Keller and Heckman LLP is pleased to announce that Ales Bartl has been promoted to Partner and Sara Gaines has been promoted to Counsel.

Ales Bartl, Partner, resident in the firm’s Brussels office, advises clients on regulatory compliance of a broad range of products marketed in Europe. Ales primarily focuses on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH); the Classification, Labelling, and Packaging (CLP) Regulation; the Biocidal Products Regulation; the Fertilizer Regulation; food law; the regulation of electronic products; and product safety matters. He represents clients in the European Courts and in procedures before the Board of Appeal of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). He also represents clients in various proceedings before the ECHA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as well as before EU and national competent authorities on compliance and enforcement issues, including withdrawals and recalls of potentially unsafe or non-compliant products. 

Contact: email: bartl@khlaw.com; phone: +32 (0) 645 5085

Sara Gaines, Counsel, resident in the firm’s Washington, DC office, advises domestic and international clients regarding global compliance with food additive and food packaging regulations, focusing on the United States, Europe, South America (MERCOSUR), China, and Japan. In addition to her work assisting corporate and individual clients regarding requirements for food-contact materials, Sara works with trade associations to monitor emerging issues facing the packaging industry globally and domestically at both the state and federal levels. Through engagement with government representatives and public interest groups, she develops strategic industry responses and initiatives that encourage packaging innovation and ensure the continued safety of the packaged food supply.

Contact: email: gaines@khlaw.com; phone: +1 202.434.4108

Keller and Heckman Partner Azim Chowdhury, Counsel Neelam Gill, and Associate Josephine Hsu received the 2022 “Go-To Thought Leader” award from the National Law Review under the “Biotech, Food and Drug” category. 

Azim, Neelam, and Josephine received this distinction for their March 16, 2022 article, FDA Receives Authorization to Regulate Synthetic Nicotine, which provided a timely analysis of Congress’ decision to expand the definition of a “tobacco product” in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to include not just products derived from tobacco, but products that contain nicotine from any source, including synthetic nicotine. The National Law Review recognized the article, which reached roughly 100,000 readers, as demonstrating high-quality thought leadership and providing valuable guidance for attorneys and industry professionals, especially in the constantly evolving nicotine regulation landscape. 

The 2022 “Go-To Thought Leadership Awards” recognize exceptional authors and legal organizations for their reporting of complex legislative and litigation needs, as well as their strategic insight and overall legal industry knowledge. The National Law Review’s editors selected 75 articles from a pool of 12,000 contributed pieces to receive these awards. Less than 1% of the National Law Review contributing authors are recognized each year.