Stoel Rives’ Food and Beverage Law Attorneys Advise Attorneys on Counseling Clients in Alcoholic Beverage Industry

Attorneys Anne Glazer, Susan Johnson, Stephanie Meier and Maren Norton contributed an article to NWLawyer titled “Legal Cocktail: What Attorneys Need to Know to Advise Clients in the Rapidly Changing Alcoholic Beverage Industry,” published June 2019. The lawyers look at the wide range of legal issues that manufacturers and retailers face in the highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry and how addressing those issues requires attorneys, in multiple practice areas and with industry-specific knowledge, to work closely together to reach satisfactory outcomes for their clients.

Attorneys working in the alcoholic beverage industry counsel a variety of clients on achieving compliance with regulatory laws and in other matters such as taxation, advertising, environmental issues, and mergers & acquisitions. Issues to address that demand experience in less traditional practice areas arise from current industry trends such as selling alcohol beverages via e-commerce, the introduction of alcohol service in venues such as movie theaters, and the incorporation of non-psychoactive, hemp-based CBD and psychoactive THC into alcoholic beverages.

The attorneys conclude: “All this rapid change has also increased the need for attorneys to work collaboratively to maximize knowledge and deliver sophisticated services and value to clients. Because of the many pitfalls, challenges, and opportunities for clients in the alcoholic beverage industry, it is more important than ever for practitioners in multiple practice areas to present a united, coordinated front in handling these matters.”