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Ronie M. Schmelz
Ronie M. Schmelz

Ronie M. Schmelz

Partner
Los Angeles
+1.310.552.5002
Email Ronie M. Schmelz @ ronie.schmelz@klgates.com
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Ronie Schmelz is a partner in the firm's Commercial Disputes practice group. Ronie is a seasoned litigator who has spent decades representing clients in litigation and now spends much of her time counseling clients on best practices to stay out of litigation. She counsels consumer brand companies, including cosmetic and personal care, food and supplement companies, on litigation-avoidance strategies so they can confidently focus on building and operating their businesses in ways that reduce the risk of regulatory oversight, consumer challenge, and litigation. Ronie routinely counsels companies on compliance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA), as amended by the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), Federal Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), Federal Trade Commission Act, California Proposition 65, and other Federal and State consumer protection, advertising, and unfair business practices laws. In addition to representing clients in litigation, including consumer class actions, she also represents companies in proceedings before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau and advises clients on a myriad of regulatory issues, including responding to Warning Letters, inspections and corrective actions, implementation of adverse event reporting and recall procedures, best advertising practices, contract and intellectual property matters, privacy, automatic renewal and subscription programs, and Prop 65 compliance and defense.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

A prominent member in the cosmetics industry, Ronie serves on the Independent Beauty Association’s (IBA) board as vice chair of the executive committee, as well as chair of the IBA’s government and public relations committee. She is also on the board of Beauty Industry West (BIW) where she chairs the legal and regulatory committee. Ronie frequently speaks at industry conferences and events, including IBA’s Cosmetic Convergence, various chapters of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists conferences, including Naturally Kiawah and the Sunscreen Symposium, Cosmoprof North America and Bologna, and American Conference Institute. Ronie also co-taught a course on advertising law at Loyola Marymount University Law School and has lectured at UCLA Extension and the Fashion Institute of Design and Management (FIDM) on regulatory, advertising, and litigation issues impacting the beauty and personal care products industry. Ronie also provides added value to client relationships by conducting in-house regulatory and advertising training sessions.

  • Independent Beauty Association (formerly ICMAD)
    • Board Member, Vice-Chair Executive Committee
    • Chair, Government and Public Relations Committee
  • Beauty Industry West (BIW), Board Member, Chair, Legal and Regulatory Committee
  • California Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC), past Board Member
  • Chief, the Private Network for Women Leaders
  • Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW)
  • Bay Area Beauty Association (BABA), Founding Board Member
  • Personal Care Products Council (PCPC)  
  • “Avoiding recalls and lawsuits cosmetics/Dietary Supplements Trending Litigation,” SGS Cosmetics, OTC & Dietary Supplements Compliance Conference, 16 December 2025
  • “EPR Regulations Cosmetics and Dietary Supplements – at the state level and across the US,” SGS Cosmetics, OTC & Dietary Supplements Compliance Conference, 16 December 2025
  • “Key Issues Shaping Cosmetics and Personal Care Oversight,” FDA Watch, 24 November 2025
  • “US Regulatory and Legal Issues Impacting the Sunscreen Industry: Best Practices For Making Product Claims,” FLSCC Sunscreen Symposium, September 2025
  • “Beauty Industry West: West Coast Regulatory Issues,” New York Society of Cosmetic Chemist Suppliers’ Day, June 2025 
