Ashurst further strengthens Disputes & Investigations offering with international products law team in London

Global law firm Ashurst has appointed product safety and liability partner Sarah-Jane Dobson in its Disputes & Investigations practice based in London. Sarah-Jane, joined by a team of associates, will build out Ashurst's product litigation and product risk (safety and regulatory) practice area. The practice will further strengthen Ashurst’s class action speciality and add complementary contentious and non-contentious expertise in respect of all matters related to consumer products.

Sarah-Jane and the team all join from Kennedys, where Sarah-Jane led the firm's international product safety practice.

Sarah-Jane’s practice focuses on both product safety and product liability and consumer litigation matters. In respect of product litigation, she has extensive experience defending corporate clients in high-stakes litigation matters, including the highest profile products-related class actions in Europe and criminal investigations for breaches of product safety laws. She also provides commercially-focused regulatory advice in a broad range of sectors across the full product lifecycle.

With a degree in biomedical science, Sarah-Jane is well placed to advise on highly technical products matters. She is also dual qualified in England and Wales and Australia and is particularly adept at multi-jurisdictional, multi-lingual matters from her time spent working internationally across six jurisdictions.

Tom Connor, Global Head of Disputes, Investigations and Advisory at Ashurst commented that Sarah-Jane will make an excellent addition to Ashurst. "Sarah-Jane is a highly regarded practitioner with a deep understanding of product liability and consumer litigation as well as product safety and law and regulation, making her the perfect complement to our existing class actions and investigations practices. Sarah-Jane's arrival reflects our continued strategic focus on growing our Disputes & Investigations capability."

Jon Gale, Head of Ashurst's UK Dispute Resolution practice added: "We are seeing class actions becoming increasingly significant in the disputes market, not only in the UK but also in other regions, particularly following the introduction of the new European class action regime. Sarah-Jane's appointment therefore comes at a critical and exciting time - she will be a great asset to the firm, adding further bench strength to our existing offering, and we look forward to working with her."

"I am excited to be joining Ashurst", said Sarah-Jane Dobson. "The firm's impressive global standing and full service offering provide the perfect platform from which to grow my practice and provide the best service to clients. I am looking forward to being part of a team with such serious ambitions and helping to drive forward the growth of the global disputes and investigations practice."