Michael Steel's practice emphasizes federal, state, and local regulatory compliance issues, crisis management, dispute resolution, and litigation under Proposition 65 ("Prop 65") and other environmental, health, and safety laws. Mr. Steel advises clients on how to deal with hazardous substances, air quality issues, and employee safety, as well as effectively defend against Prop 65 lawsuits and other enforcement actions.
Mr. Steel advises industrial companies, including automobile manufacturing, shipbuilding, electronics, communications, plastics, and oil concerns, in the areas of air quality, hazardous substance handling, and employee safety. Mr. Steel has also provided compliance counseling to a number of retail, pharmaceutical, biotech, food service, and grocery companies.
He frequently defends multi-party unfair practices actions alleging misrepresentation of product characteristics, in particular the failure to disclose the presence of chemicals identified as carcinogens or reproductive toxins. He has defended clients in actions alleging that faucets leach lead into drinking water, that calcium dietary supplements contain unsafe levels of lead, and that diesel engines expose people to unsafe levels of exhaust, among many others.
Mr. Steel has extensive experience assisting clients in cases involving fatal or serious injuries, explosions, chemical releases, fires, manufacturing, transportation and construction accidents, and allegations of product toxicity or community harm. In this capacity, he helps the client to create a coordinated defense strategy from the very beginning of a government investigation or enforcement action, working on accident reconstruction and root cause analyses, directing technical experts, managing government interviews and document production, and directing public relations consultants.
Mr. Steel is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Board of Directors of the Prop 65 Clearinghouse, and the Board of Directors of the California Chapter of the Air & Waste Association.