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Charles E. Joern, Jr. focuses his practice in the area of consumer product safety laws and product liability litigation. During his more than 35 years in practice he has served as lead trial counsel for a number of Fortune 500 corporations in high value product liability and commercial litigation cases, obtaining favorable results at both the trial and appellate levels. He has represented clients in a wide range of matters, including consumer product safety compliance, product liability litigation, punitive damages, RICO litigation and commercial claims, in jurisdictions across the country. A significant concentration of his work involves counseling clients on the application of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Act.
Mr. Joern has assisted major corporations with nationwide consumer product recalls, mandatory reporting matters, risk assessment evaluations, and regulatory compliance matters. He provides counseling and representation before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of consumer products.
Mr. Joern served as a regional trial counsel for a major international manufacturer in product liability cases in the Midwest and Northeast United States and has also acted as a major claims counsel for a leading national social service and fitness provider in significant personal injury cases. Mr. Joern has further served as coordinating counsel on numerous foreign accident cases filed in the United States involving high profile personal injury recall litigation. He was also a member of the Editorial Board of Product Liability Law360.
In addition, he has acted as an arbitrator for the Cook County, Illinois Mandatory Arbitration Program and also served as a panel attorney for the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation.
He has been a long time member of his local YMCA Board of Directors and was chairman of the Greater La Grange YMCA Board of Directors. He also served as an elected Village Trustee in his hometown of LaGrange Park, Illinois for 12 years.
PROFESSIONAL HONORS & AWARDS
- Chicago Law Bulletin Leading Lawyer
- Martindale Hubbell - AV Rated
- Selected for Best Lawyers®
- Who's Who In America
MEMBERSHIPS
- Chicago Bar Association
- Illinois State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Administrative Law Section
- International Law Section
- Litigation Section
- International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization
COURT ADMISSIONS
- U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois
- U.S. Appeals Court, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
EDUCATION
- DePaul University College of Law (J.D.) (1980)
- University of Colorado, Graduate School of Public Affairs (M.U.A.) (1976)
- Knox College (B.A.) (1973)
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
“What’s New at The CPSC – And Why It Affects Businesses", 13th Annual IPSLP Product Safety & Liability Prevention Conference, Rosemont, Illinois, June 21, 2017 "Consumer Product Safety Rules and Import Compliance" Barnes, Richardson & Colburn
Webinar, Chicago, Illinois, March 2, 2017 "Manufacturers Legal Obligations Regarding Consumer Product Safety", Child Resistant Packaging Seminar, Hershey, Pennsylvania, September 29, 2016 "Manufacturers Legal Obligations Regarding Consumer Product Safety", 12th Annual IPSLP Product Safety & Liability Prevention Conference, Rosemont, Illinois, July 27, 2016. "U.S. – Canada Cross-Border Recall: Before, During and After the Recall (What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You)”, International Consumer Product Health & Safety Organization 2016 Annual Meeting & Training Symposium, Washington DC, February 29, 2016. “Consumer Product Safety Commission and Import Enforcement”, The International Trade Club of Chicago Presentation, Chicago, Illinois, November 20, 2015. "CPSC Compliance and Enforcement – What Do I Have To Do?" , 11th Annual Midwest Product Safety & Liability Prevention Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 25, 2015. -
“Consumer Product Safety Compliance – The Current State of CPSC Safety Programs”, IEEE Symposium on Product Compliance Engineering, Chicago, Illinois, May 19, 2015. "Consumer Product Safety Act Enforcement- What Businesses Should Know Now", 10th Annual Midwest Product Safety & Liability Prevention Conference, Rosemont, Illinois, June 19, 2014.
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“Consumer Product Safety Laws – What You Should Know”, Pretzel & Stouffer CLE Presentation, Chicago, Illinois, March 3, 2014.
- "Consumer Product Safety Laws – An Overview", Kane County Bar Association Business Law Committee, St. Charles, Illinois, February 19, 2013.
- "Consumer Product Safety Laws Updated- Where are we now?" and "The Consumer Product Database – What matters today", 8th Annual Midwest Product Safety Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 13, 2012
- “Selling Consumer Products into the U.S. and Canada - Navigating a New Course to Safety,” American Bar Association, Section of International Law 2012 Spring Meeting, New York City, New York. April 18, 2012.
- "Avoiding a Consumer Product Safety Nightmare", 9th Annual Western Regional Conference, I.E. Canada - Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, Calgary, Canada, February 27, 2012
- "Consumer Product Safety – The American Model", Miller Thomson Seminar on Recent Changes to Product Liability Laws, Vancouver, Canada, November 30, 2011
- "Consumer Product Safety - The American Model" The Canadian Institute's Forum on Consumer Product Safety, Liability and Recall, Toronto, Canada May 2, 2011
- "Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act Update", Holland & Knight CLE webinar, February 9, 2011
- "Assessing Risk And Ensuring Compliance With The Consumer Product Safety Act”, Midwest Product Safety & Liability Conference, Chicago, Illinois, July 2010
- “Protecting the Record and Perfecting the Appeal”, Federal Civil Practice, Faculty Member CLE Presentations, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Chicago Illinois and Peoria, Illinois, 2008
PUBLISHED ARTICLES & BOOKS
- “Reporting to the Consumer Product Safety Commission – When Does It End?”, News & Developments, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, August 31, 2017
- “Is the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Transition?" News & Developments, Products Liability Litigation, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, February 28, 2017.
