Chief legal officer of 100% Employee Owned Company with a balanced portfolio of manufacturing businesses providing precision engineered products to customers worldwide. Current subsidiaries include: Nosco, Inc., SETCO Sales Co., Vac-Con, Inc., and, Wildeck, Inc. Responsible for legal and corporate issues at parent and subsidiary levels, counseling parent senior management and subsidiary executive teams on legal, risk, litigation, human resources, strategic transactions, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, compliance and governance issues. Member of corporate Executive Management Team and Ethics Committee; Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors with responsibility for corporate governance and maintenance, and Director on all company subsidiaries. http://www.holdenindustriesinc.com

CASA volunteer for children at risk in Lake County Illinois.

Channeling my inner joy and learning the gift of comedy improv. Collaboration+Inspiration+Teamwork# Yes And! Selected after audition to join the conservatory program for enhanced learning.

Global corporate lawyer with demonstrated leadership, proven integrity, reliability and responsiveness. Career litigator with mass tort experience. Trusted advisor to Company executives and staff on a wide variety of issues, including strategic transactions and risk management in all substantive legal issues, including commercial, employment law, products liability, environmental, and compliance in the US, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Mentors and builds organizational strength through focused, dedicated and consistent legal counseling in rapidly changing business environments. Specialties: Commercial Transactions, Mergers & Acquisitions, Litigation, HR / Employment, Risk Management, Governance and Regulatory Compliance, Ethics Committee

At Baylor University, the Technology Entrepreneurship Initiative advises and supports students and initiatives between the Hankamer School of Business' Entrepreneurship program ranked 2nd nationally* and Baylor's 11th ranked undergraduate Engineering program. The TEI program prepares the next generation of leaders with technical, entrepreneurial and leadership competencies.

JoAnne has been a practicing lawyer for 25 years. After a clerkship in the Federal Court in Chicago, she became a trial lawyer for a large Chicago firm. She then served in house as a corporate and litigation attorney for over 15 years with increasing roles of responsibility within multiple industries guiding businesses across the globe. JoAnne established her private practice in response to requests from clients - they sought a lawyer they knew and could trust with their business and with their life; a lawyer who would be available and responsive; a lawyer they could afford and feel like their money was well spent. They found all of that in WilliamsLaw, L.L.C. JoAnne’s clients included public companies, privately held companies, emerging companies and entrepreneurs. She concentrated in commercial transactions, strategic business counseling, corporate work, litigation, and risk management in numerous industries. She helped her clients create their businesses and then become operational with customized, strategic agreements. A career litigator, JoAnne is calm under pressure and is known for her strategic drafting in view of business risks and litigation. She negotiated and drafted commercial agreements with Fortune 500 companies including domestic and international sales and distribution agreements, customized and master product manufacturing agreements, technology license agreements, and non-disclosure agreements, as well as strategic business agreements, including term sheets, memoranda of understanding and joint venture documents. JoAnne's passion for service and concern for others led her to branch out into probate and family law. Her clients appreciated finding a lawyer that will truly listen to them and respond to their needs as they sort through critical issues.

 Served more than 3,500 employees throughout the three-hospital system with reporting to multiple levels of management including EVP/COO, SVP/ General Counsel, Executive Directors and Directors Lead corporate transactions (divestitures, dissolutions, and purchase of hospital equipment and services) Directed hospital litigation (medical malpractice and commercial)  Counselled all hospital business service lines (imaging, cardiology, surgery, oncology, orthopedics), and functions (operations, finance, quality, risk, construction, and leasing) on strategic business issues and risk management issues Key member of hospital leadership committees, including Corporate Responsibility Operations Team, and leader of critical initiatives, including formation of Institutional Review Board program; policy and practice innovations impacting hospital departments, e.g., consent forms, laboratory practices, biomedical engineering practices; contract review and execution processes

Directed legal activities of privately held, startup company focused on nanotechnology. Reported directly to CEO and Board and developed legal department, handling all commercial and intellectual property matters and directing activities of outside counsel. Company closed following bankruptcy.

Directed all legal activities of $100+ million fluorine and performance chemicals business unit, including domestic and international commercial strategy and contracts, litigation, intellectual property matters (patent and trademark), and antitrust/competition law. As AGC and VP, responsible for domestic and international litigation and claims including commercial, intellectual property, environmental, products liability, personal injury, and antitrust, including management of $12 million legal budget and regulatory affairs.

As Litigation Counsel, Cardiovascular Group – Strategic Counseling, Contracts and Litigation - Advised senior executives of California-based business on all litigation and key commercial issues affecting strategy and risk. As Corporate Counsel – Product Liability, Contracts, Innovative Practices -- Advised senior management and board regarding claims and litigation, risk management opportunities and opportunities to protect company and drive savings across the organization. Managed mass and individual product liability actions nationally silicone breast implant and natural rubber latex, planning all aspects of defense strategy, including pleading, discovery, experts, trial, and settlements. Supervised national and regional outside counsel and managed legal budgets for assigned counsel.

Litigator and appellate attorney focusing on product liability, medical malpractice, environmental and personal injury litigation. Appellate lawyer in the field of medical malpractice.

I served as a federal judicial clerk to the Honorable George N. Leighton. I reviewed legal briefs, conducted research and wrote opinions for Court.

I served as a judicial intern to Milton Shadur with responsibility to conduct legal research and write legal opinions for the court.