Food & Beverage

  • November 13, 2025

    Hemp Policy At Crossroads After Government Reopening Bill

    Hemp industry advocates are pledging to use the one-year gap between enactment and implementation of the government funding agreement, which effectively recriminalized most hemp-derived THC products, to craft new regulatory legislation that stops short of a full ban.

  • November 13, 2025

    Latin American Trade Deals With US Include Zero Tariff Rates

    Latin American countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador and Argentina committed to nontariff reductions for U.S. producers in exchange for a zero tariff rate on many imports not readily available in the U.S., under details of framework trade agreements the White House unveiled Thursday.

  • November 13, 2025

    Tribe Scores Early Win Against Michigan Fruit Processor

    A Michigan federal judge has ruled that a fruit-processing company illegally discharged millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into wetlands that feed Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay, granting an early win to a Native American tribe and two local environmental nonprofit groups.

  • November 13, 2025

    Judge Rejects NY Tribe's Bid To Revive Eel-Fishing Rights

    A New York federal judge won't reconsider a decision determining that members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation don't have aboriginal eel-fishing rights off Long Island free of state regulatory fees, saying their arguments lack merit and they can't point to any decisions or data that the court overlooked.

  • November 13, 2025

    Calif. Sheriff's Atty Sanctioned Over Discovery In Hemp Suit

    A California federal judge has sanctioned an attorney for a California county and its sheriff's office over bad faith conduct during discovery in a suit over 500 acres of bulldozed hemp crop, saying the attorney's arguments against the sanction show a fundamental misunderstanding of his obligations.

  • November 13, 2025

    Gov't Funding Deal Ends SNAP Benefits Battle

    President Donald Trump's signing of a government funding bill Wednesday rendered moot lawsuits seeking to make his administration tap emergency funds for food assistance benefits, the administration told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.

  • November 13, 2025

    Red Bull Faces EU Probe Over Market Abuse Allegations

    The European Commission said Thursday that it had opened an antitrust probe into Red Bull GmbH, saying the energy drink giant may have abused its dominance over the market by trying to stop competing drinks from being sold at retailers.

  • November 12, 2025

    IHOP Franchise Owner Accused Of Wage Theft In Colo. Suit

    A former IHOP employee sued the owner of several IHOP franchises in Colorado state court on Monday, saying an a proposed class action it illegally required employees to distribute tips to assistant managers and pay them up to $20 of their wages each shift for helping with service and cleaning.

  • November 12, 2025

    Congress Approves Spending Bill Banning Intoxicating Hemp

    The government funding agreement approved by both chambers of Congress includes a provision that would effectively recriminalize most THC products derived from hemp.

  • November 12, 2025

    Colo. Hemp Farmers' Subpoena 'Premature' In $200M Suit

    A Colorado federal judge quashed two hemp growers' subpoena against a state solar company Wednesday and similarly shot down their attempt to force another solar company to produce certain documents in their lawsuit alleging that the company caused $200 million in crop damage while constructing a solar panel project.

  • November 12, 2025

    Kratom Consumer Drops Suit Over Seltzer's 'Addictive' Effects

    A Washington consumer who claims she became addicted to beverage maker Mitra-9's kratom-based seltzers, powders and shots has agreed to drop her lawsuit weeks after the company called the buyer out for claiming to have bought the products before it was even established.

  • November 12, 2025

    Pork Buyers Fight Bid To Pause Price-Fixing Case For Appeal

    Pork buyers told a Minnesota federal judge not to hit pause on their price-fixing case while Agri Stats Inc. and major producers push the Eighth Circuit to force the judge's recusal over a law clerk's previous work on a related case.

  • November 12, 2025

    2nd Circ. Doubts NLRB Dress Code Test In Starbucks Appeal

    A Second Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday of the revised test underlying the National Labor Relations Board's ruling that Starbucks illegally forbade roastery workers to wear union T-shirts but appeared to buy that the agency's reviews of employers' dress codes generally deserve deference.

  • November 12, 2025

    China Continues To Drive Surge In Global Patent Applications

    The number of patent applications filed worldwide in 2024 surged, continuing years of growth due in significant part to filings out of China, according to a World Intellectual Property Organization report released Wednesday.

  • November 12, 2025

    Ex-Prince Lobel Atty Charged With Forging Liquor Licenses

    The former chair of Prince Lobel Tye LLP's restaurant and hospitality practice has been indicted on charges that she forged liquor licenses for three clients before she was fired last year, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.

  • November 12, 2025

    Federal Judge Says Lack Of English Can't Undo $5.3M Award

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday recommended that a $5.3 million arbitration award against an Illinois sugar company be granted in a contract breach case, finding that its previous counsel's ineffective representation due to his improper English wasn't sufficient to undo the award. 

