WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Potomac Law Group has launched a Restaurant, Food, Winemaking, and Brewing Practice. The new practice group is a team of veteran attorneys with focused industry knowledge and front line experience helping clients manage and grow food and beverage businesses, including restaurants, wineries, craft breweries, distilleries, specialty food producers, and distributors/wholesalers/importers. The attorneys partner with clients to help them achieve commercial success and critical acclaim while efficiently navigating the legal and business challenges along the way.
“This group brings together the substantial knowledge and experience we already have in the area of food and beverage law,” said Ben Lieber, Managing Partner of Potomac Law. “We are pleased to be able to offer the full range of legal services that clients need throughout the life cycle of a food or beverage business.”
Practice members include Partner Stephen Kabler, who has expertise advising clients on the commercial, transactional, startup, intellectual property, and marketing issues that arise in food and beverage businesses; Partner Bill McGrath, who, after 10 years of hands-on restaurant management and operations experience, has spent over 20 years representing clients in the food and beverage industry with particular expertise in licensing, food code, labeling, advertising, and other federal, state and local regulatory requirements; and Counsel Katy Van Pelt, who specializes in FDA regulatory matters.
The attorneys in the new practice group are experienced in negotiating, managing, and resolving disputes in a variety of commercial relationships, including distributor, supplier, marketer, and landlord relationships. In addition, the group helps clients launch food and beverage businesses, secure funding, structure agreements among owners, acquire and sell businesses, manage employer-employee issues, and a broad range of other commercial and organizational matters. The attorneys in the practice also advise clients on compliance with federal and state laws governing alcohol and food service licensing, labeling, nutrition information, and safety. Finally, the group works with clients to protect their brands, trademarks, trade secrets, and other intellectual property, ensure advertising and marketing campaigns comply with the law, negotiate media and appearance arrangements, minimize risk, and manage crises.