Alcohol & Regulated Substances

G&M’s Alcohol and Regulated Substances Practice Group is an industry frontrunner, counseling an array of participants in the alcohol and cannabis industries in a wide variety of legal matters.

Our renowned professionals have enjoyed working with and representing industry trend-setters, including in novel and engaging matters like helping Illinois’ first major contract brewing facility with its regulatory and transactional issues, facilitating the creation, registration and importation of sets of new spirits products for foreign manufacturers, and cooperating on the drafting of Illinois’ home-brew statute. Our professionals are active in industry organizations, and are not only aware of regulatory developments, but actively involved in attempting to improve the regulatory frameworks that impact our clients’ businesses. 

G&M’s thriving alcohol and cannabis team represents manufacturers and retailers through the nettled spectrum of regulatory and legal work involved in every aspect of the industry, from front of house matters like municipal, state and federal licensing, to corporate and back of the house issues such as those relating to production, sales, distribution, and marketing and advertising. We guide our clients through matters before state regulators and agencies and the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, regulatory and internal investigations, litigation, trademark and copyright registration and enforcement, formula and label approvals, company purchases and sales, and distribution deals and negotiations. Scroll down for an even more detailed list of services.

Our clients include virtually every participant in the alcohol and cannabis industries, including manufacturers (such as breweries, wineries, distilleries, and grow facilities), retailers (such as bars, restaurants, hotels, chain and local packaged goods stores, and casinos), distributors, importers, and brand owners.

The center of our beer, wine, spirits and cannabis team is a respect for and belief in access to, and support for, our clients and their creations and services.

Alcohol & Regulated Substance Services

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Alcohol & Regulated Substance Services

G&M Advantages

Alcohol & Regulated Substance Services

Industry Counseling and Regulatory Advice
Disputes and Investigations
Transactions
  • Federal and state permit/licensing
  • Industry agreements such as crop and ingredient purchase, custom crush, alternating proprietorship, contract brewing, bottling and distribution agreements
  • Tied house and trade practice issues
  • Advertising, promotions, marketing and free goods
  • Managing intellectual property portfolios, including patents, trademark and copyright due diligence, clearance, prosecution, registration, licensing, protection, policing and litigation
  • Product formulation
  • Transportation counseling
  • Labeling issues
  • Direct to consumer sales
  • License suspension and revocation hearings
  • Administrative hearings on license applications, including denials and protests
  • Distribution agreements and distributor terminations
  • Federal and state regulatory investigations
  • Insurance recovery and defense
  • Internal investigations
  • Mergers, acquisitions and sales involving all industry sectors, including breweries, vineyard lands, hotels and restaurants, transfer of management in cannabis growing operations
  • Corporate organization and restructuring
  • Real estate and land use
  • Trademark licensing
  • Packaging agreements
  • Management agreements
  • Facility leasing
  • Import/Export Agreements
G&M Advantages

G&M Advantages

G&M’s Alcohol & Regulated Substances Practice Group is unique not only for the cutting edge nature of its work – it is at the forefront of regulatory changes impacting its clients, and due to the size of its client base, has addressed virtually every issue that its clients might experience – but also due to the comprehensive nature of the services it provides (a full spectrum of services, eliminating the need for (and cost of) multiple professionals). On the cost front, even beyond the savings stemming from G&M’s holistic approach, as a boutique, G&M’s rates are lower than those of its true competitors, and G&M is also at the forefront of employing alternative fee structures in appropriate circumstances.