Ronie Schmelz is an experienced advertising and regulatory counselor and class action defense lawyer with a particular emphasis on working with clients in the consumer products industry.
Ronie spent the first 25 years of her career at an international law firm defending clients in complex litigation, including consumer class actions and disputes involving general commercial, real estate, and health care-related matters. During the second half of her career, she has committed herself to advising clients on litigation-avoidance strategies, including implementing best practices for complying with regulations and standards enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), other federal and state regulatory agencies, as well as the National Advertising Division (NAD), and ways to reduce exposure to consumer class actions. Ronie advises clients on a myriad of topics – including the implementation of recall procedures and responding to FDA Warning Letters, Notices of Action, and MedWatch Adverse Event Reports – and she defends clients in nationwide consumer class actions.
Ronie has extensive experience advising clients in the consumer product industry, including those that manufacture cosmetic, skin and hair care, dietary supplement, and household goods. Along with her experienced team of Tucker Ellis attorneys, Ronie counsels companies on compliance with the Federal Packaging and Labeling Act, California Proposition 65, the marketing of CBD and hemp products under the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (the Farm Bill), and other federal and state consumer protection, advertising, and unfair business practices laws. Ronie and her team also draft and negotiate vendor and corporate agreements and manage domestic and international intellectual property rights.
A leader in the cosmetics industry, Ronie serves as legal counsel to the executive board of Beauty Industry West. She also frequently speaks at industry events, including Cosmoprof North America and Bologna, Natural Products Association (NPA), California and New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists Suppliers’ Day, and American Conference Institute, and she teaches at both UCLA Extension and the Fashion Institute of Design & Management (FIDM). Ronie also provides added value to client relationships by conducting educational in-house regulatory training sessions.
In addition to her consumer products practice, Ronie has extensive experience litigating reinsurance disputes and insurance coverage matters.