Partners Michael Resch and Smitha Stansbury Join Sidley to Expand Global Life Sciences Practices

San Francisco/Washington, D.C. – Sidley is pleased to announce that Michael Resch has joined the firm’s Litigation group as a partner in Sidley’s office in San Francisco, and Smitha Stansbury has joined the firm’s Food, Drug, and Medical Device practice in Washington, D.C. Mr. Resch and Ms. Stansbury join from King & Spalding LLP, where they were partners in the FDA and Life Sciences practice.

Mr. Resch’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation and investigations, with an emphasis on food and beverage, dietary supplement, and consumer packaged goods matters, often at the intersection of litigation and regulation. His experience includes false advertising and consumer class actions, including matters involving alleged product contaminants, as well as nutrition labeling, ingredient and marketing claims, and consumer deception. He also handles matters involving the FDA, USDA, and the National Organic Program, as well as other complex commercial disputes and investigations.

Ms. Stansbury’s practice focuses on FDA regulatory matters for food and beverage, dietary supplement, and personal care product companies, including strategic regulatory counseling, FDA/USDA enforcement response (warning letters, seizures, recalls, and import detentions), and regulatory due diligence for M&A transactions. She is Band 1 ranked by Chambers USA (Nationwide) for Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation.

“Mike and Smitha bring complementary litigation and regulatory capabilities that will be highly valuable to our clients, particularly in FDA- and USDA-related matters,” said Yvette Ostolaza, Chair of Sidley’s Management Committee. “Their practices fit naturally with Sidley’s broader litigation, regulatory, life sciences, private equity, and M&A platforms. Just as importantly, they have a proven ability to work seamlessly together on complex client matters.”

“Mike adds significant depth to our litigation capabilities, including the perspective of a former general counsel, while Smitha brings a leading FDA regulatory practice focused on food, beverage, and supplement companies,” said Sharon Flanagan, managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Management Committee and Executive Committee. “Their integrated approach is a real differentiator for clients, with the two working closely on investigations, recalls, and crisis response while developing and executing creative approaches and proactive measures to avoid disputes altogether.”

Sidley has decades of experience representing some of the world’s leading food, dietary supplement, beverage, and cosmetic companies in high-profile litigation. We understand the significant interplay between the regulatory framework and litigation risks and strategies for these industries. Our litigators work closely with our regulatory colleagues during all phases of product development, launch, and sale to ensure both compliance and litigation risk mitigation.

Sidley’s global Food, Drug and Medical Device practice represents major biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, food, cosmetic, dietary supplement, and consumer technology companies worldwide. Our premier, destination practice partners with clients at every stage of growth, from startups to Fortune 10 companies, and throughout the product lifecycle, from development and clinical trials to post-marketing and critical compliance and enforcement issues.

Sidley is an elite global law firm. With approximately 2,300 lawyers and 160 years of experience, we have established a reputation for deploying innovative legal strategies to achieve powerful results for our clients in complex transactional, restructuring, crisis management, investigation, regulatory, and litigation matters.

Our perspective and reach are truly global, supported by 21 offices strategically situated in key commercial, regulatory, and financial centers across the world. Our lawyers and business professionals, fluent in more than 75 languages, possess the cultural awareness and cross-border legal acumen needed to bring clarity to a dynamic business landscape.

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