One way Riddell Williams adds value to its client relationships is by making complimentary presentations on-site to in house lawyers or business partners. For your consideration, we offer a List of Presentations, but welcome your suggestions for topics that may be of particular interest.

50 Ways to Take a Leave of Absence: Making Sense of Federal and State Laws

Presentation date 11.11.2008

Back to School: Basics in Board Governance

Presentation date 10.8.2008

A overview of the responsibilities of corporate directors, including a review of directors’ fiduciary duties, best corporate governance practices and a discussion of key issues facing board members today.

Bob Howie's "2008 Labor and Employment Law Year in Review"

Presentation date 6.11.2008

A review of all significant employment and labor law developments in the past year—cases, legislation, regulations and more!

Top 10 Employment Litigation/Compliance Risks for 2008

Presentation date 4.16.2008

Are you familiar with the HR practices that are most likely to result in a lawsuit or compliance audit in 2008? Are you appropriately managing the most significant HR legal risks in your organization? Are you prepared for a surprise visit by the OFCCP or the Department of Labor & Industries?

No Easy Answers: Advanced Workshop on Accommodating Employees With Disabilities

Presentation date 2.13.2008

What employers need to know about recent amendments to Washington law; Lessons from the courts: key cases and issues before the Supreme Court; Thorny issues: interplay of leave laws and other tough problems.

Technology in the Workplace

Presentation date 11.13.2007

Current legal developments regarding employee use of email; Employee Internet usage - to monitor or not to monitor; Employer blogging policies - should YOUR COMPANY have one; Cell phones and PDAs - should employers regulate their use; Employment issues associated with teleworkers and employees working remotely; Strategies to comply with older laws (FLSA, NLRA) in the “Information Age”; and MUCH more!

An Employee By Any Other Name...?

Presentation date 10.2.2007

The risks of misclassifying employees, and when and when not to use independent contractor or non-traditional employment relationships in place of traditional employment relationships can be significant or even catastrophic.

Email and Employment Cases

Presentation date 7.26.2007

A practical overview of the unique role that email plays in employment cases. Highlights include litigation tips for both plaintiffs' and defendants' counsel, how to navigate the new e-discovery rules, and overcoming evidentiary objections.

Religion in the Workplace: Does Faith Have a Place at the Office?

Publication date 4.18.2007

Managing Electronic Records for Success in Litigation and Business

Publication date 2.28.2007

How to Disarm the Meritless Claimant's Secret Weapon: Retaliation

Publication date 2.7.2007

Sidestepping a Wage/Hour Class Action: Top 11 Problematic Practices

Presentation date 11.7.2006

What are the most common employer mistakes that lead to costly litigation, and how can you avoid them:

The Americans with Disabilities Act—It’s Time to Get Reacquainted

Presentation date 9.26.2006

The Washington Supreme Court recently jettisoned its test for determining when an employee qualifies as disabled. In its place the Court adopted the standards used in the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. Washington employers who have paid only passing attention to ADA developments will need to brush up on this 15 year old law and its implications in the workplace. In this Breakfast Briefing, Larry Shapero and Skylar Sherwood presented an overview of the ADA's key provisions, describe recent case law developments, and presented several complex real world scenarios to show how this law works (or in some cases doesn't work) in practice for employers.

A New Era? The E-Discovery Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Presentation date 6.20.2006

Why is this presentation important? New rules are effective December 1, 2006. “The biggest change in a generation or two.” More and more documents are stored electronically. Hefty sanctions for failing to preserve/produce electronic evidence. Zubulake and Morgan Stanley.

• Understanding the New E-Discovery Amendments
• Practice Pointers for Using the New Rules to Your Advantage

Goals of an Electronic Document Retention Program

Presentation date 6.1.2006

New trends that make sound document retention a high priority. Electronic documents make this a unique problem. At least 93% of all information is first generated in electronic form. 30% of that is never printed to hard copy. Experts predict that in 10 years, the number of electronic documents on the planet will double every 60 minutes. There are hefty sanctions for failing to preserve/produce electronic evidence. Zubulake.

• Best Practices for Document Retention
• How to Institute an Effective Litigation Hold
• Conducting a Document Retention Audit

Internal Investigations: Getting the Job Done Right

Presentation date 4.18.2006

Employers must respond to complaints of workplace discrimination or harassment by conducting prompt and effective investigations. This presentation is designed to help front-line managers and human resources professionals conduct effective investigations and to properly document the investigation process.

Mastering the Maze: Navigating the Family Medical Leave Act

Presentation date 2.1.2006

This presentation is geared towards experienced human resource professionals and in-house counsel seeking advice about how to interpret and apply FMLA and the other laws that govern employee leave and accommodation for medical conditions.

• Best Practices in Administering FMLA Leaves
• Common Pitfalls
• Interaction of FMLA and Other Laws
• FMLA Case Law Update

To Catch a Thief: Strategies for Protecting Your Company’s Confidential Information

Presentation date 11.1.2005

This seminar reviewed current caselaw in the areas of trade secrets, non-competition and confidentiality agreements, and protection of intellectual property. It also included practical tips for employers about how to safeguard company proprietary information, including the drafting and enforcement of employment agreements.

Managing the Aging Workforce

Presentation date 9.27.2005

This seminar discussed aging workforce issues. People are living longer. Social Security benefits are not enough to fund the retirement lifestyle sought by most. The number of workers per retiree is declining, which may force Congress to reduce or delay the onset of benefits. Increasing numbers of employees cannot turn to traditional defined benefit pension plans for retirement income. Retirement health plan subsidies have disappeared as health costs have increased.

• Age Discrimination and Harassment
• Separation Agreements for Older Workers
• Diversity Goals v. Retaining Older Workers
• Benefits Plans
• Disability Accommodation
• Leaves of Absence
• Part Time Work and Phased Retirement

Employment Law Update: Wage/Hour Class Actions: A Primer

Presentation date 4.23.2005

Presented at the annual meeting of Washington State Superior Court judges. The presentation provided an overview of federal and state wage hour laws and practical tips on issues that arise in managing class action lawsuits, including certification, class notice, settlement and attorneys’ fees.

Fix It Before It Gets Broken: Interventions to Keep Lawsuits From Being Filed

Presentation date 4.12.2005

Presented at the annual employment law seminar, this presentation provided practical feedback on common mistakes that lead to litigation, how to avoid them, and how to mitigate risks in cases where employees make claims or threaten to sue.

Top Fifteen HR and Management Mistakes That Lead To Employment Litigation

Presentation date 4.1.2005

Our most popular employment-law presentation vividly and humorously describes the management and human resources mistakes that are so frequently the cause of expensive employment discrimination/wrongful termination lawsuits.