RSHC news

Social inflation — in the form of billion-dollar lottery jackpots, nine-figure professional sports contracts, and handsomely paid “influencers” — coupled with significant traditional economic inflation has normalized outsize, “nuclear” jury verdicts and this phenomenon is impacting the outcomes of cases.

Autonomous Vehicles (AV) are quickly becoming closer to becoming the norm for everyday life. The question stands that if an AV is involved in a crash, who will be held accountable?

According to one study of 600 trucking verdicts, between 2006 and 2011, there were 26 verdicts over one million dollars.[1] Between 2015 and 2019, there were almost 300.[2] In 2006, the average verdict in the National Law Review’s Top 100 Verdicts was 64 million.[3] By 2019, it rose to 214 million.[4] What was once a 10-million-dollar verdict, is now a 30-million-dollar verdict. What was once a 30-million-dollar verdict, is now 90.

The global supply chain crisis has been one of the most widely discussed economic problems since the Ever Given lodged itself into the side of the Suez Canal. In the United States, part of the reason for this is the shortage of truck drivers. There are currently about 80,000 fewer drivers than what the economy demands. A number of start-ups have begun working to solve this problem by replacing truck drivers with autonomous trucks. Autonomous trucks don’t have to follow the hourly limits that truck drivers must follow. As a result, they can do twice the work of their human counterparts.

In "Practicing Animal Law – Applying Professional Ethics While Dealing with Immoral and Unethical Conduct" Bruce Wagman outlines the benefits of using the legal requirement to act ethically to give yourself the ability to maintain integrity and professionalism.

Nick Kahlon and Sarah Finch provide an in-depth analysis of a new amendment to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act and how it significantly alters the restrictive covenant landscape in Illinois. As they explain, the amendment prohibits employers from entering into non-competition or non-solicitation agreements with many Illinois employees after January 1, 2022, and also contains provisions regarding employer notice, fee recovery for prevailing employees, and oversight by the Illinois Attorney General.

Health care providers may face new challenges under the DOJ’s recently launched Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, which will use the False Claims Act to target cybersecurity-related fraud by ensuring the technology-related representations by government contractors and grant recipients are accurate. RSHC is prepared to counsel industry executives on best practices for compliance.

Ransomware attacks continue to plague companies, universities, and government agencies. In their recent whitepaper for Best Lawyers, RSHC Partners Georgia Alexakis, Patricia Brown Holmes, Abigail Peluso, and Jack Theis provide a primer on the federal government’s response to the crisis, and the next steps organizations must take to protect consumers, ensure operational continuity, and avoid reputational damage.

In "Neutral Shift," published in the second annual Best Lawyers in the Midwest edition, Patricia Brown Holmes and Rachel Sifuentes explain why diversifying the pool of neutrals is the first step toward improving inclusion in the alternative dispute resolution process.

In "How Should U.S. Companies Guard Against the Growing Threat of Ransomware?" Jack Theis outlines the scope of the growing ransomware threat, and reviews new federal recommendations companies should incorporate into their compliance and regulatory programs to defend against attacks.

Brenna Woodley co-authored Trade Secret Remedies and the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine, which appears in the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s 2021 Edition of Intellectual Property Law. The IICLE provides continuing legal education for Illinois attorneys. Brenna’s piece, published on April 20, 2021, discusses the latest developments regarding remedies in cases involving trade secret misappropriation and related claims under state and federal law, including claims under the Illinois Trade Secrets Act and federal Defend Trade Secrets Act.

Greg Curtner provided commentary on recent arguments in the Supreme Court case that will decide the future of amateurism in college athletics. In his piece "Amateurism Is Not a Horizontal Price Fix," Curtner unpacks what took place during the March 31 arguments, noting that the discussion included a "jumble of half-baked antitrust concepts, polemics rather than facts, and lack of focus on the legitimate issues before the Court."

In "Education or Exploitation? Fair or Foul? The NCAA Plays in a Different Court — the Supreme Court," Greg Curtner answers key questions on the legal arguments in Alston.

In an opinion piece for The Hill, Greg Curtner; James Heckman, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist and University of Chicago Professor; and Colleen Loughlin, PhD economist and Executive Vice President at Compass Lexecon, make a research-based argument for preserving the amateur system.

In his Built In article, “What Biden Means for Tech,” RSHC Partner Jack Theis discusses the how the Biden Administration’s legislative, regulatory, and enforcement priorities will impact the tech industry, and the proactive steps tech firms can take to prepare. Jack counsels that the tech industry can expect new antitrust legislation, financial services regulation, increased enforcement actions and congressional investigations, and federal data privacy and cybersecurity initiatives.