General Counsel Look-back

For business leaders wondering how to integrate a general counsel in a food business, take a look here. This is a 12-month look back on a typical engagement with client with $110M in annual gross sales. The company runs several plants, sells its own brands, while also co-packing for other national brands and major retailers. The Food Law Firm sat inside the operation, handling procurement contracts, labeling approval, product quality disputes, employee terminations, intellectual property management, and deal-making. All attorney work was performed on a fixed monthly budget with no additional billable hours charged to the client.

• Managed renewals and maintenance for a portfolio of 17 marks.
• Provided clearance opinions on 3 line-extension products.
• Resolved 2 third-party infringement actions through negotiated coexistence that required the counterparties to pull look-alike products and cease use.
• Disciplined docketing: kept every section 8/9 and maintenance deadline on track.

• A ground-up refresh of the Employee Handbook, making it compliant in 4 different states.
• Drafted or reviewed 14 Independent Contractor Agreements. Negotiated 3 executive- and managerial-level severance agreements
• Conducted internal investigations into employee misconduct, resulting in the termination of several employees for cause.
• High-level Matters
  • Mediated and negotiated a harassment suit demand (initial $900,000), settled at a cost covered 100% by insurance.
  • Negotiated a wage/hour dispute with a potential six-figure cost, settled with strict confidentiality for $18,000
  • Terminated a >20-year employee for severe policy violations with no post-separation claims.

• Terminated a 5-year service contract in year 2 with IT provider, negotiated a complete walk-away on a disputed $82,000 balance after comprehensively documenting service failures.
• Coordinated inventory sell-through and claim-free sunset with a consumer brand licensor.
• Navigated a no-cancellation SaaS agreement (~$100,000 remaining) to a $18,000 payment plan over 10 months—no interest or fees—after citing serious deficiencies with service.
• Defeated a $15k “employee anti-poaching” demand from a sanitation provider—paid $0.
• Negotiated 20+ supplier agreements with protein companies, including deals for forward contract prices that insulated the company against inflation and tariff shock.

• Settled a Proposition 65 claim involving an imported specialty ingredient at $18,000 (potential +$100,000 based on product volume), then secured supplier warranties for ongoing chemical compliance.
• Resolved a California “no sugar added” allegation at $6k; audited ~30 regulated SKUs and brought labels/claims current before reprint.