Food & Beverage
A Well-Balanced Approach to Serving Your Legal Needs
Clients trust our Food & Beverage team to navigate the complex, highly regulated, and competitive food and beverage industry. We deliver forward-thinking, practical, and cost-effective legal solutions to an industry in which margins often matter the most.
Our cross-disciplinary team brings extensive food and beverage experience to the table. We help clients address the many issues that arise in the conduct of their day-to-day operations as well as in the development and implementation of their long-term business strategies. With our comprehensive resources and emphasis on collaboration, we assign the right attorney to the right matter at the right time, while keeping our clients’ broader opportunities and challenges in clear view.
There is no shortage of challenges in this industry: safety regulations, labeling class actions, genetically modified ingredients, nanotechnology, nutrition politics, changing product availability, regulated prices, mandatory labeling, product recalls, and mounting processing issues, to name just a few. These are not simply legal challenges — they affect every aspect of how clients engage in business.
We advise all parties in this highly regulated ecosystem, including manufacturers, processors, and packers; distributors and brokers; retailers, wholesalers, and restaurants; and suppliers of ingredients, retail products, equipment, and other inputs along the supply chain. We also assist food and beverage service organizations and trade associations.
We support clients in addressing corporate and commercial needs, navigating regulatory processes, resolving labor and employment matters, and protecting the proprietary rights associated with their products and technologies. When disputes arise, we resolve supplier-vendor disputes and other complex litigation in jurisdictions and venues worldwide. We regularly counsel clients on their domestic and global supply and distribution chains, allowing them to maximize efficiency and quality across companies and borders.
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Our Full-Service Approach
We advise food and beverage companies through every step of the product development, manufacturing, distribution, and sales process at every stage in the product lifecycle.
Regulatory Compliance. Our team prepares you for routine or for-cause inspections, product recalls, reportable food and beverage registry notifications, and day-to-day regulatory issues to help you effectively manage regulatory matters involving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and state regulatory authorities.
Food and Beverage Safety. Food and beverage safety issues continue to pose new and difficult challenges, including legal and regulatory perspectives on consumer allergies, new ingredients and food contact substances, and differing safety standards. We assist you with proactive guidance aimed at successfully navigating the myriad of food and beverage safety hurdles
Labeling, Packaging, and Recalls. Facilitating compliance with state and federal regulations, we meticulously review your labeling and packaging. Should you find yourself facing a product recall, we bring extensive experience to your table for all stages of the recall process, from notifying regulators to public relations.
Brand Name Identification and Protection. Our trademark and copyright attorneys safeguard your brand’s value, devising strategic plans for acquiring, maintaining, and defending creative equity. We specialize in protecting trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual property assets.
Promotion, Advertising, Web, and E-Commerce Issues. From endorser liability to advertising substantiation, we help ensure compliance with strict Federal Trade Commission and FDA guidelines. Clients rely on us for adept counsel on web, e-commerce, and First Amendment protection in promotional endeavors.
Transactions, Mergers, and Acquisitions. We offer strategic guidance in negotiated and hostile acquisitions, divestitures, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. Clients rely on us for comprehensive support in all facets of corporate transactions.
Distribution and Franchise. With decades of experience, we navigate the complexities of distribution relationships. From structuring and financing channels to renewing and expanding them, we offer guidance in acquisition, syndication, sales, and termination of channel members.
Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits. We help safeguard your business from employee complaints and lawsuits. Our proactive attorneys anticipate and address governmental agency actions, union problems, and other potential issues, facilitating compliance and mitigating risks. Clients profit from our prowess in employee benefits and executive compensation, preserving your company’s growth, profitability, and reputation.
Intellectual Property. As the demand for innovative products increases at unprecedented rates, companies like you often need protection for their valuable technologies and products — and to understand the ways they can profit from this demand. We provide counseling on IP strategy, procure worldwide patent and trademark rights, identify and manage potential IP risks, negotiate license and distribution agreements affecting technology transfers, and advise on litigation, interferences, International Trade Commission actions, and other inter partes matters.
Litigation and Class-Action Defense. We adeptly tackle class-action threats, employing extensive knowledge in combating nuanced tactics. We excel in addressing relevance, causation, and Class Action Fairness Act issues. We help safeguard your interests across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring formidable defense against litigation challenges.
Other Services:
Business Reorganizations, Bankruptcy, and Creditors’ Rights
Environmental, Health, and Safety
Product Liability/Defense of Contaminated Food and Beverage Claims
