Food, Beverage and Hospitality
Overview
Ervin Cohen & Jessup’s Food, Beverage and Hospitality Department delivers practical solutions for our clients to meet their legal needs in all stages of their business. Our deep and diverse bench of effective and creative attorneys help anticipate problems and risks before they emerge, and address them as efficiently as possible. No matter what their legal needs are, we help our clients with their businesses every step of the way.
Our industry clients include hotels; restaurants; bars and entertainment venues of all sizes; food, beverage and supplement producers; alcohol distributors and importers; franchisors; growers; supermarket chains; and wellness and nutrition companies.
Our Food, Beverage and Hospitality Department attorneys works collaboratively to meet the legal needs of our clients across multiple legal practice groups, including:
Corporate: We counsel clients on how best to achieve their goals at all stages (from startup through expansion and potential sale), including advising on the right corporate entity to use, preparing the proper agreements between partners, drafting necessary documentation to obtain funding through investors, loans and other forms of financings, and negotiating the terms for acquisitions of a business and contracts with suppliers and vendors.
Employment: We help clients navigate through employment issues, including employment agreements and handbooks, wage and hour disputes, employee/independent contractor classification, and tip pooling.
Litigation and Dispute Resolution: ECJ’s experienced litigators handle a wide range of disputes in the industry, including partnership disputes, contract issues, trade secrets, employment and other business disputes. We work with clients to resolve partnership disagreements, leasing/purchase agreements, landlord/tenant issues and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits.
Tax Planning: We develop optimal tax strategies for clients at all stages (from startup through expansion and potential sale) and also advise clients on equity compensation, phantom equity and deferred compensation for key employees.
Real Estate: We counsel clients through real estate negotiations, including leasing and purchase agreements.
Land Use: We help clients navigate through permitting and licensing issues, including conditional use permits, building and environmental codes, and liquor license issues.
Insurance: We advise clients on insurance coverage and workers’ compensation issues.
Intellectual Property: We handle brand protection and intellectual property issues for clients, including trademarks and trade secret protection and the rights to use music and live television in venues.
Bankruptcy and Receivership: We help clients navigate through the winding down of the business, including filing bankruptcy documentation and receiverships.