B&D’s Pesticides and Biotechnology Practices Welcome Alan Sachs

Beveridge & Diamond welcomes Alan Sachs to our New York office as a Principal. He rejoins the firm after serving as an independent consultant attorney in Israel since 2011 

Alan focuses on the wide range of regulatory issues affecting the global agriculture, food, biotechnology, and bioenergy industries. His practice includes all aspects of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of pesticides, including the manufacture, import, distribution, labeling, registration, and use of all types of consumer and agricultural pesticide products under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 

Alan also advises chemical and pesticide manufacturers on issues arising under other relevant laws—including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA); the Plant Protection Act (PPA); the Endangered Species Act (ESA); the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)—and provides guidance in connection with pesticide requirements and data protection issues in jurisdictions around the world. Alan also counsels clients on the regulation of antimicrobial, biocide, and biostimulant products under FIFRA and other regulatory regimes, as well as the coordinated regulation of genetically engineered plants, animals, and insects by EPA, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). His work also extends to FDA’s regulation of food, dietary ingredients, and dietary supplements, as well as EPA’s regulation of gasoline, diesel, and biofuels, including import and export requirements for ethanol products.

Examples of Alan’s experience include:

  • Serving as counsel for a major pesticide manufacturer in a series of significant enforcement actions brought by EPA and involving the supplemental distribution and labeling of registered pesticides in the United States.
  • Advising numerous Forbes Global 2000 companies on the legal and regulatory requirements associated with foreign production, U.S. import, and distribution of pesticides, industrial biocides, and treated commodities and products.
  • Providing advice to a major U.S. manufacturer of household products to achieve compliance with EPA’s requirements for antimicrobial claims.
  • Counseling an international seed company on the USDA requirements for genetically engineered organisms modified using novel transformation technologies.
  • Advising one of the world's largest privately held companies on the USDA legal requirements for imported biological organisms.
  • Assisting a top U.S. food supplier in the development of a comprehensive legal strategy to support its development of an innovative biotechnology solution to a devastating global crop disease.
  • Advising a foreign microalgae cultivation company on the EPA and FDA manufacturing process requirements for imported dietary ingredients, including pre-market notification requirements for new dietary ingredients.
  • Helping one of the world's largest chemical producers evaluate and comply with federal pre-market and labeling requirements applicable to antimicrobial substances intended for use as food or feed additives.
  • Representing a leading veterinary medicine manufacturer in an EPA enforcement action involving alleged product chemistry inconsistencies and product misbranding violations.

Alan first joined B&D as an associate in 2003 and was based in the firm’s Washington, DC, office. Following his relocation to Israel in 2011, Alan continued to provide attorney consulting services to the girm and its clients from overseas while serving as a key link between and among producers, distributors, investors, and local counsel around the world. In Israel, Alan was also the founder and director of ACHLA, an extracurricular program providing local Jewish and Arab children with an opportunity to learn, interact, and speak together.