James Rathvon

James Rathvon, chair of the firm’s Regulatory Law & Litigation practice group, maintains a broad environmental, chemical, food and drug and consumer product regulatory and litigation practice. He focuses on the regulation of pesticides and other chemical products under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) and other complex federal regulatory programs.

His environmental law work ranges from counseling and advocating on regulatory and licensing issues to defending clients in government enforcement proceedings to representing them in federal arbitrations arising under FIFRA and handling federal and state court litigation involving product liability, false advertising, environmental remediation, federal preemption and other matters pertaining to pesticides and other regulated products.

Among Jim’s noteworthy legal activities was his representation of clients in two of the largest FIFRA enforcement actions ever brought by U.S. EPA’s Region IV in Atlanta, Ga. He has also served as counsel or co-counsel in approximately half of all FIFRA data compensation arbitration cases in which a publicly available award or significant pre-trial decision has been issued to date, making him perhaps the most experienced FIFRA data compensation attorney in the country.

Another specialty area of Jim’s practice involves the regulation of food and food additives, drugs and medical devices subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He provides regulatory and business counsel to food, drug and medical device companies and has represented manufacturers in a variety of matters before the FDA.

Jim also maintains an active appellate practice and has participated in numerous court challenges of federal agency actions under the Administrative Procedure Act and other review statutes. Among other appellate accomplishments, he successfully challenged EPA’s enforcement actions against a major manufacturer of swimming pool products for allegedly violating FIFRA by selling a product not registered under that act. A temporary restraining order against the agency’s “stop sale” order was obtained, whereupon a favorable settlement was effected.

Jim served from 1995-2006 as general counsel for the Chemical Producers and Distributors Association, a 90-member trade organization made up of chemical producers and distributors. He is a frequent lecturer on regulatory issues relevant to the chemical products industries and has authored several articles and conducted many seminars on these subjects.