Edward M. Ruckert is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Washington, D.C. office. He is head of the Firm’s Food and Agriculture Group, where he focuses his practice on representing a variety of companies in the food, fiber and nursery production and processing industries, including the agricultural chemical industry.
Edward’s practice is generally focused on representing clients before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He extensively represents the Firm’s clients before Congress and the federal courts.
Edward is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and New York, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He is a former chairman of the American Bar Association Administrative Law Section’s Agriculture Committee.
Representative Experience
- Securing the registration and reregistration of agricultural chemicals in the United States
- Advising companies in obtaining Annex I listing for crop protection products in the European Union
- Contracting with laboratories worldwide to develop data supporting the safety and use of various products
- Handling data compensation arbitration proceedings
- Developing data licensing agreements
- Administering and/or counseling agricultural chemical data development Task Forces
- Developing appropriate labeling and claims for agricultural chemicals, including antimicrobial products and foods
- Assisting clients in the development of government regulation policies
- Assisting companies in regulatory enforcement proceedings
- Establishing chemical tolerances or MRLs in foods, including assisting with the tolerance reassessment process
- Assisting companies in crisis management
- Assisting companies with product recalls and market withdrawals
- Counseling clients through risk mitigation negotiations and cancellation proceedings
- Assisting clients in fulfilling the requirements for the testing and approval for use of bioengineered products
- Establishing standards of identity and defect action levels for contaminants
- Assisting clients in handling a variety of food safety and marketing matters, both domestically and internationally
- Assisting in the development of scientific research programs in partnership with government agencies
- Advising on the requirements of the National Organic Program
- Addressing plant quarantine issues
- Assisting in government food purchase programs
- Handling issues associated with farm support programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program
- Participating in the due diligence activities associated with mergers and acquisitions
Education
- University of Toledo College of Law, J.D., 1975
- Georgetown University, B.A., 1972
