RSHC news

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.

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.

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.

Congratulations to RSHC Partners, Joseph McCoy and Patricia Brown Holmes, on their recognition in Crain’s Chicago Business inaugural edition of Chicago’s Most Influential Minority Lawyers. They are among 45 female and male lawyers recognized for their impressive achievements and dedication to diversity initiatives.

On December 11, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to decide whether Title VII bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, leaving in place a pronounced circuit court split on the issue.

RSHC proudly recognizes Cory and Joe Cancila, long-time supporters of All Stars Project of Chicago and one of the first 50 families and businesses, who are generously supporting the Founding 50 Challenge campaign. The $500,000 Challenge Fund will help establish a Center for Afterschool Development in the Chicago Loop by 2020.

In the last 30 years, Patricia Brown Holmes has lived a professional career that most attorneys never come close to experiencing. From youngest African-American woman serving as an associate judge in 1999 to special prosecutor in the Laquan McDonald case in 2017, she assesses the circumstances quickly and accurately and then takes appropriate action – skills that also helped her survive cancer.

RSHC Partner, Patricia Brown Holmes, will be honored for her achievements in the legal industry at the annual Chicago Defender’s Newsmakers Awards GALA on Saturday, December 2.

On Tuesday, November 14, Arthur Brown walked out of prison and into the arms of his family after serving over 29 years for a crime he did not commit. In an all too familiar story, Arthur was convicted based solely on a confession he gave after being beaten and choked by police officers. A team of lawyers from RSHC worked to free Arthur and unraveled the State’s case. After a lengthy hearing, RSHC lawyers convinced the Judge to vacate Arthur’s conviction. Kim Foxx and her staff dug into the facts and quickly dismissed the case.