The following is a representative sampling of our NHTSA experience:
- Providing comprehensive problem-solving services to address high-profile mobility, vehicle safety and related regulatory matters, including self-certification of standards (including U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), EU standards and standards in other markets), homologation, regulatory compliance, innovative mobility and safety strategies, electric vehicles, ridesharing enterprises, emerging technologies, advanced driver-assistance systems, automated and autonomous driving systems, best practices and emerging trends, standards enforcement, defects investigations, government inquiries and enforcement proceedings, and recall implementation.
- Representing U.S. and international mobility and automotive clients in NHTSA enforcement proceedings, defect and compliance investigations and recalls, and other NHTSA administrative proceedings.
- Representing OEMs in consent order negotiations with NHTSA and supporting clients in strategically implementing consent order obligations, including coordinating periodic safety evaluation list meetings with the agency, establishing appropriate internal procedures for safety determinations, and training personnel on Safety Act requirements and related regulations.
- Developing and maintaining comprehensive automotive safety compliance programs for several global automobile OEMs and other Fortune 500 mobility and technology companies.
- Providing ongoing advice to the corporate technical/product safety committees of several U.S. and global companies responsible for the determination of defect, compliance, field action and recall issues for the companies’ respective vehicles and equipment.
- Providing common-sense interpretations of federal statutes and regulations, including FMVSS, early warning/TREAD Act reporting, foreign recall reporting, registration, labeling, VIN requirements, vehicle importation, prototypes and other NHTSA regulatory requirements that give clear business direction for company engineering and business units.
- Helping clients secure NHTSA permits for the temporary importation of noncompliant vehicles into the United States.
- Creating first-of-their-kind regulatory and legislative strategies for several prominent U.S. and international mobility and automotive clients to advance automated/autonomous driving system development and deployment in the absence of regulatory certainty.
- Representing a Fortune 500 OEM in connection with a high-profile safety defect investigation involving approximately 52 million airbag inflators.
- Supporting OEM clients in designing and conducting tabletop simulations that replicate real-world crisis scenarios, evaluating their preparedness and identifying areas for improvement.
- Leading a multi-month comprehensive legal and engineering analysis and assessment for a Fortune 500 mobility OEM on pre-production and design issues for new vehicle products and associated lines that avoided potentially costly safety and quality issues, promoted increased teamwork within the company’s relevant engineering and business units, and promoted the company’s market objectives.
- Conducting an internal regulatory and safety compliance review for a Fortune 50 multinational corporation and technology company, resulting in key business insights and recommended process improvements for operations and sales in the U.S. and global mobility and automotive sectors.
- Conducting root cause determinations, incident inspections and NHTSA/industry precedent analysis, including associated processes to mitigate risks for product issues, and assisting clients with FMEA and DFMEA reviews to manage safety outcomes, routine safety evaluation processes and industry benchmarking (both quality and safety).
- Preparing petitions for determinations of inconsequential noncompliance, requests for temporary exemptions from federal safety standards, requests for agency interpretation of existing federal statutes and regulations, and requests for protection of confidential business information.
- Providing U.S. and global clients with business development advice on growth opportunities, including identifying new product segment and content feature opportunities, and guidance for startups with go-to-market strategies for novel mobility solutions.
- Assisting clients with risk management programs and conducting internal audits to create sustainable U.S. and global quality and safety organizational departments, including in-house legal and business-oriented training and ongoing support.
- Facilitating business partnerships and joint ventures among leading automotive companies, technology and product suppliers, mobility startups and applicable regulators.
- Drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts and contract language on safety determination reporting responsibilities and recall cost recovery and risk allocation.
- Drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts and contract language on mobility and emerging technology research projects and analysis of product usage, human factors, human-machine interface considerations and safety system integrity.
- Providing strategic leadership for U.S. and global automotive and mobility OEMs in crisis management situations for recent high-profile government enforcement matters with significant congressional and media scrutiny, including proactive measures to build relationships with key federal regulators and other stakeholders.
- Advising clients on pending federal and state legislative proposals and policy issues, including providing strategic advice and insights, monitoring legislative and regulatory developments, analyzing comments in federal rulemaking proceedings, and providing day-to-day legal and engineering counseling to help navigate the administrative and legislative processes.
- Preparing legislative testimony and comments in federal rulemaking proceedings.
- Drafting legislative and regulatory language with an eye to providing leadership to advance clients’ business goals and policy objectives.