Features Beer Wine & Spirits

There’s much responsibility that comes with overseeing the legal needs of a liquor distiller and distributor. At least there should be, Salvador Martinez opines from Mexico. “I don’t want people to drink more,” says the Mexican lawyer who until recently worked with the Latin American division of the British multinational Diageo, which makes brews and […]

It’s a situation that many have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether out of work, stressed or devastated by the loss of a loved one, housebound people all over the world have been turning to an age-old method for easing their anxiety: having a drink. Mexico is no different in that regard. With one big […]

It is indeed the wild west for the nascent cannabis industry, especially when alcohol is in the mix. A left coast brewery with something of an outlaw heritage would seem right at home. Which seems to describe the Lagunitas Brewing Co. in Petaluma, California. Only what passed for its outlaw days now seems, well, if […]

It may not be among the more emotional cases that the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up, but it bodes significant consequences for the liquor industry. It also commands the attention of Brian Chevlin in his role as general counsel for the North American operations of the French vintner and distiller, Pernod Ricard. For Tennessee […]

Well-versed in the liquor laws of his native Scotland and the Old World in general, Will Payne had some fast learning to do when his employer, the venerable Scottish distillers William Grant & Sons, deployed him to New York City in 2016 to be interim general counsel of their American operations. “The United States is […]

He heard it from a professor of sports law while an undergrad at the State University of New York, College at Cortland. Just some simple advice that didn’t need to be embellished with any pretentious Latin. “When the door to opportunity opens, you must walk through it,” young Mike Zitelli was advised not that many […]

Ten years ago, well into her tenure as chief legal counsel for Heineken USA, Julie Kinch helped launch a company-wide women’s leadership forum. What began with six people in a Chicago conference room has, in the decade since, grown to include more than 120 members from throughout Heineken’s ranks—male and female, millennials and boomers, executives […]

From golden stouts to black lagers, the world of microbrews proves there’s nothing a dedicated mind can’t make real. Including, it turns out, a career as a beer lawyer. As general counsel for Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), Marcus Reed finds himself at the nexus of two longtime passions: The first, borne from an epiphany on the […]

Much like quality bourbon or a fine wine, excellence takes time—and time appears to be the special ingredient for Brown-Forman Corporation. For close to 150 years, as it has honed its iconic spirits brands, the family-controlled company has also fostered a culture that is relationship-based and consensus-driven, says Matt Hamel, Brown-Forman’s executive vice president, general […]