eCourses

THIS MONTH: Yet Another Acrimonious Election Year: The Challenge of Political Talk at Work (and On Social Media) • I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do): Celebrity Entities and Entanglements • Guardians of the Galaxy: General Counsel's Challenges in Managing Risk and Protecting a Nonprofit's Brand • 2024 Ethics Referendum: What Passed, What Didn’t, and What Now? • Consumer Mass Arbitration and Class Actions

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Federal Employment Law Update - Analyze recent U.S. Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit decisions, federal legislative developments, and administrative actions. Session 02: Developments In Wage-Hour Compliance and FLSA Litigation - An overview of annual developments in the field of wage-and-hour law, including case law updates, regulatory changes, and more. Session 03: Major Developments Under the NLRA Amid the Resurgence of Organized Labor - NLRB Update: A detailed review of the numerous changes that affect unionized and non-unionized workers and employers that have occurred in the last 12 months under the National Labor Relations Act.  Session 04: NLRB: An Inside the Beltway Perspective on the New Direction of Federal Labor Policy - The new NLRB majority is pushing beyond traditional boundaries in its effort to transform federal labor policy affecting both union and non-union workplaces. Review the most significant recent developments and discuss other potential future changes. Session 05: The Evolving Law of Disability Discrimination and Accommodation - A comprehensive review of significant regulatory and court developments under the Americans with Disabilities Act and insights into emerging disability issues.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Examine employment-related developments under Texas state law, including a discussion of significant new Texas cases. Also, explore important trends developing in other states, and what they might mean for Texas.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Hear legal and practical issues with generative artificial intelligence for employers and employees. Learn best practices for drafting acceptable use policies and procedures and human resources training for hiring and promotion of employees.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Session 1: Investigating Sensitive Employment Complaints​- The investigation of an employee's complaint may be critical to an employer's only means of avoiding liability. The investigator may be a witness, and the notes may be evidence. Learn how to investigate and document the process. Session 2: Handling and Responding to an Investigation (When Your Employees Are Remote) - As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have transitioned important business functions from in-person to fully remote. Listen to a discussion about key practical issues for companies to consider when carrying out investigations in the remote working environment. Session 3: Whistleblowers - A plaintiff-side and defense-side lawyer discuss protections and pitfalls for individuals and employers under state and federal whistleblower statutes. Session 4: The New Landscape for Sexual Harassment Claims in Texas - Texas lawmakers have recently expanded the protections for employees asserting sexual harassment claims. Analyze the new longer statute of limitations, broader definition of employer, potential individual liability, heightened duty to respond, and more. Session 5: Employee Activism and Workplace Political Speech - Analyze legal and practical implications of employee activism and political speech including best practices for employee training, policy development, and navigating related day-to-day workplace realities. Session 6: Mediation Strategies, Solutions and Lessons Learned - The success of mediation is influenced by the information exchanged in advance, the type of mediation (remote or in-person), the inclusion or exclusion of a joint opening session, and many other factors. This panel discusses best practices for opening lines of communication, getting past the impasse, and finding a resolution. Session 7: Ethics: Can We Talk? - This session explores the limits on attorney communication with employees, former employees, and other potential witnesses in the context of employment litigation. Special attention will be given to the ethical considerations associated with joint representation of a party and a potential witness, including concerns surrounding the use of such representation to limit the ability of the other side to communicate with a potential witness.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Hear the latest on matters affecting government employees, including developments in the First Amendment, due process, privacy, political patronage, and state law protections in the public workplace.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: What’s It Going to Take: Settlement Value/Monetizing Your Case - As lawyers return to the courtroom after the pandemic slow down, we are seeing large verdicts being returned by juries. Has that affected the settlement value of employment cases? The late Phil Durst had a very popular presentation as to how lawyers value cases. We will apply the Phil Durst Principles to see how lawyers are valuing cases today.  Session 02: The New Balkans: Non-Compete and Restrictive Covenants Under Siege Yet Still Commonplace - Differences amongst the 50 states regarding non-competes creates uncertainty for 30 million employees. Now, the Federal Trade Commission has proposed a rule to ban non-competes. Discuss these developments and focus on recent Texas cases.  Session 03: Why It's Best to Have a Lawyer on the Other Side: Dealing with Pro Se Plaintiffs and Lawyer-Less Defendants - A discussion of the ethical considerations when dealing with pro se litigants and zealously representing your client.

