Haynes and Boone, LLP is pleased to present this complimentary breakfast seminar entitled The Rise in Whistleblower Liability: Assessing Your Risks, Examining Preventative Measures, and Preparing a Litigation Strategy in Light of New Whistleblower Threats and Regulatory Enforcement
Recent legislative changes have dramatically increased the risk of whistleblower liability. Those changes affect every public company, make it easier for whistleblowers to bring ? and win ? their cases, and provide substantial protection for whistleblowers even if they are still employed by the defendant company. In this one-hour seminar, we will provide a brief overview of these legislative changes and whom they affect, examine preventative measures that companies should immediately implement in order to curb their risk, and consider what will happen if a claim is actually filed.
Specifically, we will address:
? New legislation, including the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA"), and the False Claims Act, among others;
? Regulatory compliance, compliance programs, and employment issues related to whistleblowers; and
? Litigation issues and considerations, including litigation strategies and additional employment issues.
Who Should Attend: In-House Counsel, Chief Compliance Officers, Vice Presidents of Human Resources, and other officers and directors.
This course has been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.0 credit hours.
Discussion Topics:
New risk of whistleblower liability
? Overview of new legislation
o Recent changes in the False Claims Act
o Sarbanes Oxley
o Dodd Frank
o Affordable Care Act
o Department of Defense (regulatory and statutory changes)
o Other statutes ? e.g., whistleblower provisions being added to new legislation
? Discussion of entities most at risk as a result of new legislation
o Recipients of government funding
o Government contractors/subcontractors
o Regulated companies ? e.g., public companies, health care industry, etc.
o Companies with other relationships with the government ? e.g., leases
o Companies that export
Preventative measures
? Discussion of regulatory compliance and compliance programs
? Tips on how to identify and handle potential whistleblowers
o Brief discussion of statutory and regulatory requirements ? e.g., cannot ?impede? whistleblowers, etc.
o Possible use of hypotheticals about how to treat various employees in different situations, including mitigating the risk of a suspected whistleblower from filing suit
Litigation issues and considerations
? Employment issues
o How to treat employee who is named plaintiff
o Considerations when employee involvement is unknown
? Litigation strategies
o Overview of typical whistleblower suit
o Preliminary motions
o Discovery strategy
o Trial tips, including handling public relations issues.
For more information contact Cari Peretzman at 214.651.5965 or cari.peretzman@haynesboone.com.