Kerry Berchem Discusses Top 10 Topics for Directors in 2020 with Corporate Counsel

Akin Gump corporate partner Kerry Berchem spoke with Corporate Counsel in conjunction with the release of the firm’s “Top 10 Topics for Directors in 2020” report. In the article, Berchem discusses some of the issues boards of directors and general counsel will be focused on during the year ahead.

Berchem said the report is significant for general counsel because they are “the informed educators, the trusted advisers who help the boards prioritize.” GCs, she said, “can have a conversation” with a board regarding human resources issues, such as board diversity and the #MeToo movement, for example, and explain why and how diversity can lead to better decision-making. It is a conversation, she added, that “typically will start with a nomination and governance committee.”

In the interview, Berchem also touched on the topic of corporate reputation, for which she stressed the importance of a GC having access to information about the company in order to evaluate its electronic presence, and of being in a position to “assess, mitigate and prioritize risk, including risk to reputation.” She also highlighted that directors and GCs will be focused on the election and impeachment, whose impacts, Berchem said, will be determined by the “type, size and scope” of a business.

Finally, Berchem said she thinks pay equity will be the “hot topic” in 2020. The legal landscape “is shifting as state and federal lawmakers continue to introduce legislation to reduce pay inequities. … Boards are walking a tightrope… and general counsel should be aware.”