Overview
From consumer products to alcohol, financial services to online retailers, technology giants to big oil, consumer-facing businesses compete in a rapidly evolving marketplace—all while contending with an ever-changing regulatory landscape. These challenges, compounded by an active litigation environment and aggressive enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and state Attorneys General, make it critical to effectively position your business for success through your choice of legal counsel.
Our Consumer Protection team brings together a diverse and integrated group of practitioners to help you overcome legal and regulatory obstacles. With experience at the intersection of driving revenue and navigating regulatory landmines, we can help you stay a step ahead on emerging issues in a world of digitized retail. From launching and protecting your brand to driving revenue through strategic partnerships, navigating regulatory scrutiny, defending in class action litigation and protecting market share, our team draws on years of involvement in government and private practice, as well as first-hand experience driving strategy inside global businesses, to solve your most complex challenges and help you achieve your objectives.
We excel at addressing the legal and regulatory aspects of operating in the most competitive markets, and our lawyers understand the unique issues tied to advertising and marketing, product formulation, food safety, trade practices, distribution and labeling, privacy and cybersecurity, and brand protection. Many on our team have served at the FTC, the Department of Justice, as state Attorneys General, or in federal clerkships, and we bring those insights and relationships into our work on your behalf. We also draw on significant experience helping clients untangle a plethora of federal consumer protection laws and regulations, such as:
- FTC Act
- Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
- Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
- Various state laws such as the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
- State unfair and deceptive practices statutes
Bolstering our ability to help you navigate the consumer protection landscape, our team has substantial experience before the FTC, National Advertising Division (NAD), US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Having served as regulatory officials in the past, we understand their objectives and apply this knowledge to our work with you. Our first-chair litigation lawyers are well positioned to protect you in complex litigation matters in state and federal venues across the country, as well as in international arbitration forums. On the class action side, we have a dedicated team plugged into the class action community, proactively anticipating trends to help you mitigate risk and stay ahead of the curve.
Related Capabilities
Government Investigations
Companies are increasingly vulnerable to government enforcement actions and qui tam litigation, which pose severe financial and reputational risk to your company and executives. To help you remain diligent in anticipating and addressing these challenges, our team includes former high-ranking government lawyers with the necessary experience, government relationships and business acumen to help you minimize risk, manage and resolve investigations and achieve your business goals.
Litigation Experience and Consumer Class Actions
Over the last decade, the number of class actions has almost tripled, primarily involving privacy and cybersecurity claims, along with insurance-related claims stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. As you look to increase market share, expand protection services and deploy new technology ecosystems, the risks from corporate and consumer class actions will continue to be a major threat. To help you manage risk and navigate potential litigation, our Consumer Protection team includes class action lawyers with extensive experience defending a wide variety of class action lawsuits, including obtaining pre-certification dismissals and summary judgments, defeating class certification and obtaining de-certification of classes in cases. We also argue appeals of class certification rulings in state and federal appellate courts across the United States. Our team will keep you ahead of the curve, drawing on engagements with Fortune 1000 companies to provide insight into the latest tactics used by the plaintiffs’ firms that tend to target companies with class action litigation.
Advertising and Marketing
As you compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace, our team can guide you through compliant ways to assert your presence and build market share. We represent clients in the full range of advertising matters, including claim substantiation, consumer reviews, endorsements, sweepstakes and promotions, and challenging competitor claims, and can use that understanding to advise you and inform your strategy.
Labeling
For consumer goods companies, we have the experience to represent you in matters related to product labeling and packaging, including with respect to fiber content, country of origin and “Made in the USA” claims, as well as environmental or “organic” claims.
Privacy and Cybersecurity
Our Consumer Protection team includes privacy and cybersecurity strategists who have assisted well-known consumer goods companies for decades, developing skills we can use to help you unlock the power of the data you collect. We will help you navigate your collection and use of consumer data and implement data strategies consistent with the regulatory requirements and expectations of the FTC and other federal and state regulators. We are also fully engaged in the rapidly changing domestic and cross-border privacy, cybersecurity and data protection regimes.
Brand Protection and Trademark
Your business depends on the strength of your brand, and our Consumer Protection team includes brand protection and trademark experts who comprise one of the strongest and most active global trademark practices nationally. We have significant experience handling trademark and trade dress infringement, false advertising and other related claims in federal district, appellate and state courts in the US. In online enforcement matters, we have successfully resolved numerous domain name disputes for our clients using pre-dispute negotiations and Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the National Arbitration Forum (NAF).