  • “What’s Going On? Chemical Bans, Packaging Laws, and Litigation Confronting the Cosmetics Industry,” Dallas 2025 Cosmetic Industry Insights, May 2025 
  • “US Federal and State Regulatory Roundup,” IBA Cosmetic Convergence Conference, May 2025 
  • “FTC Regulation of Product Advertising,” WAIB / NAA Conference, April 2025 
  • “PFAS – Impacts worth considering,” Global Retailer and Manufacture Alliance, March 2025
  • “Key Regulatory Issues Impacting the Beauty Industry: MoCRA, Chemical Bans, Packaging, Litigation and Beyond,” Beauty Industry West, February 2025
  • “Regulatory Update: State Chemical Bans | Prop 65 | Sustainability Claims,” Society of Cosmetic Chemists, October 2024  
  • “U.S. Regulatory Update: MoCRA and Beyond,” 16th Chemical Regulatory Annual Conference, CRAC Korea, September 2024
  • "'From California with Love' – Innovating in a Complex Regulatory Landscape," Speaker at NYSCC’s 2024 Suppliers’ Day, 2 May 2024
  • “MoCRA, Consumer Data, and the Sustainability Issues Confronting the Cosmetics Industry,” Beauty Industry West, 12 March 2024
  • “Regulatory Update FDA, FTC, MoCRA and More: Some 'Hot' Regulatory Topics,” Co-panelist at the Society of Cosmetic Chemists California Chapter – Suppliers’ Day 2023, October 2023
  • “Myth Busting Misinformation on MoCRA,” Society of Cosmetic Chemists California Chapter – Co-panelist at the Suppliers’ Day 2023, October 2023
  • “10 Steps of Product Development – Taking Your Idea from Your Head to Your Warehouse,” Co-panelist at the Society of Cosmetic Chemists California Chapter – Suppliers’ Day 2023, October 2023
  • FDA, FTC, MoCRA and More: Some “Hot” Regulatory Topics,” Beauty Industry West, September 2023
  • “Getting Clean Beauty Advertising Right,” BBB National Programs, July 2023
  • New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NYSCC) Suppliers’ Day Conference, What’s Next in Ingestible Beauty & Wellness Products: The Consumer’s Viewpoint, May 2023
  • “Nutraceuticals in Beauty: Exploring the Intersection of Nutrition and Skincare,” Beauty Industry West, March 2023
  • “2023 Regulatory Update: MoCRA and Other Regulatory Issues Confronting the Cosmetics Industry,” Beauty Industry West, January 2023
  • “Advertising 101: Best Practices for Marketing Ingredient and Product Benefits,” New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, May 2022
  • “U.S. Regulatory Landscape: What to Know Before Marketing Probiotics,” Healthy Skin Microbiome Summit, June 2021
  • “Clean Beauty Claims: Regulation, Transparency and Certifications,” 2nd Annual Clean Beauty Connect Virtual Summit, June 2021
  • “Claims and Descriptions: A Legal Opinion on What You Can and Cannot Say,” CBD Expo Midwest 2021, April 2021
  • “Greenwashing,” Moderator, Hairstory Studio Sustainable Beauty Summit, April 2021
  • “The Microbiome: From Decoding Nature to Biotech Breakthroughs,” Global Synthetic Biology Conference, October 2020
  • “CBD in Cosmetics: So, What’s Legal?”, LUXE PACK | MakeUp Los Angeles, LosAngeles, California, February 2020
  • “Cannabis Regulations: Canada & European Union,” Processing of Cannabis/Hemp Plants and Refining of CBD Oil: Market, Regulations and Applications,” Las Vegas, Nevada, December 2019
  • “The Farm Bill Has Passed: How Will Federal Refinement of Rules & Regulations for CBD and Hemp Oil Affect the Cosmetics, Personal Care Products and Dietary Supplements Industries?”, Beauty & Supplement Regulatory Exchange, Washington, D.C., November 2019
  • “The Legality of CBD: Separating Fact from Fiction,” 2019 In-House Counsel Summit, Tucker Ellis LLP, Cleveland, Ohio, November 2019
  • “How to Tap into the CBD Beauty Trend the Right Way!”, Webinar, Cosmetics Design, October 2019
  • “Marketing Probiotic Products: Careful What You Say!”, Skin Microbiome Congress 2019, San Francisco, California, September 2019
  • “CBD and Cosmetics: Separating Fact from Fiction,” Intermountain West Society of Cosmetic Chemists (IMWSCC), Park City, Utah, August 2019
  • “CBD and Beauty: The Next ___ Year(s),” Cosmoprof North America 2019, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 2019
