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  1. Our capabilities
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  3. Product liability

Product liability

Coordinated product liability strategy for a changing risk landscape  

Freshfields

Product liability risk is moving fast. As legislators, regulators, plaintiffs and courts extend liability theories beyond traditional physical goods, global businesses need coordinated advice across litigation, regulation and risk.

Our top-tier global product liability risk and liability team helps clients respond to that challenge. We defend complex international product and consumer claims, often as coordinating counsel, and support businesses in their engagement with – and where necessary, challenge to – regulatory agencies.

We also help clients anticipate what comes next. As liability expands to digital products, AI-enabled services, new categories of defendant and new forms of harm, we work with businesses to assess exposure, manage risk and shape effective cross-border strategies.

Our team has also developed a market-leading regulatory monitoring tool, giving clients direct, interactive access to insights from counsel across around 150 markets. The tool covers more than 80 questions across four product categories, helping businesses track regulatory developments and respond with greater confidence.

Highlight experience

Contacts

New York, Abu Dhabi

Anna R. Gressel

Global Co-Head of AI
Paris

Anne-Laure Vincent

Partner
London

Andrew Austin

Partner, Head of London Dispute Resolution
New York

David Livshiz

Partner, Co-Head of US Commercial Litigation
Washington, DC

Ellen Rosenblum

Senior Counsel
London

James Raeside

Partner
London

James Roberts

Partner
Hamburg

Kristina Maria Weiler

Partner
Hamburg

Laura Knoke

Partner
Amsterdam

Mijke Sinninghe Damsté

Partner
Düsseldorf

Moritz Becker

Partner
Washington, DC, San Francisco

Nema Milaninia

Partner
Washington, DC

Nina Frant

Special counsel
New York

Rob McCallum

Partner
London

Simon Duncombe

Partner
New York

Timothy Harkness

Partner, Co-Head of US Commercial Litigation

Awards & recognition

Chambers UK 2026

Band 1 Life Sciences: Product Liability

Chambers UK 2026

Band 1 Product Liability: Mainly Defendant

Our thinking

Our thinking

May 20 2026

London International Disputes Week: Product Liability: An evolving landscape in changing times

We have lined up a stellar panel of experts in the field of product liability, with experience in handling cases in the UK and EU, to provide a well-informed debate from a range of perspectives.

Apr 29 2026

Liability for AI-related harm: The UKJT’s legal analysis

This article by Andrew Austin, Harriet Hanks and Laura Feldman discusses the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce draft legal statement on how liability for non-deliberate AI-related harm is addressed under the private law of England and Wales.

Apr 21 2026

Product Risks Today: How the new Product Liability Directive turns AI Act compliance into a question of liability

Introduction To what extent software qualifies as a “product” subject to the EU’s product liability regime, has been a controversial...
Apr 21 2026

Product Risks Today: Implications of implementing the new Product Liability Directive for Pharmaceutical Liability in Germany

Introduction In Germany, product liability for the pharmaceutical and medical sector is shaped by a dualist framework: the Medicinal...
Dec 22 2025

New terms of reference for UK product liability reform project

On 8 December 2025, the UK Law Commission published its Terms of Reference (ToR) for its product liability law review, providing some...
Sep 19 2025

What's next for UK product liability?

We recently wrote about the prospect of future reform of the UK product liability framework (here), which may see the UK’s product...
Aug 5 2025

UK product liability reform – new redress rules for AI systems?

Changes on the horizon: AI to be in scope and hints of a more pro-consumer balance The UK Law Commission has announced a new project to...
May 26 2025

Product Risks Today: Digital services in the scope of the new Product Liability Directive

Introduction The new Product Liability Directive (PLD) marks a significant evolution in European liability law. While traditionally...
Apr 1 2025

Product Risks Today: How the new Product Liability Directive facilitates private enforcement

Introduction The EU’s new Product Liability Directive (PLD), effective as of 8 December 2024, brings significant updates to the 1985...
Nov 18 2024

The new Product Liability Directive

Oct 10 2024

Product Risks Today: The EU Product Liability Directive - Key Implications for Software and AI

Introduction The European Union‘s updated Product Liability Directive (PLD), adopted by the European Council today and expected to come...
Jul 4 2024

Digital or printed? Navigating liability and evidence in product instruction and safety information

I.    Introduction  Manufacturers of consumer-facing products in the increasingly integrated European market operate in a complex...
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