Falvey to Leave CPSC; Boyle to Be Acting GC

CPSC General Counsel Cheryl Falvey will leave CPSC for Crowell & Moring. Now serving as acting general counsel is Mary Boyle of that office. Falvey joined CPSC in March 2008 (PSL, 3/10/08, p.1) and thus oversaw the legal side of implementing the CPSIA, which became law later that year. Falvey told PSL when asked about her time at CPSC:

“As you might imagine, responding to five Commissioners can keep the general counsel very busy, and that was especially true as we worked to implement the CPSIA. But the job has been so rewarding, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Each Commissioner is committed to protecting the American consumer and adds something more than just meeting the mandates of the CPSIA. Chairman Tenenbaum brings her passion for projects like Safe Sleep, football helmets and window coverings, Commissioner Nord calls for clarity, process and communication with stakeholders, Commissioner Northup works hard for the interests of small business, and Commissioner Alder focuses on high risk issues such as table saw injuries and bed rails. All of their energy and commitment provides just what the American consumer deserves, a robust CPSC. It has been a pleasure to serve as their general counsel.”

At Crowell & Moring, Falvey will be a partner in the Torts Group of its Product Risk Management practice, and she begins work in the Washington D.C. office October 1.

In its press release, the firm quoted Clifford Zatz, chair of the Torts Group: “Her tenure at the CPSC has been one of the most significant for any general counsel at that agency as she advised the agency on sweeping changes to their statutes that had an impact across diverse industry sectors.”

It also quoted Bridget Calhoun, co-chair of the Product Risk Management practice, as saying, “Cheri is highly regarded among general counsel of some of the world’s leading consumer products companies and has earned a well-deserved reputation for fair-mindedness and sound judgment at a time when industry faces significant and ever-changing legal challenges in the product safety arena.”

At a September 20 commission meeting on testing and on infant sleep products (see story in this issue), commissioners voiced praise of Falvey before beginning those briefings.

Falvey came to CPSC from the Washington, D.C. office of Akin Gump, where she led its litigation practice. CPSC changed the general counsel position to a career Senior Executive Service (SES) slot just prior to her coming to the agency in a move that then acting-Chairman Nancy Nord praised as enhancing “the credibility and long term stability and professionalism” of the position. Before that, general counsels were linked to the sitting chairmen, who themselves are presidential appointees.

As for Boyle, according to CPSC:

“Mary T. Boyle joined the Commission in July 2010, serving first as Special Assistant to the General Counsel and then as Deputy General Counsel. Before joining the Commission, Ms Boyle worked for the City of Gaithersburg, where she served as the City’s Affordable Housing Coordinator, drafting legislation and regulations to establish an affordable housing program for in the City. Prior to her work for the City, she worked in the Washington D.C office of the Paul Hastings law firm. Ms Boyle received her BA from Georgetown University in 1985 and her JD in 1991 from the University of Virginia. She is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars.”