RSHC in the news

Joseph Q. McCoy decided to try his hand at something brand new at RSHC and bring a complementary practice to an outstanding group of lawyers. Not afraid to go where few others have gone, he embraced the opportunity because he wanted to make a difference and influence outcomes.

RSHC Partner Patricia Brown Holmes will moderate the General Counsel Roundtable at the March 23 National Bar Association’s Corporate Law Section Seventh Gateway to Success Conference, “Take Your Advanced Career to the Highest Level,” at the Kimpton Aertson Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The distinguished six-member roundtable will discuss the next steps Corporate and Outside Counsel need to take to reach the General Counsel level.

Jack Theis, former Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to President Obama, has joined the national law firm of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila (RSHC). As a partner in the Chicago office, he will concentrate his practice on commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, antitrust and competition law, and risk and reputation management.

RSHC Partner Dave Resnicoff published the recent brief article, “De-Risking Executives From Personal Liability For Compliance Failures,” in the January-March 2018 Issue of Risk & Compliance Magazine. Executives have never been at higher personal risk for compliance failures. Compliance efforts typically focus on reducing the risk of corporate liability. But often there is little attention paid to reducing the risk of individual executive liability. Dave suggests several practical, common sense steps in-house counsel and compliance personnel can recommend to their executive teams to reduce their own risk, and at the same reduce risk to their organizations.

RSHC Partner Ron Safer will be a co-panelist along with the Hon. Christopher Plourd discussing “The Need for Forensic Science Reform and How to Get There” at the March 16 Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC) Spring CLE Symposium to be held at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. False forensic science is a leading factor contributing to the wrongful conviction of women. Mr. Safer worked with the Northwestern Center on Wrongful Convictions to exonerate Julie Rea Harper and Kristine Bunch, both of whom were victims of wrongful convictions based on junk science.

RSHC Partner Brian Watson testified before the Missouri Senate on the public policy behind statutes of limitations and Senate Bill 934, which would reduce the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits from five years to three years in Missouri.

On March 8 and 9, Ed Casmere will be part of a panel addressing “Premise Liability: Where Are the Claims Headed?” at Perrin Conferences’ Cutting-Edge Issues in Asbestos Litigation Conference at Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, California.

Joseph McCoy will be a speaker at the February 8-11 18th Annual Charting Your Own Career (CYOC) Conference to be held at The Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes, in Orlando, Florida.

RSHC Partner Ron Safer, one of Alan Beaman’s attorneys from Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, along with eleven other former federal prosecutors back his efforts to sue former Normal police officers.

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila is again proud to announce that eight partners have been selected for inclusion on the 2018 Illinois Super Lawyers list. For the last ten years, Patricia Brown Holmes has ranked in the Top 50 Women. The Super Lawyers multiphase selection process involves peer nominations, independent research on 12 indicators, evaluation by Blue Ribbon panel members, and final selection of only 5% of the attorneys in Illinois.

2017 brought a flurry of new laws limiting employers’ ability to request or consider salary history, with California joining the fray at the new year. Employers across the country are revisiting their interview and application practices in certain cities and states, or even nationwide given this new trend.

Leslie D. Davis will be a panelist at the January 26 Ethics Plenary session on “Ethical and Strategic Implications in Cases Involving Third Party Litigation Financing” at the 2018 ABA Environmental & Energy, Mass Torts, and Products Liability Litigation Committee’s Joint CLE Seminar in Whistler, BC.

On Tuesday, January 9, in honor of Dr. King’s legacy, Patricia Brown Holmes and co-panelists, Gerald Chertavian, Steve Urrutia, and Karna Crawford, will discuss the importance of cultural intelligence in the workplace to help employees relate and work effectively across cultures. BOLD (Black Organization of Leadership Development) Illinois is a Business Resource Group of JPMorgan Chase and Co.

On May 30, 2017, the Supreme Court struck another in a series of blows to patent owners this term and significantly broadened the doctrine of patent “exhaustion,” which bars a patentee from asserting patent rights over an article after an authorized sale of the article. The decision reversed longstanding Federal Circuit precedent permitting patent infringement actions if (1) a sale was subject to clearly communicated, lawful restrictions on post-sale use or resale; or (2) a sale was made overseas. The Supreme Court voided these safe harbors, finding them to be sales that exhausted patent rights, reasoning “patent exhaustion is uniform and automatic.” Slip Op. at 13. The Supreme Court’s decision not only has immediate ramifications for patent licensing and enforcement actions, but also is likely to have a cascading effect on worldwide supply chains, pricing and product availability in some countries.

RSHC is delighted to announce the promotion of Meghan McMeel (Product Liability) and Simone A. Randolph (Business Transactions) to Partner, effective January 1, 2018. Please join us in congratulating them!