Patricia Brown Holmes is a trial attorney (former federal, state and local prosecutor) and former state court judge whose diverse practice includes:

• Corporate internal investigations
• Criminal internal investigations
• Representation of high-profile individuals and corporations
• State and federal trial experience

Internal Investigations

She has extensive experience conducting internal investigations at public and private corporations, governmental entities and non-profit organizations. She has conducted a variety of highly sensitive and confidential investigations involving CEOs and other high-level executives. She has represented special committees and boards of directors in a variety of internal investigations as well as presented findings of investigations to boards and high-level corporate officials.

Litigation

Ms. Holmes' assorted criminal and civil litigation experience includes handling matters involving financial and accounting fraud, mail and wire fraud, corporate whistle-blower allegations and hot-line calls, contract disputes and other complex commercial litigation. She has also lectured on and completed internal investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Governmental Investigations

Ms. Holmes is frequently tasked by state officials to assist in investigating sensitive matters. She was recently appointed by Illinois governor Pat Quinn to chair the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, which will promulgate rules and regulations and investigate claims of torture. Ms. Holmes completed the investigation of the City of Chicago's fire commissioner who was charged with allegations of sexual harassment and the alleged cover up by the executive director of the Office of Compliance. In early 2010, she completed the investigation surrounding the tragic incidents alleged to have occurred at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois as chair of the governor's Cemetery Oversight Task Force. That investigation led to new legislation regarding cemetery oversight and the funeral industry. She is also a member of Senator Dick Durbin's judicial commission to investigate backgrounds and select federal judges and the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois.

She has been a guest on Fox News Chicago, Paul Lisnek's CN100 television news show "Political Update" and on WVON radio discussing, among other issues, the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.

Experience

Ms. Holmes' significant and illustrative cases include:

• United States v. Conrad M. Black et al. Ms. Holmes co-led the Schiff Hardin trial team that defended former Hollinger International Inc. executive and corporate counsel Mark S. Kipnis, in which Mr. Kipnis was charged with multiple counts of federal mail, wire and tax fraud stemming from a series of transactions involving the corporation. Following a 16-week trial and two weeks of deliberation, he was convicted of only three counts, one of which the judge dismissed post-trial. The trial team was later successful in obtaining a sentence of five years probation, reduced from a possible sentence that ranged from 30 to 78 months imprisonment. The United States Supreme Court later reversed the convictions and remanded the matter back to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned the criminal conviction of Mr. Kipnis and sent the case back to the trial court. In early 2011, the government dismissed with prejudice the remaining charges against him, fully exonerating him and clearing his record.
• United States v. Mohammad Mohammed, et al. Ms. Holmes successfully tried this "bankruptcy bust-out" case, a first of its kind in the country. It involved the prosecution of a complex financial scheme to defraud creditors and violate income tax laws.
• United States v. Castellanos, et al. Ms. Holmes successfully tried this matter, which was one of the largest multiple-defendant interstate narcotics conspiracy trials ever prosecuted in Rockford, Illinois. It involved a complex narcotics trafficking conspiracy, money laundering, and other federal violations.
• United States v. Charles Emenogha. Ms. Holmes successfully tried this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case involving multiple defendants, complex conspiracy allegations, and the first-ever money-structuring charge brought by the Internal Revenue Service.
• United States v. Carey Robinson. Ms. Holmes successfully tried this case, which was the first trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois charging a violation of the Mann Act.
• People v. Vincent Williams, 124 Ill. 2d 300, 529 N.E. 2d 558, 124 Ill. Dec. 577 (1988). Ms. Holmes argued successfully before the Illinois Supreme Court in this matter, which established the state's right to make a timely written motion for substitution of a judge on the ground of prejudice.

