JP Morgan Chase 2015 Annual Report Download - page 156

Management’s discussion and analysis
146 JPMorgan Chase & Co./2015 Annual Report
business interruption, and to remain in compliance with
global laws and regulations as they relate to resiliency risk.
The program includes corporate governance, awareness and
training, as well as strategic and tactical initiatives aimed to
ensure that risks are properly identified, assessed, and
managed.
The Firm has established comprehensive tracking and
reporting of resiliency plans in order to proactively
anticipate and manage various potential disruptive
circumstances such as severe weather and flooding,
technology and communications outages, cyber incidents,
mass transit shutdowns and terrorist threats, among others.
The resiliency measures utilized by the Firm include backup
infrastructure for data centers, a geographically distributed
workforce, dedicated recovery facilities, providing
technological capabilities to support remote work capacity
for displaced staff and accommodation of employees at
alternate locations. JPMorgan Chase continues to
coordinate its global resiliency program across the Firm and
mitigate business continuity risks by reviewing and testing
recovery procedures. The strength and proficiency of the
Firm’s global resiliency program has played an integral role
in maintaining the Firm’s business operations during and
quickly after various events in 2015 that have resulted in
business interruptions, such as severe winter weather and
flooding in the U.S. and various global protest-related
activities.
LEGAL RISK MANAGEMENT
Legal risk is the risk of loss or imposition of damages, fines,
penalties or other liability arising from failure to comply
with a contractual obligation or to comply with laws or
regulations to which the Firm is subject.
Overview
In addition to providing legal services and advice to the
Firm, and communicating and helping the lines of business
adjust to the legal and regulatory changes they face,
including the heightened scrutiny and expectations of the
Firm’s regulators, the global Legal function is responsible
for working with the businesses and corporate functions to
fully understand and assess their adherence to laws and
regulations. In particular, Legal assists Oversight & Control,
Risk, Finance, Compliance and Internal Audit in their efforts
to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and
regulations and the Firm’s corporate standards for doing
business. The Firm’s lawyers also advise the Firm on
potential legal exposures on key litigation and transactional
matters, and perform a significant defense and advocacy
role by defending the Firm against claims and potential
claims and, when needed, pursuing claims against others.
Governance and oversight
The Firm’s General Counsel reports to the CEO and is a
member of the Operating Committee, the Firmwide Risk
Committee and the Firmwide Control Committee. The
General Counsel’s leadership team includes a General
Counsel for each line of business, the heads of the Litigation
and Corporate & Regulatory practices, as well as the Firm’s
Corporate Secretary. Each region (e.g., Latin America, Asia
Pacific) has a General Counsel who is responsible for
managing legal risk across all lines of business and
functions in the region.
Legal works with various committees (including new
business initiative and reputation risk committees) and the
Firm’s businesses to protect the Firm’s reputation beyond
any particular legal requirements. In addition, it advises the
Firm’s Conflicts Office which reviews the Firm’s wholesale
transactions that may have the potential to create conflicts
of interest for the Firm.