standards on the Service Organization’s Risk Management, Security and Process Controls. How do you know your service provider is providing a secure environment for processing your transactions? Do you trust your service provider? Can you certify your outsourcing relationship can withstand a shareholder lawsuit claiming you lack the necessary audit and control functions? Do you want a report on the description, design and operational effectiveness of controls at a service organization, and what do you get under current and future auditing, attestation and accounting “standards.”
SAS 70 Type II audits have become the de facto standard for publicly traded companies to meet their SOX 404(b) “audit and control” disclosure requirements. SAS 70 audits are big business for audit firms. Now, as the U.S. “generally accepted accounting principles” face convergence into new international accounting standards (IAS), enterprise customers risk losing familiar comfort letters. The emerging accounting standards suggest it’s time to think about “belt and suspenders” for security and process controls. This article considers the new approach to mitigating and managing risks through “control objectives” as “attested” in “service organization control” (SOC) reports for service organizations and subservice organizations in the services supply chain. This new approach comes into effect for fiscal years ending after June 2011. Important procedural details for the U.S. will be promulgated soon.
For the complete article, click here.
Robo-Justice, n. (1) fast-track system in Florida courts for adjudication of foreclosures at the rate of 20 per hour, 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, per judge, unless service levels degrade for non-essential activities such as extra time for hearing evidence; (2) the swift and decisive hand of justice, meted out to fight the swift and decisive hand of the Robo-Signer.
Robo-Signer, n. (1) a person appointed by a bank or mortgage origination service company to sign thousands of loan documents per week; (2) phantom performing fiduciary duty in a totally automated, human-free mechanism, with computer-generated rubber-stamped documents and corresponding human signatures; (3) human automaton approving computer outputs. See “Robo-Justice.
3. Conferences.
December 7-8, 2010, IQPC presents 10th E-Discovery Conference, New York, New York. The 10th eDiscovery Summit is the key meeting of the year for eDiscovery experts. The universe of ESI is continually expanding as the costs associated with eDiscovery are on the rise. This unique eDiscovery event brings together in-house counsel, IT experts, document management, outside counsel, solution providers, Judges and regulatory experts. You will learn how to improve your eDiscovery processes and save time and money despite the onslaught of litigation. Some highlighted topics include:
- Incorporating advanced search technology and protocol into your eDiscovery processes
- Tackling the complexity of legal holds in light of the Pension Committee case
- Gaining insight from our Judges panel analyzing important 2010 eDiscovery case law
- Effectively managing the ever-increasing universe of social media content
- Implementing a proactive approach where litigation preparedness enables you to significantly cut costs and time in eDiscovery
Outsourcing Law contacts can receive 20% off the standard all access price when they register with the code OSL20. Register by calling 1-800-882-8684. View the program brochure for more details.
February 14-26, 2011, IQPC follows up with the 4th E-Discovery Finance Conference, New York, New York, focusing exclusively on the financial services industry. The Dodd-Frank bill is the most comprehensive legislative overhaul of the financial services industry since the Great Depression, and financial corporations must respond and adapt immediately. Changing technology creates quickly moving targets for corporations to reach. The burden falls on legal, information security, record retention, and IT departments to ensure the best review, retention, and destruction policies and procedures. A successful e-discovery team can mitigate the costs of e-discovery, reduce the volume of extraneous data, and avoid sanctions and other judicially imposed penalties. Highlights include strategies to:
- Keep costs down while maximizing efficiency.
- Comply with stricter, more expansive regulations.
- Implement and adapt to new technologies in order to “future-proof.”
- Stay out of the headlines for non-compliance or sanctions.
To obtain more information, click here.
February 14-26, 2011, Legal Process Outsourcing Conference, New York, New York. With advanced technology and tight budgets in a downturn economy, companies are exploring more cost-efficient alternatives for high quality legal work. CEOs and CFOs are putting tremendous pressure on their employees to cut spending and given the exorbitant cost of legal spend, in-house counsel are feeling the pressure more than most. Although legal outsourcing is not a fit for every law firm and in-house legal department, the legal community simply cannot ignore the expansion of the LPO market. This event will take an honest look at all sides of LPO and address the challenges, ethics, implications, and strategies of legal outsourcing. Attending this Summit will help decide where your company fits into this new outsourcing dynamic. For more information visit their website.
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FEEDBACK: This newsletter addresses legal issues in sourcing of IT, HR, finance and accounting, procurement, logistics, manufacturing, customer relationship management including outsourcing, shared services, BOT and strategic acquisitions for sourcing. Send us your suggestions for article topics, or report a broken link at: wbierce@biercekenerson.com. The information provided herein does not necessarily constitute the opinion of Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. or any author or its clients. This newsletter is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Reproductions must include our copyright notice. For reprint permission, please contact: wbierce@biercekenerson.com . Edited by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. Copyright (c) 2010, Outsourcing Law Global LLC. All rights reserved. Editor in Chief: William Bierce of Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. located at 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2920, New York, NY 10170, 212-840-0080.