Your Guide to Product Regulatory & Liability Developments and What to Expect in 2025

Overview
The surge in product regulations globally presents major challenges and legal risks for businesses manufacturing, importing or distributing products, with many recent measures applicable to a broad range of products and industries.
Companies must adopt a proactive and strategic approach to navigate this complex landscape, prioritize compliance, and mitigate potential risks in 2025.
To help you manage the increasing regulatory burden, this guide summarizes the key regulatory and litigation developments in 2024, and looks at what is coming down the line in 2025.
Based on our popular webinar ‘Product Regulatory & Liability Developments: 2024 Roundup,’ held in December 2024 in partnership with Ashurst, we highlight the top themes and trends to be aware of, as well as offering practical steps for mitigating growing legal risks.
This guide provides insights and guidance on:
- What’s trending in product regulation;
- Recent legislative changes in the EU and UK;
- Global legislative developments;
- Current trends in legal risks;
- Predictions for 2025 and beyond;
- Mitigation strategies for minimizing legal risks;
- And more!
*This guide was originally published on 22nd January, 2025. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.
Authors
Sarah-Jane Dobson, Partner, Ashurst
Sarah-Jane is the Global Head of Product Litigation and Regulatory Risk at Ashurst, where she is a Partner based in the London office. She acts on regulatory, litigious and policy matters across the full product lifecycle in respect of product safety, compliance and product liability and consumer litigation matters. Her corporate clients are from a broad range of sectors including automotive, chemicals, consumer goods, cosmetics, food (including novel foods) and beverages, industrial and life sciences products (medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and advice regarding clinical trials).
In product litigation, she has extensive experience defending corporate clients in high-stakes litigation, including notably the highest profile products-related class actions in Europe and unprecedented criminal investigations in respect of breaches of product safety regulations. She also handles product liability claims, regulatory enforcement actions, inquests, public inquiries (including acting as a Core Participant product manufacturer in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry) and judicial reviews.
In product safety and regulatory, she provides commercially-focused advice across the full product lifecycle from market entry due diligence, regulatory compliance, advertising issues to global product recalls. She has been involved in some of the largest global matters, including product launches and product recalls in respect of 193+ jurisdictions.
With a degree in Science (major in biomedical science) and with having lived and worked in 6 jurisdictions (Australia, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, England and the USA), Sarah-Jane is uniquely placed to advise on technical and multi-lingual and multi-jurisdictional matters. Sarah-Jane holds prominent leadership positions – including as a Member of the Board of Directors for ICPHSO, as a Chair of International Legal Issues for DRI’s Product Liability Committee and Chair (International) of IADC’s Class Actions Committee.
Louise Forrest, Legal Consultant, Ashurst
Louise is a consultant in our global product litigation and product risk (safety and regulatory) practice, advising on matters across all stages of the lifecycle of the product, from product launches, product recalls and ongoing regulatory compliance. Her work crosses many sectors including consumer products, cosmetics, apparel, and chemicals.
Previously, she led a team of international product regulatory consultants for a global provider of market access and product compliance SaaS solutions to world leading brands, helping those companies ensure product compliance. Through this work, Louise gained in-depth knowledge of the changing product regulatory landscape across a wide range of regulated areas including safety, chemicals, design, energy efficiency, batteries, packaging, labelling, waste, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, food contact materials and ESG.
Louise is a qualified Irish barrister, receiving her barrister-in-law degree from Kings Inns, Dublin in 2002.