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Bahaneh Hobel recently spoke on the Legal Landscape of Wine for 2020 at WinExpo. She covered areas that will be of major concern for wineries in 2020, including TTB trade practice investigations, excise tax and labeling changes and responsible beverage service regulations. To read an article about her discussion of the ongoing TTB trade practice […]
Bahaneh Hobel will be presenting at the 8th Annual North Coast Wine Industry Expo on December 5, 2019. Her presentation, “Navigating the Legal Landscape of Wine; Preparing for Changes in 2020,” will focus on topics relevant to the wine industry related to tied house rules, distributor and retailer relationships as well as consumer events, sales […]
Bahaneh Hobel will be speaking on a panel with representatives from the TTB addressing federal alcohol beverage trade practices at the Wine, Beer and Spirits Law Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 16, 2019.
Bahaneh Hobel will be moderating a panel on alcohol beverage issues arising in the planning and implementation of festivals, sporting events and fairs at the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators Central/Western Regional Conference on September 9, 2019 in Portland, Oregon.
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) recently issued a new Industry Advisory regarding subscription services. In the alcohol beverage industry, we often see subscription services in the form of automatic renewal wine clubs, beer-of-the-month clubs, and/or spirits clubs, where customers sign up to receive future shipments of a licensee’s offering of wine, beer, […]
On May 2, 2019 the USPTO released its Examination Guide 1-19, Examination of Marks for Cannabis and Cannabis-Related Goods and Services after Enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill (here: https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Exam%20Guide%201-19.pdf) , which aims to clarify the procedure for examining marks for cannabis and cannabis-derived goods and for services involving cannabis and cannabis production following the […]
The FDA has issued guidance for its enforcement policy on the Produce Safety Rule, part of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The Produce Safety Rule identifies certain produce as “not covered” or eligible for an exemption to Product Safety Rule compliance. The primary exemption is with respect to “rarely consumed raw” produce. As […]
Jennifer Douglas, Partner in DP&F’s Employment practice group, has been selected to serve on the Board of Directors for Legal Aid of Sonoma County, a non-profit organization that has been providing legal services to Sonoma County’s indigent population since 1958. Legal Aid of Sonoma County has four primary programs, offered in both English and Spanish, […]
Jennifer Douglas, partner in DP&F’s employment department will be speaking at Activate19, AgSafe’s signature annual conference. Douglas will be bringing her extensive employment law experience to “Employment Fundamentals” an interactive panel discussion surrounding trending employment issues in the agricultural industry. Activate19 is a two-day conference held in Monterey, CA, geared towards employers in the food […]
Each January California employers have to ask themselves the question, what’s new in employment law? 2019 is no exception, as there have been a number of changes employers should be mindful of as we enter the New Year. Here are some of the key changes affecting California employers this year: Salary History: Finally, the question […]
The New Year brings change, and there is no exception for employers. With the transition into 2019, it is time to take note of a few key changes that will affect how you pay and reimburse your employees. There are other new employment laws that we will post about after the first, but these key […]
The Napa County Board of Supervisors has been considering a resolution that would impose a number of deadlines and compliance requirements for existing winery use permits. The Napa Valley Vintners has published an informative Issue Brief discussing the highlights of the proposed resolution. In addition to the NVV issue brief, we encourage you to read […]
A year ago, we lost our colleague and great friend, Greg Walsh. Greg died of a heart attack at age 42. At DP&F, we have been celebrating Greg’s memory in many ways over this last year, and this week we honored Greg by holding a CPR training at our Napa office. We were fortunate to […]
DPF’s Katja Loeffelholz will be presenting on a panel called “A Year of Resilience: True Stories of Napa Valley Businesses Affected by the 2017 Napa/Sonoma Fires.” The Program Retreat will be held at the Meritage Resort and Spa on October 12, 2018, and will include the opportunity to network with a diverse group of women in-house […]
If you recently updated your company’s privacy policies in response to the European Union (“EU”) General Data Privacy Regulation (“GDPR”) in the United States – or, decided you did not have to – you may be suffering from some whiplash in light of the recently approved California Consumer Privacy Act. On June 28, 2018, Governor […]
On July 26, 2018, the California Supreme Court unanimously held in Troester v. Starbucks Corporation that California’s wage and hour statutes and regulations have not adopted the federal de minimis doctrine. The de minimis doctrine is based on the Latin phrase de minimis non curat lex, which means “the law does not concern itself with […]
Scott Greenwood-Meinert will co-chair “The Business of Wine” at the Hampton Inn & Suites Napa on November 16, 2017. Carol Kingery Ritter will present in the “Land Value Trends and the Impact on Wine Businesses” segment. J. Scott Gerien will present for the “IP, Trademarks and Licensing” segment. Scott Greenwood-Meinert will also moderate the “Land […]
Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (“DP&F”) announces the official launch of its Cannabis practice group. This group offers a specialized, full-service approach to serving the business needs of clients navigating California’s increasingly complex cannabis industry. DP&F has a 50-year history of representing businesses in regulated industries, including the alcohol beverage industry. For the past few years, […]
Erin Carlstrom has joined DP&F’s new Cannabis practice in Santa Rosa. Erin obtained her undergraduate degree from Yale and her JD from Pepperdine University School of Law. In 2012 Erin was elected and served as a councilwoman for the City of Santa Rosa where she served on the City’s medical cannabis policy subcommittee until 2016. […]
By unanimous vote of DP&F’s partnership, Carol Kingery Ritter became the first female managing partner in the firm’s 52 year history, “I am proud to work with this group of extremely talented and collegial attorneys and excited for the opportunity to shape the next phase of the firm’s growth and participation in the Napa and […]