Hazel O'Keeffe
Keller and Heckman LLPKeller and Heckman LLP‘s ’highly skilled’ food department is sub-divided into two further groups, direct and indirect food; Rachida Semail predominantly focuses on food contact matters, but has oversight of both sub-teams, while Hazel O'Keeffe specialises in packaging and sustainability issues. In June 2023, the practice further expanded its strength with the hire of UK-qualified practitioner Craig Simpson, who joined from the European Free Trade Association.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘K&H has a lot of experience and knowledge on various subjects, especially regarding food contact regulation. The team that serves us demonstrates deep and broad expertise in regulatory matters.’
‘Rachida Semail and her team offer a great service and response time to meet demands. The firm performs in-depth analyses, always seeking to find solutions to issues presented to it.’
‘K&H has dedicated people from different regions working on our projects, which facilitates the consistency of the dossiers that need to be submitted to authorities. As we are dealing with a new type of product, it was great to have regular interaction with the K&H team to have an alignment on how to tackle some of the issues going forward.’
‘The availability of Hazel O'Keeffe and her team is very much appreciated. It is easy to contact them, they will always come back to us in a timely manner. Their professionalism is also an important feature and their contacts with authorities are important.’
‘Their strength is in their highly skilled team, able to reply to questions in many different areas of interest for us (not only food but also feed and food contact). Keller and Heckman also benefits from a presence in other regions of the world, making them a very complete and highly valuable team to collaborate with. Answers are always clear and very complete.’
‘I highly appreciate the technical (scientific) and regulatory expertise of the practitioners I work with. They understand well our questions and our products, and they are clear and available for further discussions.’
'The team is very diverse in competences and knowledge in the regulations, continuously providing support on the most recent updates of regulation but also new strategies. The recognition of the company and the articulation in different areas allows the practice to remain unique.'
'Rachida Semail is an excellent professional with a broad knowledge of regulations (food/pharma/many others) but also very supportive and cooperative.'
Key clients
- Avantium Renewable Polymers
- Carbiolice and Carbios
Work highlights
- Advised Avantium Renewable Polymers on marketing its products to be supplied to various brand owners for use in various food-contact applications, and on entering new markets while remaining compliant.
- Advised Carbiolice and Carbios on compostable plastic packaging technology which contributes to waste reduction of PLA-based plastics.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Rachida Semail