Insights

Washington, D.C. – June 24, 2013: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that it has been named by the National Law Journal (NLJ) as the "Washington, DC Litigation Department of the Year" in the "General Civil Litigation" category. In its special report, the NLJ editorial team evaluated litigation departments in the nation's capital based on several criteria including operations, headcounts, revenues, and biggest wins. As a result of their research and findings, the team selected six "excellent firms" in this first-ever, Washington, D.C.-based contest. "We are honored to be recognized for excellence based on our litigation, trial, and appellate results that have a distinct Washington, D.C. component – cases that can't be won in the court alone but require deep knowledge of the political and regulatory landscapes that offer clients the best solutions," said Crowell & Moring Chairman Kent A. Gardiner. "We have extremely talented and formidable litigators and  regulatory experts, and that team has made us a go-to law firm for clients facing complex, high stakes litigation."

Washington, D.C. – October 5, 2011: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to invite members of the media and industry to attend its one-day seminar, “Product Risk Management: A Product Lifecycle Approach to Identifying, Mitigating and Managing Legal Risks,” on October 19, 2011, from 8:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. at the firm’s offices in Washington, D.C. As regulatory compliance and enforcement risks for industry have increased, this one-day event for manufacturers and suppliers will feature insights from business executives, in-house counsel, and Washington agency officials.

Washington, D.C. – January 4, 2008: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce it has elected seven attorneys to the firm’s partnership effective January 1, 2008. It has also promoted two counsel to the position of senior counsel and 14 associates to the position of counsel. The new partners and counsel have been promoted from within the ranks of the firm’s Washington, D.C., Brussels, and Irvine, CA. offices.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) took its first leap toward removing unintentional regulatory roadblocks for autonomous vehicle (AV) developers. On March 17, NHTSA released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to modernize numerous Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), and clarify ambiguities in current occupant protection standards for vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) that are designed without traditional manual controls.

On March 11, 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a final enforcement bulletin that set forth “Recommended Best Practices for Protective Orders and Settlement Agreements in Civil Litigation.” In the Agency’s view, restrictions imposed in protective orders and settlement agreements are limiting its access to “critical safety information.” Although federal law may require members of the industry to report this information, in NHTSA’s experience, they do not always do so, or do so timely. And according to the Agency, access to critical safety information identified or discovered in private litigation is essential to enable NHTSA to protect public safety. As a result, the guidance “communicates the Agency’s position that confidentiality provisions should not be used to prevent safety-related information from reaching NHTSA.”

On March 25, 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued NHTSA Enforcement Guidance Bulletin 2016-01; Guidance on Submission and Treatment of Manufacturer Communications to Dealers, Owners, or Purchasers About a Defect or Noncompliance to (1) inform motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment manufacturers of their statutory obligations to provide indexes for certain communications they submit to the Agency, (2) provide recommendations for complying with the indexing requirement, and (3) indicate NHTSA’s intention to publicly post all such communications and indexes on its website. The bulletin also expresses NHTSA’s intention to enforce the indexing requirement.

In the National Law Journal (NLJ) special report "Washington Litigation Departments of the Year," Crowell & Moring was named "Department of the Year" in the "General Civil Litigation" category. For this report, the NLJ editorial team evaluated litigation departments in the nation's capital based on several criteria including biggest wins, revenues, headcounts, and operations. As a result of their research and findings, the team selected six "excellent firms" in this first-ever, Washington, D.C.-based contest. When asked about the firm's key to success, firm chairman and Washington, D.C.-based partner, Kent Gardiner, remarked, "Clients bet on us because we bet on ourselves to win for them, and we collaborate to structure our fees around our ability to achieve success as they define it."

Crowell & Moring’s Advertising & Product Risk Management Group presents our second annual seminar on crisis management.  Legal, business and public relations professionals will examine ways to reduce, and in some cases, eliminate the risk of a product crisis throughout the product lifecycle. From concept design through product launch, our panelists will discuss their approaches to minimizing the risk of product defects, port seizures, advertising claims, and class action litigation.

Crowell & Moring is pleased to announce our Product Risk Management Seminar - a one-day event for manufacturers and suppliers that will provide updates and guidance on the myriad legal issues related to product development, manufacturing and distribution.

This year's conference will include presentations by outside and in-house counsel experienced in issues such as trial tactics, jury selection, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, warnings, and Daubert issues to name a few. In addition, there will be 18 Specialized Litigation Group Workshops where attendees can hone their skills in specific practice areas. The Young Lawyers have a stellar slate of presenters designed for less experienced attorneys to hone their more basic skills. Not only will the seminar offer 18.5 hours of outstanding CLE, but this is THE place to network with the elite in house and outside products counsel in the country.

Aggressive enforcement, massive recalls and proactive safety agendas left an indelible impression on the product safety world under the Obama administration. Product safety is no longer a bipartisan affair. But what will the Trump administration mean for your regulatory compliance programs? What changes will we see and how will they affect your safety program?