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Raqiyyah Pippins co-leads the firm's Consumer Products Practice Group and the Consumer Products & Retail Industry Team. She has extensive experience representing companies that are engaged in the development, marketing, import, and export of consumer products, including FDA-regulated consumer products, apparel, appliances, and devices. Raqiyyah focuses her practice in the areas of FDA's regulation of food, dietary supplement, cosmetic, drug and medical-device products sold directly to consumers as well as FTC and state regulation of the marketing and sale of consumer products. She collaboratively partners with litigation teams to defend clients against consumer litigation demands alleging unfair and deceptive advertising practices. She also routinely represents consumer product companies in advertising challenges before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau National Programs and defends companies in investigations conducted by the FDA, FTC, and state agencies regarding product marketing practices.

Raqiyyah has particular experience assisting companies develop promotional strategies that account for the federal and state regulations governing direct-to-consumer product promotion. Her experience includes advising consumer product companies on relevant federal and state laws and regulations governing health-related, performance, and sourcing claims (e.g., natural, organic, and green claims) for apparel, conventional food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and devices; assisting FDA-regulated companies with product development, monograph compliance, and Rx-to-OTC switches; and counseling companies regarding the development of clinical and sensory studies intended to substantiate advertising claims. She is a trusted advisor of trade organizations supporting manufacturers of FDA-regulated products regarding FTC and state standards that also impact the risk profile for companies' product portfolios, and is regularly invited to work directly with clients' marketing and research and development teams to help identify marketing strategies that are consistent with the desired risk threshold for the company. According to clients, she is "excellent at crafting solutions that ensure regulatory compliance within the business context, helping to provide practical advice that takes into consideration the way in which a business operates."

Experience

  • FDA-regulated consumer product companies by developing defense strategies with litigation teams to defend against consumer class action litigation demands alleging purported violations of state food & drug laws constitute unfair and deceptive advertising practices.

  • Manufacturers of FDA-regulated products regarding effective product promotion via diverse mediums (e.g., labeling, website, television networks, social media and platforms intended for handheld-devices) while accounting for FDA, FTC, NAD, state regulation and other risk considerations.
  • One of the largest US drugstore chains in coordinating the review of more than 600 generic brand labels, including an assessment of claim substantiation and compliance with federal labeling regulations.
  • Retailers and manufacturers of FDA regulated products regarding adverse event reporting requirements and managing voluntary recalls.
  • Leading confectionary company in managing international legal review of new front-of-pack labeling system intended for use in twenty-four countries.
  • Consumer packaged goods companies in developing novel marketing strategies for conventional food, dietary supplement, and cosmetic products including use of health-benefit, nutrient content, product composition (e.g., natural or organic), and performance claims.
  • Manufacturers of FDA-regulated products in effectively engaging stakeholders in trade associations to comment regarding proposed FDA rulemakings impacting safety and labeling regulations.
  • Manufacturer of market-leading OTC allergy products in successful development and implementation of multi-faceted marketing campaigns for product portfolio, including 1st in class Rx-to-OTC switched intranasal corticosteroid product.
  • FDA-regulated companies with responses to FTC and state AG inquiries regarding advertising practices, including claim substantiation and adequate use of disclosures in advertisements.
  • Global Fortune 500 companies in challenges before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau National Programs including challenges related to comparative health-benefit claims and preference testing.
  • Pharmaceutical companies regarding FDA adverse event reporting requirements and related Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act considerations.

Perspectives

FTC Unveils Expanded Crackdown on AI Abuses
Consumer Products and Retail Navigator
Rules of the Road for Social Media Marketing of Food and Dietary Supplements
Food Advertising, Labeling, and Litigation Conference
Best Lawyers in America 2025 Recognizes 91 Arnold & Porter Lawyers, Names Three as "Lawyers of the Year" and 80 as "Ones to Watch"
FDA Issues Revised Draft Guidance on Addressing Misinformation About Medical Devices and Prescription Drugs
Advisory
Beyond the Bottle: Insights on the Consumers Journey Towards Sustainable Products
American Cleaning Institute
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Recognition

Best Lawyers
FDA Law (Washington, D.C.) (2019-2025)
Chambers USA
Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory (Nationwide) (2019-2024)
Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation (Nationwide) (2024)
"Up and Coming" Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation (Nationwide) (2023)
The Legal 500 U.S.
"Firms to Watch" Advertising & Marketing: Transactional and Regulatory (2023)
Cannabis (2021)
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Credentials

Education

  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 2006
  • B.A., Stanford University, 2003

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia

Activities

  • Member, National Bar Association: Commercial Law Section
  • Vice Chair, American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, Advertising Disputes and Litigation Committee (2021-2022)
  • Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Federal City Alumnae Chapter
  • Past National Chair, National Black Law Students Association
  • Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)
Overview