Join JPMA Associate Member, Freeborn & Peters LLP on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at 2 pm EDT as they discuss how children’s product manufacturers must be careful, thoughtful, and quick to respond if a consumer reports that a product caused an injury or could pose a safety risk. This session starts from the moment a consumer call comes in up to a company’s key decision points. Recognizing that a consumer call may be an early warning system for a larger safety issue or may be a one-time, standalone misuse issue, this panel will cover the waterfront, including thinking about how such a report may even trigger a reporting obligation to the CPSC. From the moment your customer service rep answers the phone, your brand’s reputation is on the line. Discuss best practices on those first calls and appropriate actions, policies, and procedures that should follow. Always remember that this call is being recorded for quality assurance and training purposes.

Hear from industry expert, attorney, and former CPSC Small Business Ombudsman (and the inspiration behind CPSC’s Regulatory Robot), Neal Cohen, and JPMA Associate Member Jeremy Richardson, on the best practices for what to do when you learn of a potential product hazard. Neal will share proactive strategies to have in place before a crisis that will minimize the impact on your business, the steps that manufacturers must undertake to investigate, explain when a company must report to CPSC and whether and what type of recall is necessary. Jeremy will bring his own extensive history advising numerous prominent juvenile products manufacturers in their litigation strategies, the brand risks concerning potential safety concerns, and how to best fight and protect your company’s best interests while faced with a potential safety crisis.

Who should attend – C-Suite and anyone involved in product safety, regulatory compliance, and customer service.

Speakers

Jeremy Richardson leads the Freeborn & Peters LLP’s Consumer Products Industry Team, is a Partner in the Litigation Practice Group, and a member of the Intellectual Property Practice Group. Jeremy works primarily with consumer product manufacturers and, in particular, the juvenile products industry.

Clients leverage Jeremy's expertise – including his fashion law background – in times of opportunity and need. Jeremy partners with clients to provide practical solutions on an array of matters including trademark and copyright protection; intellectual property licenses; minimum advertised price policies; terms and conditions of sale; third-party logistics and warehouse agreements; and contract disputes. He is also sought after to advise on regulatory compliance matters. When litigation becomes necessary, Jeremy practices in New York State and Federal courts, in arbitration, has argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and has been admitted pro hac vice to practice before a number of courts.

Jeremy's impact on the juvenile products industry is felt beyond the boardroom and courthouse. His professional affiliations include the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association; the International Consumer Products Health and Safety Organization; Toy Association; and ASTM International. Jeremy has been a guest lecturer at Parsons School of Design and Fordham Law School on legal and regulatory issues in the fashion industry.

Jeremy can be reached at jrichardson@freeborn.com and (646) 993-4437.

Neal Cohen is a product safety attorney who specialized in guiding manufacturers in all aspects of regulatory compliance, hazard analysis, import detentions, consumer allegations of harm, government investigations, mandatory government reporting, product recalls, and more.  Neal has previously served in multiple senior roles within the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including as the agency’s first Small Business Ombudsman.  A recipient of the CPSC Chairman’s Award, Neal knows the agency inside and out and was the creator and lead author of CPSC’s Regulatory Robot at business.cpsc.gov, now available in 7 languages. In addition to serving as the Senior Legal Advisor in the CPSC Office of Compliance and as an enforcement attorney in the Office of General Counsel, Neal has also been called upon to represent the CPSC in testimony before Congress.

Prior to joining CPSC, Neal was a courtroom attorney trying complex felony cases before juries in New York City.  Neal now gets his fix of courtroom drama by performing in community theater and doing exciting presentations on regulations and product safety!  Neal is a graduate with honors from the Emory University School of Law and with distinction from Swarthmore College.

Based in Washington, D.C., Neal can be reached via email at neal@nealcohenlaw.com and can also be found providing updates on LinkedIn and Twitter @NealCohenLaw.