Includes: Audio Paper Slides

Explore the ethical obligations of attorneys as officers of the court, with a particular focus on the obligations of an attorney toward the bench.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Groff v. DeJoy and reversed years of precedent concerning religious accommodations. Explore how lower courts have been applying this new standard and discuss other emerging issues in religious accommodation, including the potential implications of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. 

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

This topic explores the intersection of religion, politics, and employers in the technology sector. Particular attention is given to the intersection between political speech and activism in the workplace and the Supreme Court’s newly announced standard for religious accommodation in the workplace. Corporate positioning on religious and political issues will also be addressed.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Don’t get mad. Get even. Retaliation is in a league all its own, but almost always included with other claims. How is it different, and how does that impact the guidance we give our clients?

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: What's Weird About Texas - Texas has some unique employment laws that may catch multi-state employers off guard. Topics include (i) sexual harassment investigations; (ii) non-competition agreements; and (iii) firearms in the workplace.  Session 02: It Says What? - Cases, statutes, and rules that you were surprised to learn.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Employment law issues can quickly become a crisis. This panel discusses how to manage an issue early and proactively, investigation challenges and strategies, communications planning, external/internal reporting and communications, and privilege implications. 

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: The New World of Pregnancy Accommodations - Explore the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) effective in June 2023, the EEOC’s new accompanying regulations to the PWFA, and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act effective in December 2022. Walk away with an understanding of the new requirements imposed on employers and what changes may need to be made to current policies and practices.  Session 02: Yet Another Acrimonious Election Year: The Challenge of Political Talk at Work (and On Social Media) - Discussions of political and social issues continue to dominate our newsfeeds and social media, and are sure to heat up heading into the election this Fall. When those discussions boil over into the workplace, it can be challenging for employers to balance employees’ exercise of self-expression with maintaining a respectful and productive workplace. Join us for a discussion of the legal issues around workplace expression in a charged political climate, including protected concerted activity, free speech implications, workplace respect and social media policies, and claims of retaliation.   Session 03: We’re Still Trying to Figure It Out: Best Practices and Legal Compliance in the Evolving World of Remote Work - Out of state remote workers pose many challenges for employment law compliance. Discuss lingering issues for employers, employees, and the lawyers who advise them.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Hear the latest labor and employment developments over the last year that employers need to know.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Explore the rising tide of opposition at the federal level to the enforcement of covenants not to compete. Focus on the recent moves by the FTC and the NLRB to outright ban (or at least sharply curtail) the use of restrictive covenants and examine the practical alternatives to non-competes available to businesses.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Did the FTC really ban all non-competes? What kinds of restrictions are still allowed? What is a de facto non-compete? What happens to pending lawsuits? Will the federal courts block the rule? Is it retroactive? What are the exceptions? What should lawyers for employers do right now? Two specialists in Texas non-compete litigation will answer these and other burning questions about the FTC’s new non-compete rule. 

Includes: Video Slides

First the basics, then the details. What you need to know about employment law before you do a health care transaction.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Discuss two public health systems’ efforts to fight the rise in workplace violence, address challenging patient behaviors, and create a safe workplace for nurses and other healthcare workers.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Session 1: Research on Legal Writing -  Discussion about empirical research on legal writing techniques. Research supports plainer writing, reduced use of intensifiers, reduced use of “emotional” words, and use of narrative. Research also supports “connectives” (transitions), priming, and the value of resources, i.e. money. Session 2:  What to do When the Government Comes Calling -  Hear advice for in-house counsel and corporate executives faced with federal inquiries, search warrants, investigations, and subpoenas to produce evidence or testify. Learn about ways in which professionals can stay out of the government’s cross hairs. Session 3: Mediation Strategies, Solutions and Lessons Learned - The success of mediation is influenced by the information exchanged in advance, the type of mediation (remote or in-person), the inclusion or exclusion of a joint opening session, and many other factors. This panel discusses best practices for opening lines of communication, getting past the impasse, and finding a resolution. Session 4: How to Cultivate a Better Workplace - Quiet quitting. Hey Boomer. Gen X. Gen Z. Millennial. Anti-work. Current workplace structures aren’t always working. Hear from a worker-side trial attorney about how to build a better workplace and why we all have more in common than we might think.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides