The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued its Lapse Plan in advance of the federal government shutdown. The CPSC will furlough 35% of full-time employees, with the overwhelming majority of those retained focused on “protect[ing] life and property.” Under the Lapse Plan, consumer-oriented programs and, notably, civil penalties, will pause for the duration of any shutdown. To learn more, please read our Client Alert CPSC Shutdown Plan: Continue Enforcement, Pause Public Engagement and Civil Penalties.

Tags: Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Enforcement, Lapse Plan
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Photo of Clay Marquez Clay Marquez

Clay Marquez brings a unique combination of product safety and litigation experience to advise clients on compliance with statutes and regulations enforced by the CPSC, FDA, EPA, and USDA. He is an accomplished litigator recognized for his successful representation of major corporations in

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Clay Marquez brings a unique combination of product safety and litigation experience to advise clients on compliance with statutes and regulations enforced by the CPSC, FDA, EPA, and USDA. He is an accomplished litigator recognized for his successful representation of major corporations in high-stakes legal disputes across various sectors, including retail, technology, and financial services. Clay has experience handling securities and consumer class actions, internal investigations, regulatory inquiries, and enforcement actions. He has represented a wide range of clients in both state and federal courts, from Fortune 100 companies to privately held tech companies and start-ups.

With a strong background as vice president and counsel at two leading retail and consumer companies, Clay brings a unique blend of industry insight and legal insight to his practice. Clay is regularly called upon to evaluate, manage, and fix complex, high-risk situations. He strategically navigates business problems by assessing obstacles, determining best outcomes, and presenting his clients with creative solutions and alternative approaches tailored to their risk tolerance.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Clay served as senior corporate counsel at Amazon leading the Regulatory Intelligence Safety & Compliance Legal Team in supporting product safety and compliance efforts in North America. In this role, Clay acted as Amazon’s principal point of contact for the CPSC and was responsible for developing comprehensive worldwide product safety and compliance strategies with a focus on Amazon’s CPSC relationship and related business, policy, and legal objectives. Prior to Amazon, Clay served as vice president and senior counsel for product and vendor compliance at Restoration Hardware, where he similarly led the team responsible for company-wide product testing and vendor validation, product incident investigations and failure analyses, evaluation of reporting obligations, and coordination of public recall efforts. Prior to working in-house, Clay worked as an associate and counsel for more than 10 years at two different AmLaw 50 litigation firms.

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Photo of Matt Menezes Matt Menezes

Matt Menezes is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s San Francisco office, where he practices in the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Group and the Litigation Group. Matt is a counselor and a litigator whose practice focuses on federal regulations, renewable energy development,

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Matt Menezes is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s San Francisco office, where he practices in the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Group and the Litigation Group. Matt is a counselor and a litigator whose practice focuses on federal regulations, renewable energy development, and on privacy and data integrity. Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Matt attended Berkeley Law, where he worked as a tenant rights advocate at the East Bay Community Law Center Housing Clinic, as a law clerk at Equal Rights Advocates, and as an extern at the District Court for the Northern District of California.

Through his clinical work, Matt developed a reputation among supervisors, peers, and clients for his “bedside manner,” quickly developing close and trusting relationships and a candid rapport with clients from diverse backgrounds. At Equal Rights Advocates, Matt produced counseling documents, briefs, and research memos to advance legislative and organizing campaigns as well as litigation. At the District Court, Matt prepared Memoranda of Disposition and draft orders that advanced or resolved cases pending before the court.

Before practicing law, Matt worked as an advertiser, organizer, and communications specialist. At Ampush, a digital marketing agency, he managed customer acquisition campaigns and facilitated the firm’s partnerships with platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to develop advertising technology. Matt then developed content and digital distribution strategies for NextGen Climate for its Pennsylvania state campaign during the final months of the 2016 election.

After the 2016 election, Matt worked at Tipping Point Community, a San Francisco-based foundation with a mission to fight poverty in the Bay Area. Matt first helped modernize Tipping Point’s digital communications presence and strategy, then served as Communications Manager for the Chronic Homelessness Initiative. From 2017-2022, this public-private partnership with the City of San Francisco helped reduce the number of San Franciscans experiencing long-term, cyclical homelessness and piloted new strategies to prevent homelessness and increase the availability of permanent supportive housing

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Photo of Chantel Greene Chantel Greene

Chantel Greene’s practice focuses on product liability and safety issues arising out of consumer and occupational exposures.

Chantel counsels clients on product disputes, risk mitigation, and crisis management matters. She also advises clients on regulatory and enforcement issues before the U.S. Consumer Product

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Chantel Greene’s practice focuses on product liability and safety issues arising out of consumer and occupational exposures.

Chantel counsels clients on product disputes, risk mitigation, and crisis management matters. She also advises clients on regulatory and enforcement issues before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including compliance with product safety regulations and standards, reporting obligations, product recalls, and CPSC investigations and penalties. In this arena, her clients include distributors, manufacturers, brick-and-mortar retailers, online retailers, and online marketplaces.

Chantel also serves on the National Coordinating Counsel team for a Fortune 500 chemical company in connection with the company’s premises liability and product liability litigation. In this role, Chantel assists in managing a nationwide docket by working with local counsel to develop defense themes, preparing expert witnesses for deposition and trial, and providing strategic advice on individual cases. She has deep experience with every stage of litigation, from pre-suit investigations, through discovery, to trial.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Chantel worked for Florida’s largest full-service civil litigation firm. Her practice encompassed commercial litigation, professional malpractice, products liability, and regulatory investigations and examinations.

In 2023, Chantel was named one of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America in the areas of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions and Personal Injury Litigation.

Chantel is an active mentor through Crowell & Moring’s partnership with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. She also mentors through College Bound, a Washington, D.C. non-profit organization that pairs mentors with Washington, D.C. students in grades 8-12 to help prepare them for college.

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