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Good Corporate Social Practices: A Look at Unilever’s Supply Chain Transparency

By Ayako Russell on Posted in Case Studies
The palm oil industry has sometimes been associated with human rights abuses and adverse environmental impacts, including deforestation, soil pollution and erosion, water contamination, and threatening endangered species.  However, meaningful efforts are being made to change that. On February 16, 2018, Unilever shared information about its suppliers and mills in order to provide greater transparency … Continue Reading

War on Drugs Targets the Supply Chain

By Ayako Russell on Posted in Case Studies
The opioid epidemic has reached alarming new heights and states are looking down the pharmaceutical supply chain to share the blame – and the cost. Multiple states have sued the pharmaceutical companies for recovery of government costs associated with addressing addiction.  In 2007, Purdue Pharma settled with 26 states and the District of Columbia for … Continue Reading

Tech Is Next Target of NGOs for Supplier Labor Practices

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, International
Previously (see here , here , and here ), we have reported on a growing litigation trend relating to supply chains for food procured by major U.S. manufacturers and retailers abroad.  Namely, beginning in August 2015, plaintiffs’ class action lawyers began filing putative consumer class action lawsuits against major U.S. food manufacturers and retailers, alleging … Continue Reading

Case Study: Chipotle’s Supply Chain Difficulties

By Sarah Rathke and Ayako Russell on Posted in Case Studies, Food & Drug
Chipotle has thrived in the fast-casual food industry by prioritizing sustainability in its supply chain.  The company’s “Food with Integrity” policy focuses on sourcing food from suppliers that meet its requirements for animal welfare, sustainability, and social accountability.  Pursuant to the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, Chipotle publishes information on its website about … Continue Reading

New Slavery and Human Trafficking Statements: Coming into Force Today

By Sarah Rathke, Dynda A. Thomas, Caroline Noblet, Hannah Kendrick, Rob Elvin and Ramez Moussa on Posted in Case Studies, International, Legal Analysis
The new obligation on commercial organisations over a certain size to publish a slavery and human trafficking statement has come into force today. There will, however, be transitional provisions to allow affected businesses sufficient time to understand the new requirements and produce a statement. Businesses with a year-end date on or after 31 March 2016 … Continue Reading

Read our Article in Compliance Week Regarding Compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, International, Legal Analysis, Uncategorized
We have posted before on the newly-enacted UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (see here and here).  We were honored recently to be interviewed by Compliance Week concerning compliance with this new law.  As the article notes, we are all still awaiting further guidance, anticipated this month, regarding what companies need to do to comply. One point … Continue Reading

Can Supply Chains Be Completely Transparent?

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, Food & Drug, Legal Analysis
In some earlier posts (here and here), we discussed the new litigation trend in which plaintiffs are filing putative consumer class actions against manufacturers and retailers for failing to fully abide by their California Transparency in Supply Chains disclosure statements or their internal supplier policies.  Well, as anyone following this story is likely aware, the … Continue Reading

See Our Interview Concerning California Transparency Lawsuits in Inside Counsel Magazine!

By Sarah Rathke and Dynda A. Thomas on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, International, Legal Analysis
Last week, we had the great honor of talking with Amy Stickel at Inside Counsel Magazine about the recently filed California lawsuits based on companies’ California Transparency in Supply Chain Disclosure Act statements and/or their internal supply chain policies.  Previously, we’ve written about these lawsuits in this blog here and here. With Amy, we discussed how these lawsuits … Continue Reading

Litigation Fallout From All This Supply Chain Transparency Legislation (Or, These Things Have Teeth!) (Or, The Cycle of Misfortune)

By Sarah Rathke, Dynda A. Thomas and Mitchell Berger on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, International, Legal Analysis
In previous posts, we’ve talked about emerging legislation designed to increase visibility and transparency in supply chains to bring about desirable social ends.  We’ve discussed, for instance, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and the UK Modern Slavery Act, both of which require companies to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery from their supply … Continue Reading

The Future of Pharmaceutical Supply Chains (Or, Unpacking the Drug Quality and Security Act)

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, Food & Drug
On November 27, 2013, President Obama signed into law the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA), HR 3204, legislation that will have broad-reaching effects on pharmaceutical supply chains.  The DQSA was enacted to help protect consumers from contaminated, counterfeit, and stolen pharmaceutical products, and was enacted as a response to a meningitis outbreak in 2012, … Continue Reading

