Client Legal Training
CALENDAR 2010
CONVENING & FACILITATING COLLABORATIVE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS on March 8 and 9, 2010 (2 day)
Oregon state agencies work with over 100 advisory committees involving everything from Geese to Graywater. This interactive workshop is for persons charged with organizing or facilitating a task force, rulemaking committee or advisory group that is seeking a collaborative outcome. We will review basic meeting management and group facilitation concepts and give you an opportunity to practice convening an advisory committee, clarify group agreements and resolve group conflict. We will also look at the theory of group processes and discuss relevant legal issues including rulemaking, public meetings and public records requirements. A reference handbook will be provided with the workshop. This manual includes examples of the operating principles, agendas and evaluations of successful state agency advisory committees.
RULE WRITING WORKSHOP on March 11, 2010 (1 day)
This workshop will help you gain greater competency in the important and challenging skill of rule writing. Other DOJ training is available that address the step-by-step procedural requirements of the rulemaking process or statutory construction - this training concentrates on the science, and the art, of rule drafting.
The morning session will include an interactive session to demonstrate the blending of hypothetical legal and policy requirements into rule language. We will also review the purpose and goals of administrative rules, the meaning of "plain language," statutory requirements for rule clarity and simplicity, and the writing of legally defensible rules. The afternoon session will be devoted to hands-on drafting of portions of a rule based on a real-world statute, genuine legislative history and actual policy direction. The session will end with a critique of the draft rules and their comparison with the actual rules that were adopted by the agency.
Registration is limited to 30 students on a first-come-first-serve basis. The training will be held in the Robertson Building 1, Lower Level Conference Room of the Department of Justice and will be conducted by Micky Logan, Senior Assistant Attorney General.
PUBLIC RECORDS RETENTION PRACTICES TRAINING on March 30, 2010 (2 hours)
Almost everyone in state government has to deal with records retention at some level and access to these records is a primary means by which the public is able to be engaged with state government. How should these be stored and when must they be destroyed? What are the consequences if this isn't done properly? How can you best preserve email for public record purposes and what sort and type of emails should be saved? This workshop will cover legal requirements and offer practical advice for managing your public records.
Registration is limited and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. The training will be held in the Robertson Building 1, Lower Level Conference Room of the Department of Justice. The price is $50.00.
CONTRACT QUALITY STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY: IMPLEMENTATION OF HB 2867 on April 7, 2010
HB 2867 sets a new standard of accountability for agencies and contractors and became effective on January 1, 2010. What issues have arisen as agencies implement these new policies? The new law and rules require establishment of a measurable standard to assess the quality of a contractor's performance and clear consequences for failing to meet those standards. For contacts over $250,000 agencies must demonstrate that the cost of providing goods or performing service with a contracting agency's own resources is greater than cost of procuring goods or services from a contractor. This training will explore the questions that have arisen as agencies implement these new policies, including:
- Can I hire an outside consultant (or a trade services provider) anymore?
- How do I assess "feasibility"
- If a "cost analysis" is needed, what will be enough?
- When does one complete a "feasibility" assessment or a "cost analysis"?
- Is the "highest and best" standard of care required for my contract?
- What new contract terms & conditions have to be included?
- What are the new "responsibility" requirements?
- How will the new conflicts of interest affect me?
Registration is on a first-come-first-serve basis. The cost is $67. The training will be held in Department of Justice, Robertson Building, 1215 State St. NE Salem, OR 97301 on April 7, 2010 from 2:30 to 4:30 pm. The training will be conducted by William Nessly, Assistant Attorney General, Business Transaction Section, Department of Justice.
BETTER WORKGROUPS BROWNBAG on April 27, 2010 (FREE)
What techniques are agencies, trainers, mediators and organizational development consultants successfully using to help struggling workgroups? This free brownbag workshop will present a survey of workgroup intervention greatest hits. Each panelist will share an intervention they've used successfully to help a struggling group like the one in the following scenario: Bob hates Betty, staff are taking sides and there is a culture of blame and negativity in a small public agency workgroup. How would the experts proceed? What legal and practical concerns need to be addressed? What is the role of management, human resources and the union in this example?
Registration is limited and on a first-come-first-serve basis. The training will be held in the Robertson Building 1, Lower Level Conference Room of the Department of Justice and will be conducted by Mike Niemeyer, an attorney from the Labor & Employment Section of the Department of Justice and a panel of experts in workplace dispute resolution.
