Jeffrey Brian Margulies

Partner-in-Charge, Los Angeles and San Francisco
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Los Angeles
United States
T :+1 213 892 9286
San Francisco
United States
T :+1 628 231 6800
Los Angeles
United States
T :+1 213 892 9286
San Francisco
United States
T :+1 628 231 6800

Biography

Jeff Margulies focuses on litigation, compliance, and regulatory issues regarding consumer products and the companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell them. Jeff defends companies in consumer class action litigation matters relating to false advertising, product compliance and privacy issues. His regulatory practice involves a variety of state, federal and international environmental, product safety, chemical management and related regulatory issues, advertising and labelling requirements, as well as consumer privacy, and encompasses compliance, enforcement and litigation.  

Jeff's has extensive litigation experience in complex commercial, consumer, and personal injury litigation, including federal and state jury and bench trials in cases involving pharmaceutical product liability, asbestos, false advertising and privacy consumer class actions, environmental contamination, and regulatory litigation including CEQA, administrative rulemaking, and California Proposition 65 enforcement actions. Jeff also has an active appellate practice, with more than a dozen published appellate decisions in which he was the lead author for a party or amicus.

Jeff and his team are currently involved in assisting clients with various issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including advising companies on state and local business restrictions, as well as in addressing potential business opportunities related to the pandemic.

Jeff also has experience in advising clients with regard to environmental issues, including environmental regulation and litigation, climate change, and carbon regulation, and transactional support.


Expérience professionnelle

Ouvrir tout Fermer tous les onglets

JD, Villanova University School of Law, 1986
BS, Psychology, Duke University, 1982

While in law school, Jeff was a member of Law Review and the Order of the Coif. He is admitted to practice law in California, the Northern, Central, Southern and Eastern Districts of California, the Central District of Illinois and before the U.S. Courts of Appeals Third Circuit and Ninth Circuit.

  • California State Bar

Selected recent and ongoing representations include:

Consumer Class Actions:

  • Defending pharmacy benefits management company in consumer class action over data breach 
  • Defending homeopathic drug manufacturer and retailers in multiple class actions asserting misrepresentation of product efficacy, including one case tried to defense verdict
  • Defending olive oil producer in multiple class actions over claims of deceptive advertising of the quality of the oil as extra virgin and country of origin
  • Defending auto manufacturer in national consumer class action over alleged misrepresentation of vehicle features
  • Defending grocery retailer in class action regarding alleged non-compliance with FDA labelling requirements for private label products
  • Defending medical device manufacturer in class action relating to alleged misrepresentations regarding product performance and quality
  • Defending retailers over claims of requesting personal identification information in connection with credit card transactions

Proposition 65:

  • Defending footwear and glove manufacturers and serving as lead counsel over claims of exposure to hexavalent chromium.
  • Defense of roaster and multiple retailers in litigation over exposure to acrylamide in coffee
  • Trial defense of manufacturer of paper clips over claims of exposure to lead in paper clips
  • Represented numerous retailers and distributors in industry-wide settlements over lead and phthalates in fashion accessories
  • Representing supplement manufacturer in negotiations with California Attorney General over modification of "lowest feasible" levels of lead in calcium supplements and multivitamins
  • Representing vinyl flooring manufacturers in litigation over exposures to phthalates

Product Safety:

  • Represent retailers in high-profile civil penalty claims relating to alleged failure to report defective products to Consumer Product Safety Commission
  • Global audit and recommendations for improvement of manufacturer's product safety, reporting, and recall compliance systems, including business units operating in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and EU.
  • Reporting and recall of potentially defective products
  • Advise retailers and manufacturers in all aspects of product safety compliance, including developing comprehensive vendor manual
  • Advise clients on the development and implementation of California's Green Chemistry regulation
  • Assist national retailers, including furniture and office supply companies, in developing compliance programs for the California Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Composite Wood and assessing potential exposures to formaldehyde from laminate flooring.
  • Assist clients in developing comprehensive testing and certification programs for CPSIA compliance

Advertising and Marketing

  • Assist clients on permissible label claims under various state and federal schemes
  • Advise clients on compliance with FDA cosmetic and food labeling requirements
  • Advise clients on warranty terms
  • Advise clients on market access issues

Compliance and Enforcement

  • Represent retailers in statewide investigations regarding hazardous waste disposal
  • Represent retailers in statewide investigations regarding sale of biodegradable plastic products
  • Represent food producer in investigation regarding allegedly misleading packaging
  • Represent companies in claims regarding alleged violation of California Organic Products Act
  • Represent manufacturer in citizen suit claim regarding stormwater discharge
  • Represent manufacturer in claim of website ADA violation

Privacy

  • Advise clients on CCPA compliance
  • Advise retailers and manufacturers on compliance with California Song-Beverly Credit Card Act