Publications

"Corporate Officials Beware: Knowledge May No Longer Be Required for FCPA Liability," (co-author) Bloomberg Law Reports - Risk and Compliance (April 2010); Republished in Bloomberg Law Reports - Corporate Counsel (May 2010)

"Grease Payments are a Thing of the Past as the Reach of the FCPA Continues to Expand," (co-author) Bloomberg Law Reports - Risk and Compliance (March 2010)

"The Nuts and Bolts of Conducting an FCPA Internal Investigation," (co-author) Practising Law Institute (May 2008)

"Coping With Internal and Government Investigations," (co-author) American Bar Association's 30th Annual Forum on Franchising (October 2007)

"Identity Crisis: Navigating The Ethical Challenges Of Multiple Representation In An Internal Investigation," Corporate Law and Practice Course Handbook Series (June 2007)

"Compliance Programs: The First Step To Protect Against Employee Criminal Acts" (September 2006)

"Sleeping Through the Night — Tips to In-House Counsel To Avoid Personal Liability" (September 2006)

"Mandatory Waiver of Attorney Client Privilege: Cooperation or Coercion" (May 2006)

Speeches and Presentations

"When It's Gets Personal: Advice to In-house Counsel on Avoiding Criminal and Civil Liability" ECOA’s 19th Annual Ethics and Compliance Conference Bellevue, Wash. (September 21, 2011)

"The Post-Madoff Era: Lessons Learned," (panelist) Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges Conference, Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, Ill. (October 9, 2009)

"Sleeping Through the Night: Practical Tips for Attorneys on Avoiding Personal Liability Related to Advising Healthcare Clients," Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys Quarterly Meeting (December 4, 2007)

"Parallel Investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission and Department of Justice: Counseling Corporate Clients Out of the Investigative Dragnet," ABA White Collar Crime Conference, Atlanta, Georgia (January 25, 2007)

"Direct & Cross Examinations," Chicago Bar Association Program: "Trial Superstars on Presenting Your Case: Winning Over the Court, The Jury and The Media," Chicago (November 16, 2006)

"Civility in the Profession," Chicago Bar Association Basic Skills Program: "Life After Law School," Chicago (October 27, 2006)

"Advice To In-House Counsel On Avoiding Criminal Liability," (panelist) "Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges Program," Chicago Bar Association and American Bar Association, Chicago (May 12, 2006)

"Sleeping Through The Night — Tips to In-House Counsel to Avoid Personal Liability," ABA Spring Minority Counsel Program, Seattle, Wash. (April 6, 2006)

"Civil Litigation: Employee Criminal Acts," Minority Corporate Council Association's 5th Annual CLE Expo, Chicago (March 16, 2006)

"Into the Forefront: The Current Role of Minority Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights," (moderator) "Our Mothers, Our Sisters, Our Daughters, Ourselves," ABA Multicultural Women Attorneys Network, Chicago (February 9, 2006)

Previous Experience

Ms. Holmes joined the firm after serving approximately nine years as an associate judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Prior to becoming a trial court judge, she served the City of Chicago as its Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel for Municipal Prosecutions, supervising a staff of attorneys practicing in chancery and municipal courts. Earlier, Ms. Holmes honed her skills in federal court having tried more than 26 complex felony cases and argued numerous times before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. She also gained significant trial and appellate experience as an Assistant State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois, arguing twice before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Awards and Honors

Benchmark Litigation — Star

Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation 

Black Women Lawyers Association Visionary Award

BTI Client Service All-Star Team

Distinguished Fellow Award, Leadership Greater Chicago

Illinois Judicial Council Distinguished Service Award

Illinois Super Lawyers, General Litigation, Top 50 Women Lawyers

Leading Lawyer — Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense: White Collar, Top 10 Women, Illinois Leading Lawyers Network (a peer review award)

Martindale-Hubbell — A/V Rated

National Bar Association Judicial Council Special Chair Award

National Diversity Council — One of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Illinois (2011)

University of Illinois
Seaberry Award for Service to the Legal Community
Outstanding Alumni Award for Public Service

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois/Federal Bar Association, Chicago Chapter — Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service

Who's Who in Black Chicago — Inaugural Edition