Photo of Jean-Cyril Walker

JC Walker practices environmental, product safety and energy efficiency law.

Mr. Walker’s environmental practice focuses on a wide range of matters, including compliance with U.S. requirements governing the safe management and disposal of chemical and hazardous substances under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and state analogues. Mr. Walker regularly advises industry and trade association clients on regulations of hazardous air pollutants under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and state and local air pollution statutes, as well as emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in adhesives, paints, and other industrial and consumer products.

Mr. Walker also regularly advises clients on product safety issues. This includes assessing compliance with the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), other Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requirements, and state consumer product requirements.

Additionally, Mr. Walker counsels a broad range of industries on compliance with the U.S. Energy Policy and Conservation Act and California’s energy efficiency regulations. Representative clients include manufacturers and distributors of: consumer appliances; commercial refrigeration equipment; heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment; and computers and consumer electronic devices.

In addition to compliance advice, Mr. Walker regularly represents clients in actions brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and other Federal and state agencies.

In keeping with its 5-year schedule for comparability range updates to the Energy Labeling Rule (Rule), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on May 25, 2022, seeking to revise the Rule to require EnergyGuide labels to update comparability range information on EnergyGuide labels for televisions, refrigerators and freezers, dishwashers, water

On February 24, 2022, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (Keurig) agreed to pay $10 million to settle a long-running class action that alleged the coffee company deceptively advertised its K-Cups pods’ recyclability by misleadingly labeling and marketing them as “recyclable” when the pods were in fact not accepted for recycling in many areas. The settlement follows

On October 5, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of environmental legislation into law, including two bills aimed at environmental marketing claims. SB 343, Truth in Labeling for Recyclable Materials, which we previously wrote about here, will significantly affect how recyclability claims can be made. Under AB 1201, compostable and

Goods advertised as “Made in the USA” (MUSA) are potential money-makers for manufacturers tapping into the market of consumers who seek home-grown products. In recent years, however, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has investigated companies that deceptively marketed their goods as American-made, sending out warning letters, closing out investigations of companies that quickly change their

On December 22, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) announced adoption of a final rule requiring the use of the EnergyGuide labels on portable air conditioners (ACs). Effective October 1, 2022, portable AC manufacturers must attach yellow EnergyGuide labels on the principal display panel of their packaging and include an image of the required label

Marketing products as environmentally friendly can induce customers to pay higher prices than they would for other goods. But when promises of lower emissions or higher insultation ratings prove false, that hurts consumers, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) steps in. The FTC recently concluded its four-year long false advertising case against Volkswagen and Porsche