Hon. Heather K. McShain

Important Information Communication with Chambers: Counsel should email Judge McShain's chambers (at Chambers_McShain@ilnd.uscourts.gov ) as soon as possible if the parties resolve an issue that is scheduled for argument or under consideration by the judge. Counsel should copy all counsel of record on any such emails. Calendar Schedule Judge Heather K. McShain --> Procedures to be followed in cases assigned to Judge Heather K. McShain Confidentiality Agreements, Protective Orders, and Filing Material Under Seal A. Confidentiality Agreement Among the Parties (No Court Order is Necessary) The parties may properly agree among themselves to limit disclosure of unfiled discovery information to certain specified persons during the litigation and not to voluntarily disseminate such information to other persons. Court approval of such an agreement or a court order is not necessary. Such an agreement may well address most of the parties’ confidentiality concerns since only a small subset of discovery is typically ever filed in the public court record or used during a court proceeding. B. Protective Order Entered by the Court If the parties require a protective order entered by the Court, the y should file a motion (indicating whether it is agreed or opposed) and email a copy of their proposed protective order to the Court in Microsoft Word format, as outlined in the Court’s procedures for Submitting a Proposed Order, Agreed or Otherwise, for Electronic Entry by the Judge. The parties are directed to use the model protective order approved by the full Court and set forth in the Local Rules: Form LR 26.2 Model Confidentiality Order . Parties may deviate from the model order, but when submitting their proposed order to the Court’s e-mail address they must include both a clean version of their order and a redline version showing any changes made from the model order. The Court’s issuance of the protective order will constitute the determination, as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), that good cause exists for the issuance of the order. However, issuance of any protective order will not be given preclusive effect as a determination of good cause for Rule 26(c) purposes if, at a future time, a party or an interested member of the public moves for relief from the limitations of the protective order. In the event of such a motion, the Court will engage in an appropriate assessment of the interest between and public access to make a determination of good cause as to the challenged document(s) in light of the facts then before the Court. See Jepsen, Inc. v. Makita Elec. Works, Ltd. , 30 F.3d 854, 859 (7th Cir. 1994) . C. Use of Medical Records in Litigation . The Court reminds counsel that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its regulations create a procedure for obtaining authority to use medical records in litigation, including requesting a qualified protective order. 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e).

Meeting Requirement on Motions a. Discovery Motions Please see separate link entitled “Discovery Motion Requirements” on Judge McShain’s website. b. Other Motions The meet and confer requirement can have the same effect on other disputes that it has in connection with discovery disputes. A candid discussion between the parties prior to filing motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment, and motions in limine , among others, can limit the scope of such motions or eliminate the need for them to be filed at all. Thus, the Court will apply the meet and confer requirement not just to discovery motions, but to all motions that a party wishes to file. The comments above concerning what must be done to comply with the meet and confer requirement will be applied with equal force, and in the same way, with respect to all other motions.