Food + Beverage

We provide counsel on intellectual property licensing, patent prosecution, trademarks, and other brand protection; employment matters, labor relations, and employee benefits; and family/succession planning and estate planning.

We also have experience in many of the regulatory schemes affecting food and beverage companies. We advise on regulatory issues, including , OSHA and other manufacturing issues, and product recalls, and labeling and marketing practices, as well as environmental compliance and permitting issues. We have worked on matters involving the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and various state and local regulatory agencies.

When restaurants, fast food outlets, or other industry clients wish to franchise, we work with them every step of the way — from initial planning to enforcing franchise agreements. We assist clients with all transactional aspects of establishing franchises, including drafting and negotiating agreements and making disclosures. And, when business does not go as planned, we represent food and beverage clients in franchise-related litigation matters.

We have conducted national recalls on food and beverage products on behalf of manufacturers, retailers, and distributors and in that regard, have coordinated communications with respect to the recall. When a problem does arise in the supply chain, our vast product liability experience permits us to provide valuable assistance in root cause analyses and documentation as well as on product traceability issues. Our work has involved gathering information, reviewing production/processing documentation, and conducting employee interviews. Our product liability experience allows us to draft and evaluate warning labels, product instructions, owner manuals, product literature, and warranty documents.

We work with our food and beverage clients to mitigate the risk of litigation. When litigation is unavoidable, however, we represent clients in both federal and state court on issues including false or deceptive advertising claims, consumer complaints, termination actions, consumer fraud matters, recalls, and other general commercial litigation matters. Our class action litigators are well-versed in the strategic decision-making that major class action litigation involves, including the management of multijurisdictional matters. We have significant experience in developing strategies that take into account our clients’ most important concerns and business goals.

Our antitrust lawyers have experience advising food and beverage companies on a variety of antitrust and competition issues. We provide food and beverage industry specific antitrust counseling to help businesses put in place effective policies, procedures, and compliance protocols. We also have broad experience in litigating Sherman Act, Clayton Act, FTC Act, and Robinson-Patman Act issues, as well as other civil and criminal antitrust violations.

• Defended a sauce, dressing, and condiment manufacturer in a purported class action litigation involving wage and hour issues.
• Represented a food manufacturer in the sale of its tomato processing facility.
• Acting as outside general counsel to the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.
• Represented a supplier of custom nutrient premixes and ingredients for the food industry in its sale to a global food and ingredient supplier.
• Drafting and filing a citizen petition requesting that the FDA allow food companies to label potassium chloride by its alternative common and usual name, potassium salt.

• Counseling a major food processing equipment manufacturer on product liability issues for more than five decades.
• Advising national and regional restaurant chains on their franchise agreements and related matters.
• Spearheading a regional food manufacturer’s strategic analysis and renegotiation of a burdensome consent decree with the DOJ.
• Defending class actions regarding claimed contamination from the agricultural chemical atrazine.
• Represented one of the global coffee industry leaders, illycaffè SpA (illy), in relation to the acquisition of its UK distribution business from EFB Group.
• Counseling one of the largest U.S. supermarket chains on product recall issues.
• Counseling a food packaging manufacturer on product recall issues and litigation threats related to the alleged contamination of baby formula.
• Developing a national distribution plan and documentation for a client in the snack food industry.
• Represented a worldwide packaged food manufacturer in two significant divestitures of its sub-businesses, including employee benefit plan and executive compensation matters.
• Represented producers of meat products, in issues of development, acquisitions, financing, and establishing distribution chains.
• Represented companies in the food and beverage industry, providing services relating to chemicals that can be found in food, beverages, facilities that manufacture food and beverages, and food packaging.
• Represented beverage makers in issues related to water purity and other environmental concerns.
• Represented entities seeking patents in the food and beverage industry.
• Represented wholesale and retail liquor sales and distribution entities in matters including liquor license transfer, mergers and acquisitions, and financing.
• Represented the owners of restaurants, soft-drink franchises, and cold/frozen food storage facilities.
• Represented the owners of refrigerated warehouses in contract work for the design and construction of the same.
• Represented meat processors, for whom we negotiated contracts for facility design, construction, and commissioning.
• Represented worldwide equipment and service providers to the food industry.
• Represented a joint venture in connection with the acquisition of a third company’s national products business in Brazil.
• Represented a state-of-the-art food manufacturer, one of the U.S.’s large independently owned producers and distributors of fruit juices, drinks, and yogurt. Our work as outside general counsel includes advice on M&A matters. We also advise the owner/founder on tax and estate planning matters. We represented the company or its subsidiaries in milk processing acquisitions, dairy industry, and other food processing acquisitions and dispositions.
• Represented a manufacturer of consumer products in the outsourcing of the production of certain food products.
• Represented one of the world’s largest producers of yeast in the purchase of a U.S. producer of yeast, and the subsequent combination of that business into a joint venture with one of the world’s largest grain trading and agro-processing companies.
• Represented one of the largest developers and manufacturers of savory flavor systems for the industrial food trade in an auction process being conducted by the client’s shareholders. This client’s products are an integral part of its customers’ operations, delivering the basic flavor profile for many of the most well-known branded and private label food products.
• Represented a leader in the development of innovative delivery systems for the nutrition industry in its sale to a manufacturer of ready-to-drink energy and endurance beverages, chews, powdered drink mixes, shots, and concentrates sold in retail stores nationwide.
• Represented a wide number of food industry companies, including several restaurant and convenience-store chains, grocery conglomerates, a leader in soy and meat substitute products in the U.S., an international malt company, and a producer of gluten and starch, in corporate restructuring and bankruptcy engagements.
• Served as outside licensing counsel for a national confectionary manufacturer.

Restaurant Experience

• Contract negotiations.
• Represented landlords and public/private partnerships operating stadiums and airports with respect to master leases in these facilities for restaurants, food courts, bars, and similar food-and-beverage service outlets.
• Represented several national restaurant chains in:
  • General corporate matters and related trademark activity.
  • Proposed acquisition of franchisors and sale of franchises.
  • Supply agreements.
  • Joint ventures.
  • Labor and employment issues.
  • General corporate representation.
  • IP protection and enforcement.
  • SEC and governance issues.
  • General litigation.
  • IPOs and subsequent acquisitions.
  • Servicing of securitized debt.
  • Securities matters.
  • Real estate matters.
  • Corporate financings and restructurings.