Supply Chain Dispute Note with Practical Law (Or Supply Chain Dispute Resolution in the US)

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Legal Analysis
This week, we were honored to have the opportunity to publish a Note discussing the basics of supply chain legal disputes with Practical Law, an affiliate of Thomson Reuters.  Our Note discusses the stages and unique aspects of supply chain litigation, including at the initial pleadings, discovery, and trial stage.  Thanks to Steve Skulnik for this … Continue Reading

Drafting Liquidated Damages Clauses (Or, See Simon Garbett Quoted in “Supply Management”)

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Case Studies, Legal Analysis
This week, our very own Simon Garbett was quoted in an article in “Supply Management” entitled, “What should a liquidated damages clause include?” Liquidated damages clauses are, of course, clauses that appear often in supply chain contracts, and that prescribe a specified amount of damages if a specified breach of the contract occurs.  Simon reminds … Continue Reading

More Legal Implications From The West Coast Ports Labor Dispute (Or, What To Do If Your Supply Chain Contract Does Not Address Disaster) (Or, Yet Another Goofy UCC Provision)

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Food & Drug, Legal Analysis
Last week, we discussed the legal fallout from the West Coast Ports dispute.  In particular, we talked about how a force majeure clause in a supply chain contract can help supply chain partners avoid disputes.  Force majeure clauses allocate which supply chain partner bears the risk – and the cost – in the event disaster … Continue Reading

Some Really Good Supply Chain Press This Week!

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, International, Legal Analysis
This week, our Squire Patton Boggs global supply chain legal team has gotten some really good press! On Friday, March 6, 2015, Inside Counsel Magazine interviewed Sarah Rathke on “How to Hammer out Supply Chain Contract Issues.”  In this article, we discuss best practices for drafting supply chain agreements and avoiding disputes.  One of the … Continue Reading

Supply Chain Law: 2014 – Year Of The Recall! (Or, Recalling Recalls) (Or, The Mother Of All Warranty Claims)

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Automotive, Case Studies, Consumer Products, Food & Drug, Legal Analysis, Tech
Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) , the federal agency responsible for overseeing automotive safety, released figures showing that 2014 involved a record number of automotive safety recalls – higher than 2011, 2012, and 2013 combined. In all, the industry recalled almost 64 million vehicles in 803 separate recall campaigns, 680 … Continue Reading

See Our Interview on Talking Logistics!

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, International, Legal Analysis, Tech
Sometimes at the Global Supply Chain Law Blog, we talk to others in the industry about the legal aspects of developing successful supply chain relationships.  This week, we were fortunate to be invited on Adrian Gonzales’ “Talking Logistics” show.  We talked about the recent case of GT Advanced and Apple and what companies can do … Continue Reading

Running With The Big Dogs in Supply Chain Relationships, Part II (Or, A Product’s Components Have To Work Together) (Or, The Thigh Bone Is Connected To The Knee Bone…)

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, Legal Analysis
In our last post, we talked about the catastrophic demise of the Apple/GTAT supplier agreement.  One of the problematic legal aspects of the Apple/GTAT relationship that we discussed was the difficulty of negotiating a full-scale production agreement before product development is complete.  Until development is finished, parties to a supply chain agreement cannot know with sufficient … Continue Reading

Running With The Big Dogs in Supply Chain Relationships, Part I (Or, Why My iPhone 6 Screen Isn’t Made Of Sapphire) (Or, If You Ain’t Made It Before, Don’t Bet The Company On It)

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, Legal Analysis
One of the bigger supply chain legal stories of 2014 came out of the apocalyptic demise of the supplier relationship between Apple and GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT), a New Hampshire based company that Apple chose to supply sapphire for use in the new iPhone 6 screens. Before Apple met GTAT, iPhone screens were made of … Continue Reading

Fashion Friday – Supply Chain Issues in Fashion Visibility in the Supply Chain

By Sarah Rathke on Posted in Case Studies, Consumer Products, Fashion, Legal Analysis
It's Friday noteWelcome to the first installment of Fashion Friday!  In Fashion Friday, we focus on supply chain issues that impact an industry we follow in our personal lives as well as our professional lives. Fashion is an industry in which supply chain visibility is increasingly important.  Supply chain visibility means the ability to know and understand … Continue Reading
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