News and Events

The comprehensive Massachusetts data privacy regulations have been in effect now almost one year. John Smith has provided a brief update on advice recently offered from the Commonwealth’s enforcement agencies. If you would like a copy please contact John at jsmith@vistalaw.com.

Michael Whitener and VistaLaw alum Rob Walton were the featured speakers at an Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) dinner event in McLean, Virginia on November 2. Their topic was “Avoiding FCPA and Other Anti-Corruption Liability with a Robust Compliance Program.” The IIA is the international professional association of internal auditors, with more than 170,000 members worldwide. If you would like a copy of the presentation, please contact Michael at mwhitener@vistalaw.com.

Michael Whitener and VistaLaw alum Rob Walton published an article in the FCPA Blog on November 1, 2010 about the odd contrast between the OECD’s overall high marks for the United States' implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Act and the U.S.’s slippage in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. That posting is available here. Rob also wrote a piece in the Huffington Post about the U.S. campaign finance system and how it contributes to a corruption perception problem. It is available here .

John Smith recently prepared two memos on recent legal developments. The first pertains to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Ontario v. Quon (2010) and its important implications with respect to employee privacy issues. The other concerns a recent federal ruling in Connecticut, Monson v. The Whitby School, Inc., 2010 WL 3023873 (D. Conn. August 2, 2010), which also makes instructive reading for those concerned with internal IT policy and scope of employment issues. If you would like a copy of either or both papers, please contact John at jsmith@vistalaw.com.

Michael Whitener made a presentation on "Data Security in Cloud Computing" on July 21, 2010, at the SaaS University conference in Washington, D.C.  If you would like more information on the conference, or a copy of the presentation, please contact Michael at mwhitener@vistalaw.com.

John Smith made a presentation recently to the Maine Telecommunications and Networking Conference in Portland, on emerging regulatory regimes at the state and federal levels for personal data protection and IT security. Please contact John at jsmith@vistalaw.com for a copy of his presentation.

Kristine Karsten was the chairman of a four-day seminar in Paris on international contract negotiation and drafting from February 1-4, 2010. The event, which was organized by the International Chamber of Commerce, included attendees from over 20 countries. Kristine’s three presentations, on drafting techniques, principled negotiation and negotiation strategies are in French and English and are available upon request. Contact us if you would like copies.

John Smith spoke about data protection and data security before a group of 25 independent New England private schools, in North Andover, Massachusetts, on January 26, 2010. For a copy of his presentation, Protecting Your Data – and Your Reputation, contact us.

Michael Whitener spoke on the subject of Nine Burning Legal Issues in SaaS Deals at Softletter's SaaS University in Dallas, Texas on January 26, 2010. For a copy of his presentation, contact us.

John Smith presented The New Massachusetts Data Security and Privacy Regulations – An Overview to the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation in Boston on January 25, 2010. For a copy of his presentation, contact us.

New Team Members: On November 23, 2009, VistaLaw announced the addition of Kristine Karsten to our Paris office and Keith Kuder to our Washington, D.C. office. See Our Team page for more information about our attorneys. To add your name to our news update mailings, contact us.

Profit Growth Club, a web site run by entrepreneur and business consultant Andrew Neitlich, featured a profile on VistaLaw and an interview with Rob Walton in August 2009. Case Study #2 – VistaLaw: Taking on an Entrenched Industry, can be found here.

John Smith spoke to the Security Group at Boston University on August 20, 2009. His presentation, Reworking Your Information Technology Service Contracts is available on request. Contact us if you would like a copy.

VistaLaw co-sponsored the Fourth Annual European In-House Counsel Conference, which took place in Brussels on the 29th and 30th of September 2008. Bertrand Alexis took part in a panel discussion on the Future of Legal Service Delivery and also led a separate roundtable on Life After In-House. Blake Redding led a group discussion on Corporate Governance and Compliance, whose panel included VistaLaw’s Rob Walton and Amr Al-Bayoumi, as well Qatar Telecom’s head of Corporate Governance, Dawood Al-Bulushi.