2026 Contracts & Negotiations Master Class Series
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Register
- Non-member - $249
- Member - Free!
Today’s in‑house counsel are expected to do more than “review the contract.” They’re risk strategists, deal accelerators, and the first line of defense when something goes sideways. This four‑part series follows up on the intro level 2025 Contracts & Negotiations Master Class Series. Providing "201" level guidance, this series is built for attorneys who already know the basics and want to level up—moving from issue‑spotting to shaping contracts that anticipate problems, align with business realities, and stand up under scrutiny.
Each session dives into a high‑impact contracting area where in‑house lawyers routinely face pressure, ambiguity, and evolving risk. The focus is practical, actionable, and grounded in the day‑to‑day realities of supporting a business.
Live viewing of this series is CLE Eligible.
Generously Sponsored by Blank Rome
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Contains 7 Component(s), Includes Credits Includes a Live Web Event on 05/28/2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT)
Representations, warranties, and covenants are primary sources of litigation because they allocate risk and define liability for breaches in commercial contracts. Litigation often arises from disputes over whether a statement was a factual representation (present) or a covenant (future promise), with issues typically involving inaccuracy, materiality, survival periods, and the limits of indemnification. In this sessions, we will look at the fundamental legal concepts behind representations, warranties, and covenants and cover common ways to minimize litigation risk.
Representations, warranties, and covenants are primary sources of litigation because they allocate risk and define liability for breaches in commercial contracts. Litigation often arises from disputes over whether a statement was a factual representation (present) or a covenant (future promise), with issues typically involving inaccuracy, materiality, survival periods, and the limits of indemnification. In this sessions, we will look at the fundamental legal concepts behind representations, warranties, and covenants and cover common ways to minimize litigation risk.
Generously Sponsored by Blank Rome
This live program offers free CLE in select jurisdictions for members of ACC. Please see details below!
CLE/CPD CREDIT IS AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
*Alaska, *Arizona, California, *Connecticut, Georgia, *Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri,*New Hampshire, *New Jersey, *New York, *North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.
*Indicates that CLE/CPD credit is available by virtue of reciprocity with another jurisdiction.
ACC WILL MAKE AN APPLICATION FOR CLE UPON REQUEST IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Vermont.
Requests must be made one week prior to the scheduled program date to ensure timely application submission. Please use the form below to submit your request for CLE.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FORM!
ATTENDEES MUST SELF-FILE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS (A CERTIFICATE WILL BE PROVIDED TO ASSIST YOUR FILING EFFORTS):
Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
CLE/CPD IS NOT MANDATORY IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Dakota
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Contains 7 Component(s), Includes Credits Includes a Live Web Event on 06/30/2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT)
AI tools can improve speed and quality in business decision-making, but they also introduce unique contracting issues. Vendors may update models frequently, rely on third-party components, and may seek broad rights in customer inputs and usage data. Negotiating of AI terms and conditions therefore requires careful allocation of risk and clear guardrails around intellectual property, confidentiality, data use and deletion. In this session, we will walk through key terms to address in AI vendor agreements and discuss practical approaches to minimize risk with rapidly evolving AI capabilities.
AI tools can improve speed and quality in business decision-making, but they also introduce unique contracting issues. Vendors may update models frequently, rely on third-party components, and may seek broad rights in customer inputs and usage data. Negotiating of AI terms and conditions therefore requires careful allocation of risk and clear guardrails around intellectual property, confidentiality, data use and deletion. In this session, we will walk through key terms to address in AI vendor agreements and discuss practical approaches to minimize risk with rapidly evolving AI capabilities.
Generously Sponsored by Blank Rome
This live program offers free CLE in select jurisdictions for members of ACC. Please see details below!
CLE/CPD CREDIT IS AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
*Alaska, *Arizona, California, *Connecticut, Georgia, *Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri,*New Hampshire, *New Jersey, *New York, *North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.
*Indicates that CLE/CPD credit is available by virtue of reciprocity with another jurisdiction.
ACC WILL MAKE AN APPLICATION FOR CLE UPON REQUEST IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Vermont.
Requests must be made one week prior to the scheduled program date to ensure timely application submission. Please use the form below to submit your request for CLE.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FORM!
ATTENDEES MUST SELF-FILE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS (A CERTIFICATE WILL BE PROVIDED TO ASSIST YOUR FILING EFFORTS):
Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
CLE/CPD IS NOT MANDATORY IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Dakota
Sharon Klein
Partner
Blank Rome
Sharon advises businesses on assessing and mitigating risks related to the privacy and security of personal data, ownership, and commercialization of data artificial intelligence; planning, drafting, and implementing privacy, security, and data protection policies and “best practices”; compliance with global, federal, and state privacy and security laws, regulations, and rules; data governance; and breach response, crisis management, and remedies for non-compliance. She is certified as an information privacy professional by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Sharon has deep experience in negotiating and drafting complex technology and cloud transactions, licensing, and strategic IT and commercial agreements. She is active in many organizations involved in technology, data privacy and security, and health information. For example, Sharon is a member of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services task force that is addressing aligning healthcare industry security approaches to responding to cybersecurity threats under the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015. She also is a commissioner of the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission, a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange health care data.
