Mike Gentine, a former senior counsel with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), advises manufacturers, retailers and other commercial clients on product safety and consumer protection issues. He is especially skilled with legal, regulatory, enforcement, and penalty matters before various agencies, including the CPSC and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and policy advancement at the state and federal levels. Mr. Gentine also has extensive product recall experience in multiple international jurisdictions and across agency proceedings, stakeholder organizations and trade associations.
Prior to joining Arnold and Porter, Mr. Gentine had an extensive career across the legal and public policy arenas, serving as in-house regulatory counsel and government relations manager for Polaris, in private practice and in the federal government. His government service comprises multiple positions at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including senior counsel for the Office of CPSC Commissioner Joseph P. Mohorovic from 2014–2017, where he advised on various policy, regulatory and ethics issues, as well as reform initiatives such as reducing the paperwork burden on CPSC-regulated companies. Before that at the CPSC, he was a legal fellow and a law clerk in the Office of Commissioner Nancy Nord. Mr. Gentine’s other government-related work includes externships with the US Senate Judiciary Committee and the US Navy Judge Advocate General Corps (JAGC).
Experience
- Manufacturers of consumer products (including consumer electronics, recreational off-highway vehicles, children’s products, toys, and home care products) regarding regulatory compliance and product safety; litigation risk analysis and mitigation; and enforcement risk management.
- Manufacturers of consumer products in defect, enforcement, and penalty proceedings before CPSC.
- Manufacturers of motor vehicles, motor vehicle equipment and child restraint systems in proceedings before NHTSA, including recall and penalty proceedings; advice on regulatory compliance and product safety; litigation risk analysis and mitigation; and enforcement risk management, including compliance with Early Warning Reporting (EWR) requirements under the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act.
- Multiple clients in conducting due diligence reviews during and in advance of acquisitions regarding assessments of compliance, enforcement, and penalty risk.
- Various consumer product manufacturers in meetings with congressional staff, seeking structural reform and appropriations increase for CPSC, reform of tariff and trade policies, and other public policy priorities.
Perspectives
Credentials
Education
- J.D., 2012
- M.A., Florida State University, 2009
- B.A., Florida State University, 2003
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
Activities
- Member, Board of Directors, International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO)
- Symposium Planning Committee, ICPHSO
- Vice Chair, Food Law Specialized Litigation Group, Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- Steering Committee, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) CPSC Coalition
- Member, Board of Directors, Military Veterans in Journalism
- Chair, Food Law Specialized Litigation Group, Defense Research Institute (DRI)