  • November 12, 2025

    Morgan Lewis Adds Gibson Dunn Tech Transactions Ace In LA

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP is expanding its corporate team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in a Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP technology transactions expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • November 12, 2025

    Steakhouse Chain Kept Illegal Tip Pool, Texas Judge Says

    A steakhouse chain knowingly violated federal law by requiring servers to share tips with ineligible off-hour employees, a Texas federal judge found.

  • November 10, 2025

    Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attorneys From 76 Firms

    The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2025 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing significant achievements in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.

  • November 10, 2025

    Tyson's $85M Deal Gets Initial OK In Pork Price-Fixing Case

    A Minnesota federal judge has granted preliminary approval for an $85 million settlement resolving consumers' claims against Tyson Foods Inc. in antitrust litigation that accused pork producers of conspiring with a benchmarking company to inflate pork prices by limiting supply in the U.S. market.

  • November 11, 2025

    Justices Extend Temporary Pause On Full SNAP Payments

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Trump administration's bid to extend the pause on a Rhode Island federal judge's order forcing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fully fund food assistance benefits during the federal government's ongoing shutdown.

  • November 10, 2025

    Mich. Contractor Loses New Trial Bid In Migrant Worker Suit

    A Michigan federal judge said a farm labor contractor failed to identify any reasons for a new trial after a jury found it violated anti-trafficking and labor laws and breached employment contracts with farmworkers from Guatemala.

  • November 10, 2025

    PE Firm Investindustrial Inks $2.9B Deal For TreeHouse Foods

    Private equity firm Investindustrial has struck a deal to acquire food manufacturer TreeHouse Foods Inc. for $2.9 billion in an all-cash transaction that will take the company private, the two companies announced Monday.

  • November 10, 2025

    Pepsi Bottling Partner, CLF Settle Suit Over Pollution Claims

    A Massachusetts bottler of Pepsi products has agreed to contribute nearly $500,000 to a project that will monitor water quality and conduct restoration efforts in several northern Massachusetts waterways to settle claims that they were polluted by discharge and runoff from the plant, according to a proposed settlement filed in federal court.

  • November 07, 2025

    Supreme Court Temporarily Pauses Full SNAP Payments

    The U.S. Supreme Court Friday evening temporarily paused a Rhode Island federal judge's orders compelling the Trump administration to fully fund November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and transfer roughly $4 billion by the end of the day, hours after the First Circuit denied the administration's emergency request.

Expert Analysis

  • What Greenwashing Looks Like, And How To Navigate Claims

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    Recent cases show that consumers seeking to challenge sustainability claims as greenwashing face significant legal hurdles, and that companies can avoid liability by emphasizing context, says Felicia Boyd at Norton Rose.

  • AI Use In Class Actions Comes With Risks And Rewards

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    The use of artificial intelligence in class actions holds promise for helping to analyze complex evidence, but attorneys and experts must understand how to use it correctly, and how to explain it clearly, say Simone Jones and Eric Mattson at Sidley and Anna Shakotko at Cornerstone Research.

  • 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

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    As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

  • 6 Criteria Can Help Assess Executive Branch Actions

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    With new executive policy changes announced seemingly every day, several questions can help courts, policymakers and businesses determine whether such actions are proper, effective and in keeping with our democratic norms, say Marc Levin and Khalil Cumberbatch at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

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    Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

  • Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

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    Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Series

    Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

  • Influencer Campaign Lawsuits Signal New Endorsement Risks

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    Recent class actions allege that companies' influencer campaigns violate the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides and various state laws, but it's not clear whether the failure to comply can sustain these lawsuits, or whether the plaintiffs' creative theory of damages will hold up to scrutiny, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • Digesting A 2nd Circ. Ruling On Food Delivery App Arbitration

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    The Second Circuit recently rejected Grubhub's attempt to arbitrate price-fixing claims, while allowing Uber Eats to do so, reinforcing that even broad arbitration clauses must connect to the underlying dispute and suggesting that terms of service litigation may center on websites' design and content, say attorneys at Greenspoon Marder.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

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    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Defense Strategies After Justices' Personal Injury RICO Ruling

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    In Medical Marijuana v. Horn, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act can be invoked by some plaintiffs with claims arising from personal injuries — but defense counsel can use the limitations on civil RICO claims to seek early dismissal in such cases, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

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    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • How Cos. Can Mitigate Increasing Microplastics Liability Risk

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    Amid rising scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe of microplastics' impact on health and the growing threat of litigation against consumer product and food and beverage manufacturers, companies can limit liability through compliance with labeling laws, careful contract management and other practices, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

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    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

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