It is quite an honor to share that I have been invited to speak at Cornell Law School on behalf of The Society of Wine and Jurisprudence and The Cornell Sports and Entertainment Law Society. The topic is “Pursuing a Career in Beverage Law,” and will include discussions about following a law career in a niche practice area as well as a survey of the different facets of alcohol beverage law. The event will take place next week on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM in the Saperston Student Lounge of Cornell Law School. While the talk will have a focus on alcohol beverage law, this session may be of interest to any student or young attorney passionate about working in a unique area of law.
Next week will be my first time back in Ithaca since my undergraduate days and, as such, I am very excited. For me, Cornell is the birthplace of both my interest in wine and the law, as well as the point of initial introduction to wine law. For those reasons (and many others), Ithaca is an extremely special place to me.
The Societies and I are working on a list of questions that may guide the discussion about beverage law and/or pursuing a niche practice. We welcome and appreciate all comments, especially those from industry members, practicing attorneys, and current students, in the formation of what we hope will be a very valuable conversation. Please feel free to add any suggestions for topics or discussions. Thank you kindly, well in advance.
DISCLAIMER: This blog post is not intended as legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship results. Please consult your own attorney for legal advice.
OK Ms. Zahn here is a question to get you rolling. Often I hear that this area of law is among the most difficult and arcane. I just heard it from a legislator yesterday on NPR. Do you think it’s so? Relatedly, it seems like there are not a lot of good books and resources to clear things up — instead there are lots of old, boring, semi-relevant rules. Finally, the conventional wisdom seems to be that alcohol beverages are approximately the most heavily regulated consumer products in the US; does that seem right? How does this practice compare to e.g., bigfirm litigation practice? Have fun and good luck answering all these questions.
Thanks, Robert. Some great questions here! I’ll add them to the list and report back.