Practice Areas & Industries: Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Manatt’s Consumer Product Safety professionals guide clients through a challenging regulatory environment in matters before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  Our experienced attorneys have a long history of assisting clients in all aspects of compliance issues and CPSC actions, from reporting to recalls, enforcement actions, penalty investigations and litigation.

Services Available

Manatt represents a wide variety of major manufacturers, retailers, importers and distributors of consumer products and provides innovative solutions to difficult issues.  We specialize in advising clients on how and when to report potentially hazardous products to the CPSC and on effectively addressing the regulatory and public relations issues they encounter in this process.

When a product is recalled, we work directly with CPSC staff to establish and implement an effective corrective action plan, and negotiate appropriate notice to consumers and trade partners.  Our attorneys develop strategies to meet safety and reporting requirements, minimize product liability exposure and minimize civil penalty exposure.  In the face of penalty proceedings, Manatt assists clients in responding to agency requests, negotiating a resolution and defending penalty cases that cannot be resolved with the agency.

We also assist companies with product safety matters and recalls under the jurisdiction of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Our depth of expertise permits us to offer a wide range of services, including:

§         Creating and implementing compliance programs;

§         Evaluating regulatory and enforcement risks associated with a product;

§         Responding to CPSC Clearinghouse Reports;

§         Responding to FOIA requests;

§         Counseling regarding appropriate labeling and instructions;

§         Reporting under Sections 15(b) and 37 of the Consumer Product Safety Act;

§         Developing, negotiating and implementing recall programs;

§         Responding to enforcement investigations and defending enforcement actions;

§         Responding to penalty investigations and defending penalty actions;

§         Participating in mandatory and voluntary standards development; and

§         Monitoring product safety developments.