- “Starbucks Fine Has Companies Reading CPSC’s Tea Leaves”, Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, June 2, 2016.
- "CPSC Approves Pilot E-Filing System for Imports”, News & Developments, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, September 25, 2015
- CPSC Lumber Liquidators Probe A Clue to Agency’s New Tone”, Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, May 21, 2015.
- “For Children Only – A Proposed CPSC Rule Expands the Phthalate Ban in Kid’s Toys and Care Items”, PPB magazine, April 2015.
- “Regulators Have a Range of Approaches”, Interviewed for article in Packaging World, April, 2015.
- "New CPSC Magnet Standard Tackles Safety Concerns”, News & Developments, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, November 25, 2014
- “Packaging Leads To CPSC Action”, Interviewed for article in Healthcare Packaging, August 28, 2014.
- “CPSC’s Elliot Kaye To Narrow Gap Between Agency, Industry”, Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, August 27, 2014.
- “Poison Packaging Is An Ongoing Process”, Interviewed for article in Packaging World, August, 2014.
- “Legal Pot Leaves Product Liability Attys Dazed, Confused”, Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, January 10, 2014.
- “Important Changes Proposed For CPSC Product Certification”, Products Liability Litigation E-Newsletter, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, December 5, 2013
- "5 Years Later, The Law That Saved The CPSC", Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, August 14, 2013
- "Big, Small Or Broke, Manufacturers Get No Mercy From CPSC", Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, June 14, 2013
- "NY Fraud Threat Could Prompt Action On Smartphone Theft", Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, May 13, 2013
- "CPSC Risks Alienating Industry With Litigation Strategy", Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, March 22, 2013
- "CPSC Enforcement: What will 2013 Bring ?", News & Developments, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, March 1, 2013
- "Physicians entangled in tainted drugs lawsuits", Interviewed for article in American Medical News, February 11, 2013
- "GOP Looks Ready To Wait Obama Out On Empty CPSC Spots", Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, January 29, 2013
- "CPSC Scraps Database Appeal, Leaving Gripes Unsettled", Interviewed for article in Product Liability Law360, December 10, 2012
- "New Consumer Product Safety Regulations", Podcast - Sound Advice Program, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, November 27, 2012.
- Obama's Re-Election Will Have Long-Term Effect On CPSC, Expert Analysis Product Liability Law360, International Trade Law360, and Public Policy Law360 , November 8, 2012
- "Analysis: Meningitis Suits May Turn On How Injections Are Defined", Interviewed for article in Thompson Reuters News & Insight, October 24, 2012
- "Meningitis Lawsuits Target Physicians", Interviewed for article in Business Insurance, October 28, 2012
- “Agencies Increase Port Surveillance of Consumer Products” News & Developments, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, June 1, 2012
- Business on the Border: New U.S. and Canadian Consumer Product Safety Laws Co-Author, International Law News, Volume 41, Number 1, Winter 2012. American Bar Association
- 'New Consumer Product Safety Laws in Canada and the United States: Business on the Border' Co-Author. Global Trade and Customs Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2012. Kluwer Law International
- "'Coming soon'- www.saferproducts.gov, the new consumer product complaint database", Illinois Manufacturers' Association Executive Memo, March 2011
- "CPSC Approves Creation of Publicly Available Consumer Complaint Database: Significant Challenges Likely for Manufacturers and Private Labelers of Consumer Products," Holland & Knight Product Liability, Alert- December 9, 2010
- "Corporate Compliance Answer Book - Consumer Product Safety Act” Chapter, Practicing Law Institute, 2010 through 2015 editions
- "Pending House Bill Would Require Foreign Manufacturers to Consent to Jurisdiction in U.S. -Courts," Holland & Knight Product Liability, Alert - March 19, 2010
- "CPSC Proposes Changes to Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Citing Enforceability Problems," Holland & Knight Product Liability, Alert - February 10, 2010
- "Assessing Risk and Ensuring Compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act," Holland & Knight Product Liability, Newsletter -June 2009
- "Consumer Product Rules Affecting Sellers of Used Products," Holland & Knight Product Liability, Alert - January 22, 2009
- "New Consumer Product Safety Law Greatly Expands Regulation of Products Manufactured or Sold in the United States," Holland & Knight Product Liability, Newsletter - November 2008
- "Protecting the Record and Perfecting the Appeal",Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Handbook on Federal Civil Practice, 1988 - 2011
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