SSEK Indonesian Legal Consultants is pleased to announce the promotion of our new partner, Syahdan Z. Aziz, effective January 1, 2016. Syahdan's areas of practice include oil and gas law, energy and natural resources, mergers and acquisitions, foreign capital investment, infrastructure and general corporate matters. Syahdan joined SSEK in early 2005. He received his Bachelor of Laws in economic law from the University of Indonesia in 2005 and earned his Master of Laws in 2009 from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He is a member of the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi).

• Equal Employment Opportunity developments: increased protections for women – particularly pregnant employees and new mothers – along with higher expectations for accommodating religious practices and disabilities.
• The newest wage and hour claims being pursued and practical tips for avoiding the most common mistakes when calculating hours worked and wages owed.
• Tactics being utilized by businesses to misappropriate trade secrets and steal away key personnel from competitors – practical strategies you can employ to minimize these problems.
• How the NLRB is flexing its muscles to aid with unionization and what you can do right now to help maintain your non-union status.
• Continued legal and media attacks on the use of independent contractors and the outsourcing of management functions – how you can avoid being the next poster child of worker exploitation.

SSEK founding partner Ira A. Eddymurthy will be a featured panelist at a conference organized by the Singapore Academy of Law on January 21 and 22. The conference, Doing Business Across Asia: Legal Convergence in an Asian Century, will explore cross-border trade practices and regulatory mechanisms in the region, and what they mean for the business and legal communities in Asia. Members of the business and legal communities will have the chance to discuss the challenges and opportunities resulting from the increased economic integration among Asian countries. Ira Eddymurthy will be part of the panel on the cross-border enforcement of commercial contracts. The panel will discuss legal enforcement procedures in cross-border commercial disputes and why Asian countries should consider adopting the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and the attendant benefits of doing so. This session is scheduled for Friday, January 22, at 11:30 a.m.

The Employment Law Alliance is offering a free 90-minute webinar on Tuesday, November 17, focusing on Hot Topics and Best Practices in U.S. Immigration Laws, and a free 90-minute webinar on Thursday, November 19, on Workplace Indecencies and Indiscretions - Best Practices for Canadian Colleges and Universities. Webinar Descriptions Navigating the U.S. Business Immigration Maze: Practical Guidance for Employers – Tuesday, November 17 Global competition continues to rise, increasing pressure on U.S. employers to attract and retain the world's best and brightest talent. By 2018, the shortage of qualified STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workers for open positions is expected to exceed 200,000. At the same time, U.S. employers fight each year for the chance to enter the lottery for scarce specialty worker visas, which are filled within days of the government's opening bell. In addition, talented international students graduate each year with few options to use their training for U.S. employers. As the U.S. evolves into a more knowledge-driven economy, employers face diminishing options for using talented foreign workers. Immigration lawyers from across the nation will address the following business immigration hot topics and help demystify the U.S. immigration process to keep you competitive in the hunt for global talent.

• L-1 Visas: Pitfalls and strategies for intra-company talent transfers
• H1b cap strategies: To STEM and beyond!
• Keeping them legal: Managing the compliance patchwork and the I-9
• Who's knocking? Handling the H1b Audit
• Understanding the changes to the Visa Bulletin
• Best practice takeaways