Michele Simon and Lauren Handel of Foscolo & Handel PLLC will cover the top four legal issues for startup food businesses.
This presentation will guide investors and companies through the legal nuances of operating, and investing in, upstart food businesses. Food and beverage start-ups are all the rage. Some are hoping to be the next high-tech protein supplement while others are angling for the hot gluten-free market. But before betting the farm, you need to understand the unique legal risks, compliance issues, and marketing opportunities impacting the value of a food business. An investor in a food business needs to consider more than the company’s financials and sales. You need to ensure, for example, that any product claims being made with the “pitch” for funding can be legally made when it comes to writing marketing copy.
We’ll moderate a Q&A session following the presentation. You can post questions in discussion area below.
Michele Simon works of counsel with Foscolo & Handel PLLC where she focuses on food and beverage marketing compliance. Michele has 18 years of experience in food and beverage law and policy and offers legal advice on federal regulatory compliance for labeling and marketing, going above and beyond just the letter of the law. Michele stays on top of the latest developments in federal regulations including from FDA, USDA, TTB, and FTC, and regularly writes and speaks on these topics. In addition to her law degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Michele has a master’s degree in public health from Yale University. She is admitted to practice law in California. Michele is based in Oakland, California, where she enjoys year-round local farmers markets.
Lauren Handel is a partner at Foscolo & Handel PLLC where she focuses her practice on agricultural, food, and alcoholic beverage law. Lauren counsels clients on all aspects of law affecting food, beverage, and farming businesses. She also represents clients in litigation and regulatory proceedings. Lauren earned her JD, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and has an LL.M. in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas School Of Law. Lauren is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, the US Supreme Court, and the US District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York. She lives in New Jersey horse country.