EMERGENT TECHNOLOGIES: OPPORTUNITIES & LEGAL ISSUES on May 4, 2010 (3-hour)
This workshop is a co-presentation of the Department of Justice and the DAS Enterprise Information Strategy and Policy Division (EISPD) that explores the unique environment created by the Internet, communication tools (e.g. Twitter), collaborative tools (e.g. wikis or webinars), social media (e.g. Facebook or Linkedin) and agency use of blackberries, blogs and texting. We will discuss the potential of these new technologies for fostering internal and external collaboration, improving government effectiveness and efficiency and the practical concerns (e.g. metadata, malware) and legal challenges public bodies need to be aware of. The legal issues we will review include public records and records retention, public meetings issues, freedom of speech and defamation, ADA, intellectual property and more. This training is aimed at managers and any public employee seeking a better understanding of how new technologies impact our work in the public sector. You don't need to be an IS/IT expert to attend – we will be providing a simple explanation of these emerging technologies. (This training does not focus on employment-related technology issues which are covered in detail in the workshop "Emergent Technologies & Public Employment.")
Registration is limited and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. The training will be held at the Labor & Industries Building, Conference Room 260. The cost is $35.00.
EMERGENT TECHNOLOGIES & PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT on May 20, 2010 (3-hour)
This workshop is a co-presentation of the Department of Justice and the DAS Enterprise Information Strategy and Policy Division (EISPD) and DAS Human Resources Division. We will explore the public employer concerns created by web-based communication tools (e.g. Twitter), collaborative tools (e.g. wikis or webinars), social media (e.g. Facebook or Linkedin) and employee use of blackberries, blogs and texting. We will discuss agency "appropriate use" policies and monitoring of employee internet activities, defamation and harassment concerns, employee posts to agency and private blogs and release of confidential information. This training is aimed at supervisors and HR professionals seeking a better understanding of how new technologies impact public sector employment. (This training does not focus in detail on general government and technology concerns, such as public meetings and records retention, which are covered in the workshop "Emergent Technologies: Opportunities & Legal Issues.")
Registration is limited and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. The training will be held at the Labor & Industries Building, Conference Room 260. The cost is $35.00.
CORE PUBLIC LAW FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS on May 26, 2010 (3.25 hour)
This workshop is an introduction to the essential policy and laws that apply to every state agency, board and commission and will include: Agency's authority to act, tort claims, contested cases, rulemaking, public contracting and finance issues, public official ethics, and public meetings and records. This information will help you avoid potential conflict of interests or problems with gifts or political and lobbying activities. You'll also learn about Oregon's open government policies and how they impact your meetings and communications. We will offer practical advice on ways you can be most effective in your role as an agency manager or board or commission member. This training is open to any agency staff or manager seeking an overview of the policies and laws applicable to state agencies and will be particularly valuable for staff who work with a Board or Commission. A reference manual will be provided as part of the training.
Registration is limited and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. The training will be held in the Robertson Building 1, Lower Level Conference Room of the Department of Justice. The cost is $97.
WEB CONFERENCING: OPPORTUNITIES & LEGAL PITFALLS FOR PUBLIC AGENCIES on June 9, 2010 (3 hour)
This workshop is a co-presentation of the Department of Justice and DAS Enterprise Information Strategy and Policy Division (EISPD) that explores the public agency concerns created by web-based meeting technologies. What is the best use of this technology for conducting synchronous internal and external meetings and training? How can this technology advance the mission of government ad and improve collaboration and public participation? We will begin by providing a brief introduction to the various web conferencing technologies and their features and functions including VoIP (Voice over internet), slide shows (e.g. PowerPoint), meeting recording, voting, polls & surveys, text chat, whiteboard, video and screen sharing. We will also discuss practical meeting management issues such as the role of the meeting facilitator and controlling who speaks when and legal issues like public records retention, public meeting requirements, consensus voting, defamation and free speech issues.
Registration is limited and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. The training will be held at the Labor & Industries Building, Conference Room 260. The cost is $35.00.
Other Client Legal Training
In addition to these workshops, the Department of Justice provides training on a variety of topics in response to requests from our client agencies. If your agency is interested in receiving legal training you are encouraged to contact your agency's assigned counsel or use the form at Training Suggestions & Comments Form.
Due to the current economic situation, and anticipated reductions in agency budgets, we will not be offering a Fall Public Law Conference as we have following previous legislative sessions
