Industrial companies top the list of targets of watchdog groups and government regulators when it comes to environmental, occupational health and safety, product safety and other issues, and none more so than makers of consumer products or materials to be incorporated into consumer products. Companies in the energy, automotive, electronic, extractive, chemical, pesticide, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and other industries are particularly at risk. Increasingly, they face testing requirements, limits and even prohibitions against the inclusion of hazardous materials in their products and materials. There are also concerns regarding the labeling, description and advertising of those products, including about so-called "green" claims. The current regulatory atmosphere has been complicated by recent large-scale accidents and major natural disasters, such that domestic and global businesses alike are increasingly subject to intense, overlapping scrutiny by state, federal, national, European and international agencies. In this context, companies need incisive legal guidance from lawyers with significant experience in domestic and global policy and compliance, and knowledge of key industries and technologies.

From the earliest days of our firm’s history, we have represented clients in the management of chemicals, products and hazardous materials. Whether our clients require assistance with regulatory approvals or registrations; acquisitions or dispositions; complex project financing; development transactions (including, FEED, EPC, offtake, tolling, licensing or other development contracts); intellectual property; labor; tax; or environmental counseling or dispute resolution, our firm understands this industry and has the breadth and depth of legal skills to get the job done. Our team also advises clients on matters involving restrictions on hazardous substances, including contaminants of emerging concern in various media and products, managing release reporting, counseling on community engagement and notifications (including environmental justice communities), and other reporting obligations.

The chemicals, products and hazardous materials practice at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP comprises a global team of lawyers working from our offices in Brussels; Beijing; Atlanta; Austin; Charlotte; Washington, DC; Richmond; London; Los Angeles; and San Francisco. The group works collaboratively to support client projects across multiple jurisdictions, whether serving as primary outside counsel or operating in tandem with clients’ local counsel. We also work closely with in-house legal staff and with non-lawyer regulatory and technical experts to help our clients achieve their goals.

We counsel clients across the spectrum of regulatory compliance, advocacy and enforcement defense matters and in legislative policy development and implementation. Our lawyers have been deeply involved with major international legislation and chemical and waste control regimes since their inception, including the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH); the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal; the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade; the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs); the Strategic Approach to Chemicals Management (SAICM); Canada’s Chemical Management Plan and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA); and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The team also has experience with non-regulatory programs, for example, the EPA Safer Choice program, which is a Pollution Prevention (P2) program that includes practices that reduce, eliminate, or prevent pollution at its source, including using safer ingredients in products.

The lawyers on our cross-disciplinary team have experience advising clients on compliance with federal and state product safety standard regulations, trade regulations and guidelines, and applicable health, safety and environmental laws and regulations, as well as product licensing and authorizations. Our team has a strong understanding of the underlying legal requirements and the science, technical, and evaluation frameworks utilized by government agencies in developing chemical compliance and regulatory standards, and is thus well-equipped to help clients navigate these requirements.

In the United States, our lawyers stay abreast of industry trends and regulatory issues affecting our clients.

• At the federal level, the myriad and sometimes overlapping requirements are imposed by the Consumer Product Safety Act; the Hazardous Substances Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; the Flammable Fabrics Act; the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act; the Toxics in Packaging Act; the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act; as well as numerous Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission guidelines and administrative requirements. The changing regulations have an impact on risk and asset management. We closely monitor and report to our clients new or proposed IRS regulations that could negatively impact master limited partnership (MLP) status.
• At the state level, environmental initiatives promulgated by the state of California are often among the most restrictive and innovative in the United States, and are a bellwether of legislation to come in other jurisdictions. Our lawyers routinely advise on these complex emerging statutes, including Proposition 65 (the controversial Safe Drinking Water & Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986), the Green Chemistry Initiative, and California Safer Consumer Products regulations, and understand their potential impact on the many companies currently doing business in the state. Our work extends to other subnational programs as to specific limitations on content or use of products or materials under other states’ laws and rules, for example, Maine’s Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products law and Vermont’s Chemicals of High Concern to Children law.

In Europe, our lawyers have experience advising clients on risk and regulatory management as well as complex and multijurisdictional compliance programs and enforcement actions. Members of the team focus on the areas of REACH, regulation of electronic products (WEEE, RoHS, Battery Directive, Ecodesign Directive), nuclear liability law and EHS. We also advise on requirements under ISO standards, including ISO 9000 and ISO 14000.

Our primary goal is to help clients proactively manage potential risk by keeping them apprised of developments from watchdog groups and government agencies to minimize the likelihood of regulatory action, criminal complaints or civil lawsuits. When controversies do arise, we provide litigation counsel to businesses and individuals faced with law enforcement investigations or that find themselves involved in disputes with competitors, partners, vendors, suppliers and customers. We regularly represent clients in state and federal courts across the United States, and in arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution processes worldwide.