Profile: Jocelyn Kellam

Product Liability

Biography: Product Liability

Dr Jocelyn Kellam is a commercial litigator with a particular interest in product liability and product regulation. Holding a PhD in comparative product liability law, Jocelyn has a significant litigation practice defending and settling product liability suits (including class actions) and regulatory prosecutions. She has unique experience in relation to product recalls having been centrally involved in some of Australia's largest recalls.

Jocelyn is a member of the Product Liability Advisory Council and co-chair of the International Products SLG, Defence Research Institute Inc, and vice chair of the international and product liability sections, Federation of Defence Corporate Counsel. Jocelyn has recently been appointed an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Sydney and lectures part-time on consumer law as part of the Master of Laws degree at the University. She is the joint national rapporteur for Australia in product liability law for the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Jocelyn is the editor of Product Liability in the Asia Pacific (Legal Books, 2nd ed 2001) and has a particular interest in the region.

Jocelyn is one of Australia's leading product liability litigators, defending a number of personal injury claims arising from diverse products. She has a breadth of experience in relation to drugs and medical devices, including: acting as Australian coordinating counsel in a US class action; claims involving implants; a claim involving an alleged idiosyncratic anaphylactic reaction to a grandfathered pharmaceutical product; and alleged CJD transmission through human tissue products.

Jocelyn has also been involved with some of Australia's most prominent class actions and complex litigation generally. She is regularly called upon to provide strategic advice and to maintain a watching brief on behalf of interested third parties. She recently acted for the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation in the Special Commission of Inquiry in relation to the asbestos liabilities of the James Hardie Group.

Jocelyn is also considered one of Australia's leading regulatory lawyers, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals and food. Jocelyn regularly advises in relation to all aspects of product advertising, including misleading conduct under Australia's Trade Practices Act and compliance with Government and industry advertising codes and guidelines.