Stop me if you have seen this before. You visit the website of a U.S. privately held manufacturer, and you click on the “About Us” page (if one exists) to find only generic information that could describe any manufacturing business in the United States. There often is no listing of who runs the business –
Jeffrey White
I am a partner at Robinson+Cole who handles corporate compliance and litigation matters for both domestic and international manufacturers and distributors that make and ship products around the world. My clients have ranged from publicly traded Fortune 500 companies to privately held and/or family owned manufacturers. For those looking for my detailed law firm bio, click here.
I am often asked why I have focused a large part of my law practice on counseling manufacturers and distributors. As with most things in life, the answer to that question is tied back to experiences I had well before I became a lawyer. My grandfather spent over 30 years working at a steel mill (Detroit Steel Company), including several years in its maintenance department. One of my grandfather’s prime job duties was to make sure that the equipment being used was safe. In his later years, he would apply those lessons learned in every project we did together as he passed on to me his great respect and pride for the manufacturing industry.
Because of these experiences, I not only feel comfortable advising executives in a boardroom, but also can easily transition to the factory floor. My experience has involved a range of industries, including aerospace and defense, chemicals, energy, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, nutritional and dietary supplements, and retail and consumer products. While I have extensive experience in litigation (including product liability and class actions), I am extremely proactive about trying to keep my clients out of the courtroom if at all possible. Specifically, I have counseled manufacturers and distributors on issues such as product labeling and warranties, product recalls, workplace safety/OSHA, anti-trust, and vendor relations, among other things. I always look for the business-friendly solution to a problem that may face a manufacturer or distributor and I hope this blog will help advance those efforts.
2024 Corporate Compliance & Litigation Outlook for Manufacturers
This week’s post includes an excerpt from our co-authored article “PFAS will be increasing concern for manufacturers in year ahead,” published in the Hartford Business Journal’s Economic Forecast issue on January 8, 2024.
There are a lot of trends that we could identify for corporate compliance / litigation, but the one that stands…
Unraveling the Confusion: Buy America, Buy American, Made in USA – Part 2
Last month, I offered the first in a series of blog posts that attempt to simplify the various laws that are often described as a single law: “Buy America,” “Buy American,” “Made in the USA,” “Made in America,” and “Build Back Better.”
First, I want to return to the cliffhanger from the last post:
Did…
Unraveling the Confusion: Buy America, Buy American, Made in USA – Part 1
There is massive confusion both in the manufacturing community and the popular press. Even some of the well-respected industry publications have had a hard time getting it right.
We see and hear the terms all the time: “Buy America,” “Buy American,” “Made in the USA,” “Made in America,” “Build Back Better.” While all of these…
New Round of Sanctions Relevant to Manufacturers Are Launched on the First Anniversary of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
This week’s post was co-authored with Edward Heath and Kevin Daly. Attorneys Heath and Daly are members of Robinson+Cole’s Manufacturing Industry Team and regularly counsel clients on trade compliance, anti-corruption compliance, and other corporate compliance issues.
On the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration has announced a series of additional…
2023 Corporate Compliance & Litigation Outlook for Manufacturers
In late 2012, we created the Manufacturing Law Blog with the goal of providing our manufacturing clients with a holistic approach to the unique issues they face in their global operations. Starting in 2016, we began a new tradition of dedicating our first three posts of the year to a yearly outlook from our different…
Looking To Buy? Cross-Border M&A Trends For Manufacturers
There are a lot of manufacturers out in the market looking to buy. Many “strategic” buyers are taking advantage of healthy balance sheets that are bolstered by a lot of cash. A few weeks ago, I attended a presentation by an investment banker that cited publicly-available estimates of nearly $3.5 trillion in cash reserves among…
Manufacturing Contracts: Considerations for Dispute Resolution Clauses
Over the years, I have written a lot about manufacturing disputes and how to resolve them short of litigation. The first step often is looking at what the parties have agreed to in any applicable contracts about how to notify, assess, and potentially resolve disputes.
As a general matter, dispute resolution clauses are often more…
Revisiting OEM/Supplier Relations
Paul Ericksen of Industry Week has been writing about supply chain issues for many years. His most recent article “Supplier Goodwill toward OEMs Has Run Dry” caught my attention. The title is clearly meant to be provocative even though Paul says in his article that he is not “anti-OEM.” The article itself identifies several key…
2022 Corporate Compliance & Litigation Outlook for Manufacturers
In late 2012, we created the Manufacturing Law Blog with the goal of providing our manufacturing clients with a holistic approach to the unique issues they face in their global operations. Starting in 2016, we began a new tradition of dedicating our first three posts of the year to a yearly outlook from our different…