Product Liability

Signature’s Paris-led product liability practice focuses on providing comprehensive support to major national companies and multinationals in relation to their products from the day they are designed until after they are placed on the market.

We advise and represent manufacturers, distributors, marketplaces, suppliers and others who make their product available to the market.

We have extensive experience in handling every aspect of product liability matters including:

• Regulatory and pre-litigation advice focused on proactive risk management and obtaining regulatory approvals, where required
• Representing clients in insurance-related, regulatory and criminal inquiries including supporting clients during technical and legal investigations as part of these inquiries
• Supporting clients on all issues relating to product recall
• Negotiation with or litigation against regulators
• Representing clients in litigation with consumers/users (individual cases or class actions)
• Representing clients in litigation within the supply/distribution chain.

As the scope and scale of product liability claims continue to increase due to legislative changes and increased complexity of products, clients need a legal team that can combine solid experience, capacity to handle large dispute and deep knowledge of sectors in which these complex claims arise.

Our team consists of fifteen product liability lawyers with extensive experience. In the context of the Paris legal market our product liability team is one of the largest and is therefore able to handle multiple highly complex and large disputes in parallel. We know that product liability issues have far-reaching consequences for a business potentially leading to significant direct losses and reputational damage. Our work is equally focused on prevention through mitigating risks and, if a product liability issue has arisen, on reducing the damage.

We are truly passionate about our work which means we enjoy getting to grips with the technical details of each case and understanding our clients’ business. Our track-record demonstrates how we convert our focus on the technical details into successes for our clients.

Our experience spans many sectors with the key representatives briefly described below:

Consumer

We advise manufacturing companies across a broad range of consumer and retail products: e.g. electronic and electric products, household appliances, toys, textile and automotive.

Industrial risks & Major incidents

We advise businesses engaged in engineering, manufacture of electric/electronic equipment, as well as steel and other metals, on a wide range of product liability matters which may lead or have led to industrial risks and major incidents.

Food and Agriculture

We advise producers, manufacturers and distributors in the food chain on contamination incidents relating to issues such as packaging, handling, storage and labelling.

Life Sciences, Pharma and Cosmetics

Products liability issues in the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors can be challenging and technically complex, especially in the creation, development, and implementation of new products. Rigorous regulatory approval regime and strict liability regime present additional challenges to clients.

Tech and E-Commerce

As the activities of tech companies and e-commerce platforms continue to proliferate, so does the range of product liability claims against them following the recent changes in the law. This is a fast developing area of law which requires lawyers to be constantly vigilant.

Environmental, Climate and Regulatory

Environmental and regulatory compliance issues, or more generally ESG issues, are integral to most businesses, whether they are engaged in hazardous activities or not. Strong ESG practices can help prevent product liability and toxic tort claims. We have advised and represented clients across multiple industry sectors in relation to claims relating to climate change, product governance, renewables, waste, social responsibility.

Clients value our ability to bridge legal cultures. We work closely with US in-house counsel to demystify the challenges of French litigation for senior management and align litigation strategy with global business objectives. When disputes involve other jurisdictions, our London colleagues are able to assist, ensuring consistent cross-border arguments and streamlined management of evidence.

There is a close connection and often an overlap between legal and regulatory frameworks governing product liability, toxic tort and ESG issues. Companies often have to grapple with all three areas of risk which should be a coordinated effort. We are equally versed in all three areas of expertise and can provide clients with comprehensive support. More information about our Toxic Tort and ESG area of expertise can be found here.