Randal M. Shaheen

Partner

Washington, D.C.
T +1.202.861.1521
F +1.202.861.1783

"[Randy] is a really good lawyer who can analyze a complicated issue and really distill it down and deliver it in a way that a client can wrap their head around."

— Chambers USA 2022

Overview

Randy Shaheen is passionate about advertising and marketing law. His pledge to clients is to respond to their needs in a timely fashion, be a good steward of the client's resources, communicate in a way that is clear and concise and work diligently to achieve the best possible outcome.

With more than 30 years of experience, Randy has been fortunate to represent many of the leading consumer goods companies with respect to counseling and before the FTC, state attorneys general, CFPB and NAD. He has also been involved in a number of groundbreaking matters, including several precedent-setting FTC safe harbor provisions, the first NAD case involving CBD and one of the earliest challenges to the constitutionality of the CFPB. Clients have great respect for his practical and thoughtful counsel and will come to him with some of their most difficult issues. He prides himself on being a thought leader, having published widely-read journal articles on topics such as Made in USA, green and pricing claims, as well as on regulators’ recent focus on “Dark Patterns.” He has also been a leader in ensuring that clients stay up-to-date with developments in the advertising and marketing space. He helped start the first ever advertising law blog as well as the first law firm-hosted, day-long advertising CLE program. 

Randy is the firm's Washington, D.C. Digital Assets and Data Management Leader.

Select Experience

  • Represented numerous companies with respect to counseling and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigations related to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
  • Represented a variety of leading companies in the hospitality industry with respect to counseling and FTC investigations related to drip pricing.
  • Represented diverse companies -- including the manufacturer of the nation's best-known yogurt brand and a top provider of network infrastructure -- on multipronged federal/state investigations and coordinated settlements.
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Experience

  • Represented numerous companies with respect to counseling and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigations related to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
  • Represented a variety of leading companies in the hospitality industry with respect to counseling and FTC investigations related to drip pricing.
  • Represented diverse companies -- including the manufacturer of the nation's best-known yogurt brand and a top provider of network infrastructure -- on multipronged federal/state investigations and coordinated settlements.
  • Represented leading companies in the tobacco and alcohol industry on issues related to marketing to age-appropriate audiences.
  • Represented numerous companies before the National Advertising Division (NAD) on product performance claims, product disparagement claims, environmental claims and claim interpretation issues.
  • Represented multiple dietary supplement manufacturers in FTC investigations.
  • Represented numerous officers and directors with respect to possible FTC liability.
  • Worked with numerous survey experts to design, implement and interpret consumer surveys for use in regulatory investigations, NAD matters and Federal Lanham Act litigation.
  • Represented numerous companies with respect to counseling and FTC investigations related to marketing practices, such as continuity programs.
  • Represented numerous companies with respect to counseling and FTC investigations related to environmental marketing claims.
  • Participated in a training program for members of the direct selling industry.
  • Represented numerous companies with respect to counseling and FTC investigations related to weight loss, probiotic and other food-related health claims.

Recognitions and Memberships

Recognitions

  • Washington, D.C. "Super Lawyer" (2022 to 2023)
  • Chambers USA: Nationwide: Advertising: Transactional and Regulatory (2021 to 2022)
    • Band 3 (2021 to 2022)
  • The Legal 500 United States (2019)
    • Recommended in Media, Technology and Telecoms - Advertising and Marketing: Transactional & Regulatory
  • The Best Lawyers in America® (2014 to Present)
    • Washington, D.C.: Advertising Law

Memberships

  • Chambers Global Practice Guide on Advertising & Marketing 2020: Contributing Editor
    • Co-Author, U.S. Chapter on Advertising Law

News

News

Press Releases

Publications

Alerts

Articles

Blog Posts

Pro Bono

  • Represented the highest ranking U.S. female fighter pilot in an effort to overturn a Department of Defense requirement that female military personnel in Saudi Arabia wear an abaya (a loose robe traditionally worn by Muslim women).
  • Represented a 12-year-old girl who was arrested for eating a French fry in the Washington, D.C. Metro system.

Featured Video

Marketing, Promoting and Pricing Your Products During the Pandemic
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Hear a discussion on several trending marketing, promotion and pricing issues.

Admissions

  • District of Columbia

Education

  • J.D., Harvard Law School, 1985, magna cum laude
  • B.A., Bucknell University, 1982

Blog

In The Blogs

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AD-ttorneys Law Blog
FTC Brings the Supreme Court Together Again
By Daniel Kaufman, Randal M. Shaheen
April 17, 2023
For those of you who worry about the partisan divide in our country, it’s nice to know that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) has once again brought an often sharply divided Supreme Court to unanimity. Unfortunately for the...
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AD-ttorneys Law Blog
FTC Reverts to Penalty Letters, Threatening 670 Companies with Penalties for Unsubstantiated Health Claims and Maybe More
By Linda A. Goldstein, Daniel Kaufman, Amy Ralph Mudge, Randal M. Shaheen
April 13, 2023
Advertisers likely recall that back in 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created quite the stir when it sent to more than 700 companies warning letters that threatened penalties if companies engaged in deceptive endorsement...
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AD-ttorneys Law Blog
Folks Might Be Chicken to Using Green Seals After Reading This NAD Case
By John P. Ferry, Randal M. Shaheen
March 3, 2023
Last week, we blogged about an environmental ESG NAD challenge brought by an advocacy group; this week features a blog about an animal welfare ESG NAD challenge also brought by an advocacy group. The challenge was brought by the ASPCA...
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AD-ttorneys Law Blog
The Year of the Green – Upcoming FTC Workshop on Recyclable Claims
By Daniel Kaufman, Amy Ralph Mudge, Randal M. Shaheen
March 2, 2023
Late last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it was examining the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, better known as the Green Guides. Consumer and industry interest in green marketing is through the roof...
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AD-ttorneys Law Blog
NAD Gives Net-Zero Claim a Grade of Zero
By Randal M. Shaheen
February 22, 2023
As consumers have increasingly looked to see whether the companies they do business with have taken steps to benefit the environment, companies have often responded by announcing environmental goals. Why goals? First, a goal of 100 percent...
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