Sarah-Jane Dobson

Sarah-Jane Dobson is a partner in the London office - dual qualified in England and Wales and Australia. She is an international products lawyer.

Sarah-Jane acts on regulatory, litigious and policy matters across the full product life cycle in respect of product safety, compliance and product liability issues. 

Her practice is focused on multi-jurisdictional matters for corporate clients across a range of sectors including automotive products, chemicals, consumer goods, cosmetics, food (including novel foods) and beverages, industrial and life sciences products (including in respect of clinical trials, pharmaceuticals and medical devices).

In product safety, she advises on global product launches and market entry due diligence, regulatory challenges and enforcement, regulatory compliance and global product recalls. She has been involved in some of the most prominent international product safety matters, including handling the largest global product recalls (190+ jurisdictions), product compliance queries (for 193+ jurisdictions), product launches (50+ countries), acting in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and representing a company in respect of a prominent unprecedented criminal investigation under product safety laws in the EU.

Sarah-Jane leads on some of the highest profile strategic product litigation matters in Europe, including by acting as the lead lawyer in the defence of two major manufacturers, their finance entities and dealerships in respect of group litigation in connection with the diesel emissions matters in the United Kingdom. Her other product liability and litigation matters in the products space includes managing portfolios of international product liability claims, advising companies subject to criminal investigations relating to product safety, advising on inquests, public inquiries, judicial reviews and anti-competitive practices and advertising.

Her policy work has focused on assisting clients responding to legislative change, including  Brexit, change of regimes (medical devices) and new legislation (collective redress and product sustainability). She has advised clients in respect of submissions to law makers in respect of proposed change. She has also assisted clients draft internal policies in respect of product safety, compliance and liability.

She has worked in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and the US. She has a background in science (degree in biomedical science). She has French and German language skills.

Sarah-Jane regularly contributes to prominent publications and key thought-leadership initiatives in her field in a global editor capacity, including Thomson Reuters Practical Law, Chambers & Partners, and Lexology (getting the deal through). She has acted as an editor and contributed a chapter in Oxford University Press, the Law and Regulation of Medicines and Medical Devices also. She is also an active member and in leadership roles in key industry bodies, including on DRI’s Product Liability Steering Committee and ICPHSO's Planning Committee.

Sarah-Jane has received many accolades and is routinely recognised as a market-leading practitioner in international products law in both liability and safety matters. 

Sarah-Jane is also the Global Pro Bono Partner Lead, heading up and strategically directing Kennedys’ growing pro bono practice.