COVID-19

  • Assist numerous clients in understanding and complying with state and local "shelter-in-place" and similar restrictions on business operations
  • Advise manufacturer regarding importation of face masks under FDA emergency guidance
  • Advising filter manufacturer regarding antiviral product claims and EPA registration requirements
  • Chambers USA, California: Environment, Chambers & Partners, 2008 – 2022
  • Legal 500 US, recommended lawyer, Dispute resolution - Product liability, mass tort and class action: consumer products (including tobacco), The Legal 500, 2018
  • Legal 500 US, Recommended Lawyer, Environment: Litigation, The Legal 500, 2021
  • Legal 500 US, Recommended Lawyer, Dispute resolution-general commercial disputes, The Legal 500, 2017
  • Legal 500 US, Recommended Lawyer, Media, Technology and Telecoms - Advertising and Marketing: Litigation, The Legal 500, 2015 – 2018, 2020 – 2021
  • Legal 500 US, Environment: Transactional and Regulatory, The Legal 500, 2014
  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers, Lawdragon, Inc., 2021 
  • Top Litigators & Trial Lawyers in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2019
  • Southern California Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters, 2004 – 2023
  • Acritas Star, Acritas, 2019 – 2021
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers, 2008 - 2021
  • Best Lawyers - Environmental Law, Best Lawyers, 2022 - 2023
  • Best Lawyers - Litigation – Environmental, Best Lawyers, 2022 - 2023
  • Southern California's Top Rated Lawyers, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, 2012 – 2013
  • "Prop 65 private enforcers update: Who are they, what are they doing, how are they doing it and to whom?" Norton Rose Fulbright webinar, August 25, 2021.
  • "Product safety compliance programs under attack: How to fortify your compliance program to withstand litigation." Norton Rose Fulbright webinar, June 29, 2021.
  • "California Proposition 65 update: Regulatory developments and litigation trends." Norton Rose Fulbright webinar, April 20, 2021.
  • "Cybersecurity and data privacy litigation update." Norton Rose Fulbright Business Litigation Trends Regional Summit: California, June 23, 2021.
  • "Understanding stay-at-home, shelter in place, and other state and local business restrictions," Norton Rose Fulbright webinar, March 24, 2020
  • "Chrome VI and 60-Day Notices: A Litigation Update," American Apparel and Footwear Association Product Safety Conference, February 5, 2020, Long Beach, California
  • "What the new CCPA means for you: Future trends in privacy class action litigation and state AG enforcement," Norton Rose Fulbright/Association of Corporate Counsel webinar, June 5, 2019
  • "Preparing for and Winning Data Breach Litigation Under CCPA," Norton Rose Fulbright webinar, January 29, 2020
  • "Prop 65, CPSC, and California Initiatives," Norton Rose Fulbright Consumer Markets Seminar, November 14, 2019, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • "Complexities in the Supply Chain," Prop 65 Clearinghouse Conference, September 23, 2019, San Francisco, California
  • "What the New California Consumer Privacy Act Means for You: Future Trends in Privacy Class Action Litigation," Association of Corporate Counsel webinar, June 5, 2019.
  • "Beyond the Horizon: Navigating the Wake of a Foreign Recall in a Round World," Defense Research Institute Product Liability Conference, Austin, Texas, February 6, 2019
  • "Prop 65 and Consumer Class Action Litigation," Groceryshop Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 30, 2018
  • "Prop 65's New Rules of the Road: How are Retailers Navigating the Change in Regulations?", Retail Law Conference 2018, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Austin, Texas, October 11, 2018. 
  • "Supply Chain Issues Under the New Regulations," Prop 65 Clearinghouse Conference, San Francisco, California, September 24, 2018.
  • "Prop 65 and Food: Forget What You Learned About Science," Institute of Food Technologists, IFT18, Chicago, Illinois, July 17, 2018.
  • "Communicating science to judges and juries: Lessons from the Courtroom," Institute of Food Technologists, IFT18, Chicago, Illinois, July 17, 2018.
  • "Mounting a Strong Defense to Class Actions and Prop 65 Cases Targeting Cosmetics and Personal Care Products," 4th Annual Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance Forum on Cosmetics and Personal Care Products," American Conference Institute, New York, March 7-8, 2017.
  • "New and Improved? The New Proposition 65 Warning Regulations," Los Angeles County Bar Association, December 15, 2016.
  • "The Anatomy of a Consumer Class Action Trial," Defense Research Institute Class Actions Conference, Washington, DC, July 20, 2016.
  • "Getting Your Product on the Shelves: Demystifying Retailer Requirements," American Conference Institute Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance Forum on Cosmetics and Personal Care Products, New York, March 7-8, 2016.
  • "State of the Food Court - Update on 9th Circuit Trends that May Affect Your Litigation Strategy," American Conference Institute Advanced Summit on Defending Food & Beverage Consumer Fraud Litigation," San Francisco, January 26, 2016.
  • Navigating the Litigation Threat Stemming from Potentially Disruptive Regulatory Changes,” American Conference Institute Chemical Products Liability and Environmental Litigation Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 21-23, 2015.
  • "Examining and Adapting to the Green World - Complying with States' and FTC's Green Guidelines," American Conference Institute Consumer Products Regulation and Litigation Conference, Chicago, IL June 11, 2014.
  • "Deadening the Blow of California Initiatives that Impose Arduous Conditions on Manufacturers: Proposition 65, Labelling, Green Chemistry," American Conference Institute Chemical Products Liability & Environmental Litigation Conference, Chicago, IL, April 29, 2014.
  • "Hot Topics in US Product Safety Regulation," Leather and the Environment; Sustainability in the leather supply chain," Hong Kong, April 1, 2014
  • "The Role of Trade Associations in Advocating for Sensible Chemical Disclosure and Warning Systems," International Association of  Defense Counsel Mid-Year Meeting, Carlsbad, CA, February 8, 2014.
  • California State Bar - Environmental Section
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association -
    • Trustee (2019 - present)
    • Environmental Section, Executive Committee (2006 - Present); Chair of the Executive Committee (2016-17)
    • Finance Committee (2019 - present)
    • Chair, Audit Committee (2020 - present)
  • American Bar Association - Environmental and Administrative Law sections
  • Bar Association of San Francisco
  • Santa Monica Bar Association
  • Prop 65 Clearinghouse Editorial Board (2005 - Present)
  • International Consumer Product Health & Safety Organization
  • Defense Research Institute