With experience spanning federal government, private practice, and in-house roles, Mike advises clients on legal and regulatory matters particularly in the area of consumer goods and product safety.
Mike has held multiple positions at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). He served as senior counsel for the Office of CPSC Commissioner Joseph P. Mohorovic from 2014-2017, where he advised on various policy, enforcement, and ethics issues. He led several efforts to reform rules and regulations, including an initiative to reduce the paperwork burden on CPSC-regulated companies. He also worked at the CPSC as a legal fellow and law clerk in the Office of Commissioner Nancy Nord.
Most recently, Mike advised a major recreational product and motor vehicle manufacturer on product safety and compliance strategies, representing the company in agency proceedings, in stakeholder organizations, and in trade associations. He also served the company in a government relations role, advancing legislative and policy objectives before federal, state, and local governments. His legal training included service with the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.
Experience
- Provided regulatory and political counsel in civil penalty settlement with CPSC that included an unprecedented global release of potential liability.
- Negotiated dozens of CPSC and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recalls.
- Led successful effort to reduce CPSC’s administrative burdens on the apparel industry by more than $250 million annually.
- Led successful effort to reform CPSC’s rules of adjudicative proceedings to prevent usurpation of Commission authority.
- Overturned denials of three pharmaceutical claims totaling more than $180,000 for one treatment at one hospital
Admitted only in Maryland, not admitted in the District of Columbia. Practicing under the supervision of partners of Schiff Hardin LLP admitted in the District of Columbia.
Latest Legal and Business Bylines From Mike Gentine
- Punctuating the Product-Safety Year: A Rush of CPSC Activity at the End of a Largely Inactive 2020 - (Posted On Tuesday, December 22, 2020)
- Regulation-by-Enforcement: CPSC Targets Adult Portable Bed Rail Industry Company-by-Company - (Posted On Thursday, December 03, 2020)
- Rare CPSC Penalty Referral to Department of Justice May Signal a More Aggressive Agency in the Biden Era - (Posted On Friday, November 20, 2020)
- A Little Less Fuzzy: What to Expect from the CPSC Before the Biden Era - (Posted On Thursday, November 12, 2020)
- Outgoing Adler: Acting CPSC Chair Will Not Seek Re-Nomination, Adding to Agency’s Leadership Uncertainty - (Posted On Monday, November 02, 2020)
- Safety on the Hill: Prospects for CPSC Overhaul in the 117th Congress - (Posted On Wednesday, October 21, 2020)
- Lingering Uncertainties Facing the CPSC: Election Contingency Plans - (Posted On Tuesday, September 15, 2020)
- Lingering Uncertainties Facing the CPSC: If Not Beck, Then Who? - (Posted On Tuesday, September 08, 2020)
- CPSC Chair Nominee Facing Bipartisan Opposition - (Posted On Wednesday, June 17, 2020)
- Despite COVID, CPSC Policy Discussions Forging Ahead – Sort Of - (Posted On Tuesday, May 19, 2020)
Mike Gentine counsels manufacturers, retailers, and other commercial clients on legal and regulatory matters particularly in the area of consumer goods and product safety at Schiff Hardin and has held multiple positions at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Mr. Gentine was recognized as a 2019 National Law Review Go-To Thought Leader for his detailed analysis and news coverage of the CPSC. Mr. Gentine's thought leadership covers many topics and issues involving the CPSC including Fiscal Year Agency Plans, product recalls and reporting penalties providing National Law Review readers with crucial insights into the agency's policy objectives, recall management, and how companies can best protect themselves in litigation.
Several attorneys from Schiff Hardin’s Products Liability and Mass Torts Practice Group are National Law Review Go-To Thought Leaders for their analysis of the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) and how the recent election and other political factors may impact CPSC leadership and enforcement priorities. Schiff also examined COVID-19's impact on the CPSC and topics including statutory protections for manufacturers, steps companies can take to reduce regulatory actions, and different approaches to keeping customers and employees safe when reopening after pandemic related closures. Frequent NLR contributing authors include Mike Gentine, Jonathan Judge and Jeffery Skinner.