Michelle Gillette Joins Crowell & Moring's Advertising & Product Risk Management Group in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the addition of partner Michelle Gillette to the firm's San Francisco office, where she will be a litigator in the firm's Advertising & Product Risk Management (APRM) Group and head of the firm's Food & Beverage Industry Practice. Gillette joins the firm from Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, PC, along with an additional team member, Mina Nasseri, as associate.

With more than 20 years of experience litigating cases in Federal and California state courts, Gillette's move to Crowell & Moring's APRM Group deepens the team's class action and litigation experience in product liability and intellectual property cases. Gillette represents emerging and established companies, with an emphasis on defending class action litigation against companies in the food, cosmetics, supplements, homeopathy, over-the-counter drugs, and pharmaceutical industries. She has deep experience in lawsuits involving product liability, unfair competition, unfair business practices, false or misleading advertising, trade secrets, torts, breach of contract, and patent infringement.

"Our international APRM team provides clients with industry-specific experience in the intersecting areas of regulation and litigation affecting their products. Michelle adds enormous experience for our team in the critically important Northern California market. For example, Michelle works extensively in California's so-called 'Food Court' in the Northern District, which has attracted dozens of pending class actions against food and beverage companies," said Christopher Cole, co-chair of Crowell & Moring's APRM Group. "Michelle's broad consumer litigation practice, in both San Francisco and nationally, greatly enhances our team's capabilities—from defending class actions to navigating complex regulatory investigations."

Gillette is highly experienced with state consumer protection statutes, known as "baby Federal Trade Commission Acts," as well as California's own consumer protection statutes, such as the Unfair Competition Law (Business & Professions Code sec. 17200), False Advertising Law (Business & Professions Code sec. 17500), Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Proposition 65, grocery industry pricing laws, and slack-fill claims; as well as federal statutes such as the Lanham Act, Magnuson-Moss Act, and "Made in USA" claims. She provides advice, risk management, trade secret protection, labeling compliance advice, and product liability risk assessments, in addition to litigation.

"I am excited about joining Crowell & Moring's growing San Francisco office and working with the strong litigation team in San Francisco, and throughout California," said Gillette. "I look forward to offering my clients in the food, cosmetics, homeopathy, and over-the-counter industries one of the leading, full-service teams in the nation to address whatever needs might arise, including Consumer Product Safety Commission, FDA and FTC counseling, and risk management, as well as litigation. As head of the firm's Food & Beverage Industry Practice, I'll be working to help better serve the industry and identify the challenges that will face them in the years ahead."

Gillette earned her J.D. from the University of Southern California and her B.S. from the University of Texas, Austin. She is admitted to practice in California. Gillette is a member of the American Bar Association's Food and Supplements Committee and Product Liability committees, California Women Lawyers, and Cosmetic Executive Women.

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Anchorage, London, and Brussels. Visit Crowell & Moring online at http://www.crowell.com.

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SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP