Jason Foscolo Founder and Managing Partner
I’m the founder and managing partner of the Food Law Firm. Before starting this business, I served five years as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps and separated honorably in 2010. After the Corps, I combined my love of food with the law and earned an LL.M. in Agriculture and Food Law from the University of Arkansas—the greatest school in the world for preparing lawyers in this space.
Learning the law was the easy part. The real education came from working alongside some practical manufacturing professionals—plant managers, QA leads, R&D, operations leads. They are people of commerce. Their priorities are speed and efficiency. My job is to find solutions that move product, reduce friction, and keep relationships working. I see myself as professional support for the people who make things.
What sets me apart is my sensibility. CEOs trust me to walk the floor and speak with plant managers about HR issues without creating drama. They trust me to help negotiate contract manufacturing relationships with major brands while keeping both sides focused on throughput, quality, and risk. I carry myself in a way that invites conversation. I want people to bring me problems early, because the earlier we talk, the better the business outcome.
I started the firm in 2011 with a narrow focus on FDA and USDA compliance. As clients needed more, I added trademark, employment, and the other tools food companies actually use. Over time I shifted from à la carte hours to a fractional general counsel model. No matter the billing method, I integrate into the client’s daily decision cycle, give timely, plain-English feedback, anticipate problems instead of reacting to them, and I bill in a way that manufacturers can understand. I’m not the main character; I’m the person who helps the team win.
I run a nationwide practice from the Jacksonville, Florida area, where I live with my wife and three kids. Off the clock you’ll find me traveling, foraging for mushrooms (chanterelles are my favorite), cooking, hiking, gardening, and hunting down new ramen spots.
John B. Diefenbach Partner
I’m a trial lawyer by training, but a business partner by mindset. As a partner at the Food Law Firm, I lead our litigation practice with one clear goal: to help our clients solve their legal problems without letting litigation take over the business
Before teaming up with Jason Foscolo, I ran my own boutique litigation firm, served as Director of Litigation at Gruma Corporation (Mission Foods), and led trial teams as an equity partner at a national law firm. I also served as a Major in the United States Marine Corps, where I was a judge advocate. That mix of in-house, private practice, and military experience shaped my approach to business law. I bring a litigator’s perspective to operational decisions—spotting risk early, shaping contracts and processes that hold up in court, and avoiding fights where possible. Though I’m prepared to win any fight, my primary goal is to help the client ship product.
Since 2012, I’ve managed national litigation portfolios involving everything from class actions to government investigations. But my focus is never just on winning cases—it’s on giving clients practical, strategic legal advice that keeps operations moving, costs controlled, and risk minimized. I believe legal support should be accessible, tailored, and designed to support—not obstruct—growth.
Clients count on me not only for litigation experience, but also for my business sensibility and my ability to speak the same language as plant managers, operations leads, and executives. I work hard to be the kind of lawyer who’s easy to talk to and quick to understand what’s really at stake.
I earned my law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2004 and my B.A. in Political Science from the University of Utah in 2001. I’m licensed in both Texas and Virginia.
Outside of the courtroom and boardroom, I live in Texas with my wife and two of our five children. Together, we run a small family farm where we raise horses, chickens, and goats, and where every season brings its own rhythm of chores and rewards. I especially enjoy sampling the variety of peppers we grow in our garden—though my kids like to remind me that I sometimes underestimate the heat. Our farm life keeps me grounded, gives me perspective, and reflects the same values of hard work, resilience, and stewardship that I bring to my law practice every day.
Moshe D. Lapin Of Counsel
Moshe Lapin brings years of high caliber corporate law experience to The Food Law Firm in an ‘of counsel’ capacity. Moshe focuses his legal practice on assisting businesses and entrepreneurs in the areas of intellectual property, business law and litigation. He has handled well over a thousand trademark and copyright matters, and has successfully litigated and negotiated settlements with some of the largest North American brands – including Time Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motors, Apple Inc. and Blackberry. Mr. Lapin assists companies in many areas of corporate practice, including entity formation and related contracts, partnership/shareholders’ agreements, service agreements and employment contracts. Mr. Lapin litigates cases at the federal trial level and also handles federal appeals at the United States Courts of Appeal. Mr. Lapin received his BA in Talmudic Law from Yeshiva College of the Nation’s Capital and his Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School. He is admitted to the State Bars of California, Maryland and the United States Virgin Islands.