Sharon brings more than 35 years’ experience to Blank Rome, advising clients on data privacy, cybersecurity, and complex technology transactions. Her acumen in data privacy stems from her significant experience executing outsourcing and technology contracts, but also from the 12 years she spent as associate general counsel at Siemens Medical Solutions USA where she notably focused on operationalizing healthcare and life science regulations, including HIPAA/HITECH and the Common Rule in research.
Outside the Firm
Sharon enjoys dinners with her historian husband and her high-school age son. The two cats sometimes make an appearance.
Alex Nisenbaum
Partner
Blank Rome
Alex advises clients on data privacy and information security laws and regulations, including compliance with HIPAA/HITECH; Gramm-Leach-Bliley; the California Consumer Privacy Act; cross-border data transfer; and state privacy, data protection, and breach notification requirements. Alex is able to synthesize the patchwork of state and federal legal requirements to assist clients in bringing innovative products to market and operationalize compliance programs that are in line with their business goals. He is certified as an information privacy professional by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
He handles technology and data privacy and security matters in a variety of industries, including healthcare, FinTech, financial services, pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer goods, e-commerce, and manufacturing. He also regularly handles strategic information technology (“IT”) transactions covering diverse critical business functions, including agreements involving cloud services and software licensing, software and mobile application development, IT and business process outsourcing, hardware acquisition, telecommunications, data licensing, and professional services.
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Contains 7 Component(s), Includes Credits Includes a Live Web Event on 09/22/2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT)
Description Coming Soon!
Description coming soon!
Generously Sponsored by Blank Rome
This live program offers free CLE in select jurisdictions for members of ACC. Please see details below!
CLE/CPD CREDIT IS AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
*Alaska, *Arizona, California, *Connecticut, Georgia, *Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri,*New Hampshire, *New Jersey, *New York, *North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.
*Indicates that CLE/CPD credit is available by virtue of reciprocity with another jurisdiction.
ACC WILL MAKE AN APPLICATION FOR CLE UPON REQUEST IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Vermont.
Requests must be made one week prior to the scheduled program date to ensure timely application submission. Please use the form below to submit your request for CLE.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FORM!
ATTENDEES MUST SELF-FILE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS (A CERTIFICATE WILL BE PROVIDED TO ASSIST YOUR FILING EFFORTS):
Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
CLE/CPD IS NOT MANDATORY IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Dakota
Linda Kornfeld
Partner and Co-chair, Insurance Recovery Practice
Blank Rome
Linda Kornfeld is one of the nation’s most prominent insurance recovery attorneys, representing corporate policyholders in high-stakes litigation for more than 25 years. Using strategic, creative approaches in her trial and appellate practice, Linda assists her clients in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance assets. She is a strategic adviser to senior executives and in-house counsel on mitigating risk and maximizing insurance recoveries.
John Gibbons
Partner and Co-chair, Insurance Recovery Practice
Blank Rome
John Gibbons is a partner in Blank Rome’s policyholder-only insurance recovery practice, formerly the insurance practice of Dickstein Shapiro LLP. His national practice focuses on advising corporate policyholders about their insurance policy rights and recovery insurance assets, either through negotiation or trial.
John maintains a particularly active trial practice that includes serving as trial counsel for a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company in a four-month trial, a Fortune 500 regulated utility in two separate multiweek jury trials, and a large multinational engineering services corporation in a multiweek jury trial involving more than $250 million of insurance. John’s trial practice includes matters under Liability, Property, Cargo, Trade-Credit/Credit Risk, and Representation & Warranty insurance policies. In addition to his trial practice, John guides clients through the insurance claim process, negotiating favorable resolutions for his policyholder clients.
In the past decade, John has, through negotiations, litigation, and trial verdicts, enforced clients’ rights to well over a billion dollars’ worth of insurance. Recently, he has focused his attention on emerging areas of interest for policyholders, including risks attendant to international business operations, assertions of various forms of financial and property losses, liabilities for business operations and conduct, and product liability and environmental liability issues.
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Contains 7 Component(s), Includes Credits Includes a Live Web Event on 10/28/2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT)
Description Coming Soon!
Description coming soon!
Generously Sponsored by Blank Rome
This live program offers free CLE in select jurisdictions for members of ACC. Please see details below!
CLE/CPD CREDIT IS AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
*Alaska, *Arizona, California, *Connecticut, Georgia, *Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri,*New Hampshire, *New Jersey, *New York, *North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.
*Indicates that CLE/CPD credit is available by virtue of reciprocity with another jurisdiction.
ACC WILL MAKE AN APPLICATION FOR CLE UPON REQUEST IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Vermont.
Requests must be made one week prior to the scheduled program date to ensure timely application submission. Please use the form below to submit your request for CLE.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FORM!
ATTENDEES MUST SELF-FILE IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS (A CERTIFICATE WILL BE PROVIDED TO ASSIST YOUR FILING EFFORTS):
Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
CLE/CPD IS NOT MANDATORY IN THE FOLLOWING JURISDICTIONS:
District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Dakota
