We serve as transaction advisors to brands, retailers, manufacturers, and other food and beverage companies, providing counsel on corporate and strategic transactional matters including:

• Acquisitions.
• Sales and other liquidity events.
• Joint ventures.
• Venture capital raises.
• Private institutional and public equity financings.
• Debt financings.
• Board governance.
• Shareholder voting and control matters.
• Securities reporting and disclosure obligations.
• Bankruptcy issues.

The biggest names in food and CPG, such as General Mills, Amazon, Tyson Foods, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and Costco, trust us to protect their valuable brands. For over a decade, our team has defended our food and beverage industry clients in consumer class actions and litigation related to a variety of issues, such as:

• Product labeling and advertising.
• Alleged misbranding.
• Health misrepresentations.
• Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) representations.
• Proposition 65 and microcontaminants.

We have significant experience with the technologies involved in the food and beverage industry, including food science, biotechnology, chemistry, processing, and packaging. We partner with clients to manage their brand assets and intellectual property. Clients seek our advice in all aspects of domestic and international trademark and patent work, including:

• Trademark counseling, clearance, registration, licensing, and enforcement.
• Domain name disputes and other internet-related issues.
• advertising review, counseling, and dispute management.
• Patent preparation and prosecution.
• Patent portfolio development and management counseling.
• Right-to-use analysis and counseling relating to design-arounds.
• Legal opinions concerning patent invalidity and noninfringement.
• Due diligence related to corporate transactions.
• Privacy & electronic payments.

Federal laws and regulations impose stringent requirements on the safety of food from farm to fork, as well as on the information provided to consumers about food products. Our food regulatory lawyers advise on:

• Permissible ingredients.
• Packaging.
• Labeling requirements.
• Manufacturing and handling facilities.
• Supply chain.
• Inspections.
• Government enforcement actions.
• Recalls and crisis management.
• FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.
• Import and export.
• FDA warning letters and USDA Notices of Intended Enforcement.
• FDA generally-recognized-as-safe (GRAS) notification and self-GRAS strategy and preparation.
• USDA new technology reviews.
• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service ingredient suitability assessments.
• New dietary ingredient notification preparation and submission.

Our corporate attorneys work regularly with food and beverage clients on a wide range of commercial contracts, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating:

• Supply agreements.
• Sales agreements.
• Co-manufacturing agreements.
• Distribution agreements.
• Purchase order terms and conditions.
• Commercial contract form development.
• Contract record keeping.

We regularly counsel food and beverage companies on a variety of human resource issues, including:

• Day-to-day employment matters.
• Management team agreements.
• Incentive equity compensation.
• Employment class action cases. 
• Equal employment law.
• Wrongful termination disputes.
• Wage and hour compliance.
• ADA compliance.
• Employee handbook development and compliance.
• Employer policy manuals.
• Nondisclosure and noncompetition agreements. 
• Traditional labor issues.
• Union-avoidance.

Our Advertising, Marketing & Promotions group helps our food and beverage clents clients navigate industry complexities, routinely advising clients in the following areas:

• Advertising review and claim substantiation.
• Contest, sweepstakes, and promotions.
• Social media, native advertising, endorsers, and influencers.
• Coupons, gift cards, and loyalty programs.
• Regulatory compliance.
• Advertising disputes.
• Advertising and marketing agreements.

Federal regulations are continuously adapting as new technologies are developed in the food space. We advise clients on matters such as research and development and provide the strategic regulatory counseling necessary to commercialize a range of food tech innovations, including:

• Transgenic crops.
• Plant-based meat analogues.
• Cultivated meat.
• Molecular farming.
• Sugar reduction.
• Fermentation-derived dairy (and other) ingredients.

Our team provides strategic advice to national retailers on:

• USDA's SNAP and WIC programs, including guidance on obtaining SNAP equal treatment and assessing WIC policies regarding recalled food products waivers. 
• TANF program requirements regarding the sale of food and beverage products, including special program requirements for online retailers.

Drawing on the strength of our firm’s regulatory, litigation, and white collar groups, our Food Industry Investigations lawyers regularly advise can help clients navigate enforcement actions and investigations by regulatory and law enforcement agencies, including:

• Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
• Department of Justice (DOJ)
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Office of Inspector General (OIG)
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Our Real Estate attorneys work with food and beverage companies on a variety of issues, including:

• The acquisition and disposition of real estate.
• Leasing, development and construction of manufacturing facilities and retail stores.
• The environmental aspects of these types of commercial and real estate transactions. 
• Obtaining federal, state and local permits for new and existing facilities. 
• Advising clients on regulatory and permit compliance issues.
• Conducting environmental audits.
• Helping clients to develop and implement environmental compliance management systems.