Conducting Internal Investigations of Executives for Workplace Misconduct: Legal and Ethical Considerations
Determining Who Should Conduct Investigation, Navigating Right To Counsel, Privilege, Privacy and Joint Defense Issues
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will provide guidance to employment counsel for identifying and addressing the myriad legal, strategic and ethical issues that commonly arise when conducting internal investigations of executives accused of workplace misconduct.
Outline
- Latest developments regarding allegations against executives
- Preparing for the internal investigation
- Who should conduct the internal investigation?
- Timing of investigation
- Scope of investigation
- Documents to be placed under document hold
- Conducting the investigation
- Interviewing the executive
- Executive’s right to counsel, indemnification, fee advancement
- Preserving privileges
- Privacy issues
- Public relations issues
- Post-investigation best practices
- Reporting results of investigation
- Remediation measures
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What challenges do employers typically face when an executive faces allegations of workplace misconduct?
- What rights and privileges are implicated in internal investigations of executives—and how can employers avoid compromising any protections under the law?
- What best practices should employment counsel set in place when planning for and conducting an internal investigation of an executive?
Faculty
Lynne Eisaguirre
Founder
Workplaces that Work
Ms. Eisaguirre (pronounced eyes-a-gear) is the author of The Power of a Good Fight: How To Use Conflict to Drive... | Read More
Ms. Eisaguirre (pronounced eyes-a-gear) is the author of The Power of a Good Fight: How To Use Conflict to Drive Creativity, Productivity and Innovation; We Need to Talk Tough Conversations with Your Boss: From Performance Reviews to Terminations Tackle, Any Topic with Sensitivity and Smarts; and We Need to Talk Tough Conversations with Your Employee: From Performance Reviews to Terminations, Tackle Any Topic with Sensitivity and Smarts; Stop Pissing Me Off! What To Do When the People You Work With Drive You Crazy and two previous books on diversity and harassment. Lynne is a former practicing employment law attorney, has been a partner in a major Denver law firm, served as in-house counsel to a public company and as a law professor. She has presented to hundreds of organizations including Harley-Davidson, Southwest Airlines, Bristol Myers Squibb, CH2M Hill, Oracle, Playboy Entertainment, Coors and Johns Manville. She provides consulting, speaking and training in the areas of leadership, conflict management, diversity and harassment. Lynne has appeared regularly on CNN Headline News and is frequently quoted as an expert in media outlets including ABC News, Bloomberg TV, The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Denver Post.
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Rachel Fendell Satinsky, Esq.
Littler Mendelson
Ms. Satinsky dedicates her practice to employment litigation and counseling. She advises clients on an array of... | Read More
Ms. Satinsky dedicates her practice to employment litigation and counseling. She advises clients on an array of issues including hiring and terminations, leaves of absence, accommodations, harassment, and other matters related to federal and state discrimination and civil rights laws. Ms. Satinsky partners with clients to draft policies, procedures, and processes that are tailored to clients’ business needs and workforce. She regularly advises and represents companies in matters involving the enforcement of restrictive covenants and the protection of trade secrets.
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Lorene F. Schaefer
Managing Partner
Schaefer and Associates
Ms. Schaefer has over 26-years of experience and has spearheaded hundreds of complex and sensitive investigations into... | Read More
Ms. Schaefer has over 26-years of experience and has spearheaded hundreds of complex and sensitive investigations into allegations of misconduct, including sexual harassment, retaliation, discrimination, and violations of company policy. She uses proven investigative techniques to gather detailed facts, analyze relevant data, and provide sound, reasoned findings of fact. Ms. Schaefer’s findings of fact provide the foundation for the “honest belief” defense, which in many jurisdictions protects employers from liability for discrimination and retaliation claims if the employer is able to demonstrate there was a reasonable, honest belief that the action being challenged was justified.
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