  • “CBD and Cosmetics: Separating Fact from Fiction,” California Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Malibu, California, May 2019
  • “Riding the Coattails: The Latest Developments in Class Action Litigation Affecting the Cosmetics Industry,” ACI Cosmetics & Personal Care Products – Legal, Regulatory and Compliance, New York, New York, March 2019
  • “Cosmetics 101: How to Market Cosmetics Without Attracting Unwanted Attention From Regulators and Consumer Lawyers,” Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), Los Angeles, California, March 2019
  • “What to Know Before You Market Products in the United States,” Webinar, Italian Trade Agency, ICE – Italian Trade Commission, Trade Promotion Office of the Italian Embassy, February 2019
  • “Welcome to 2019! What’s New?”, Natural and Organic Health and Beauty Alliance Webinar, January 2019
  • “Regulatory Challenges: Probiotic Beauty Products,” 2nd Skin Microbiome Congress, San Francisco, California, September 2018
  • “High on Beauty: The Cannabis Dilemma,” Cosmoprof North America, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 2018
  • “FTC Spotlight,” co-presented with Richard L. Clelland, Division of Advertising Practices, Federal Trade Commission, Natural Product Association’s (NPA) “The Big Natural,” Las Vegas, Nevada, June 2018
  • “Cosmetic Sciences: Skin Care Ingredients, Skin Conditions and Regulatory Issues for Cosmetic Professionals,” UCLA Extension, Los Angeles, California, April 2018
  • “Regulatory and Legal Challenges Facing Subscription Commerce Businesses: What Can You Do to Reduce Your Legal Exposure?”, SUBCOM 2018 East, New York, New York, March 2018
  • “How to Market Cosmetics Without Attracting Unwanted Attention from Regulators and Consumer Lawyers,” Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles, California, March 2018
  • “Regulatory, Compliance, and Legal Challenges for Subscription Businesses: What You Should Know to Reduce the Risk of Exposure,” SUBCOM 2017: The Subscription Commerce Summit, San Francisco, California, November 2017
  • “Lessons Learned: How to Market ‘Natural’ Products Without Drawing the Attention of Regulators and Class Action Lawyers,” 2017 Suppliers’ Day Exhibition of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Long Beach, California, October 2017
  • “How to Market Cosmetics Without Attracting Regulatory and Consumer Scrutiny,” In-Cosmetics North America, New York, New York, October 2017
  • “What Women Want From Naturals,” Panelist, Cosmoprof North America Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 2017
  • “Knowledge is Power: Recent Developments in FDA Warning Letters, FTC Enforcement Actions, NAD Proceedings, and Consumer Class Actions,” Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Manhattan Beach, California, April 2017
  • “FDA, FTC and Consumer Class Action Update: Avoiding Unwanted Attention from Government Regulators and Private Plaintiff Lawyers,” Beauty Industry West, Los Angeles, California, January 2017
  • “Proposition 65: Heightened Disclosure Requirements,” Valley Industry & Commerce Association, Van Nuys, California, December 2016
  • “Advertising Risks and Brand Protection – Claim Substantiation, Enforcement, and Consumer Class Actions,” 2016 In-House Counsel Summit, Tucker Ellis LLP, Cleveland, Ohio, October 2016
  • “Claim Substantiation: Best Practices for Avoiding Unwanted Attention from Government Regulators and Private Plaintiff Lawyers,” New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Edgewater, New Jersey, September 2016
  • “Natural Beauty: The Wave of the Current Beauty Industry,” The Fashion Group International of Los Angeles, Inc. (FGI) and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), Los Angeles, California, December 2015
  • “Food & Beverage Class Action Litigation Spotlight,” 3rd Annual Food & Beverage Litigation, Compliance & Regulatory Exchange, Chicago, Illinois, October 2015
  • “Regulatory Update: Strategies for Avoiding Class Actions and Complying with FDA and FTC Guidelines,” Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) Suppliers’ Day, Long Beach, California, October 2015
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