Sophia Van Valen, Craig Rashkis, Eugene Pak, Jim Furman (By Eugene Pak)
Last month, I spoke on a panel about "Brewery Law" for the Bar Association of San Francisco's Barristers Club. The panel was held at Black Hammer Brewing in San Francisco, a new brewery started by Jim Furman, a former chemical engineer. The event was well-attended with more than 50 people, mostly attorneys, filling up the brewery's back room. Because this was a Barristers Club event, many of the attendees were young attorneys who were interested in representing craft breweries.. This was encouraging to see. They wanted to become craft beer attorneys.
Last month, I spoke on a panel about "Brewery Law" for the Bar Association of San Francisco's Barristers Club. The panel was held at Black Hammer Brewing in San Francisco, a new brewery started by Jim Furman, a former chemical engineer. The event was well-attended with more than 50 people, mostly attorneys, filling up the brewery's back room. Because this was a Barristers Club event, many of the attendees were young attorneys who were interested in representing craft breweries.. This was encouraging to see. They wanted to become craft beer attorneys.
Advice From a Curmudgeon
Neil Falconer (1923-2014) As the number of craft breweries explodes (now more than 4,000 breweries in the US), the industry needs attorneys who are experienced and who understand the craft beer industry. At the end of the panel, we were asked to give the audience advice on how to become a craft beer attorney. I've been asked this question several times over the past few years, usually by new attorneys. When responding I often offer three broad tips, paraphrasing from an article about business development written by Mark Herrmann, Chief Litigation Counsel for AON (he also wrote a more recent article on the same topic). Hermann is the author of the humorous The Curmudgeon's Guide To Practicing Law, which should be required reading for all new lawyers working at firms, and he is a columnist for Above The Law.
I first read The Curmudgeon's Guide while I was working at Steinhart & Falconer, a boutique firm in San Francisco (before we started calling small firms "boutique") that had merged into a larger firm in the mid-2000s when the book came out. We had a copy of the book in our law firm library perhaps because Herrmann himself had worked at Steinhart in the 1980s (we did not overlap). There, we each had the opportunity to work for a legal "curmudgeon," Neil Falconer. Neil was a lawyer's lawyer who continued working into his 80s (he passed away last year at 91). I worked on a pro bono matter with Neil, a trademark infringement dispute for a local chess club that Neil, an avid chess player, had supported. Although he didn't use a computer at the time (he dictated e-mails to his secretary), he was still sharp. A computer is just a tool after all, it can't substitute for years of experience. But back to the three tips to becoming a craft beer lawyer . . .
I first read The Curmudgeon's Guide while I was working at Steinhart & Falconer, a boutique firm in San Francisco (before we started calling small firms "boutique") that had merged into a larger firm in the mid-2000s when the book came out. We had a copy of the book in our law firm library perhaps because Herrmann himself had worked at Steinhart in the 1980s (we did not overlap). There, we each had the opportunity to work for a legal "curmudgeon," Neil Falconer. Neil was a lawyer's lawyer who continued working into his 80s (he passed away last year at 91). I worked on a pro bono matter with Neil, a trademark infringement dispute for a local chess club that Neil, an avid chess player, had supported. Although he didn't use a computer at the time (he dictated e-mails to his secretary), he was still sharp. A computer is just a tool after all, it can't substitute for years of experience. But back to the three tips to becoming a craft beer lawyer . . .
Three Tips To Becoming A Craft Beer Attorney
First, become a good lawyer. That's first and foremost. Presumably you already have an interest in and some knowledge about craft beer. But the key word in "craft beer lawyer" is "lawyer." It is helpful if you know the difference between Cascade and Centennial hops, but it is more critical that you know the difference between a Type 23 and Type 75 license, for example. More importantly, your ticket for long-term success is your sound judgment and advice. The law is not always black-and-white, it is usually various shades of confusing gray. You need to be comfortable in gray, you need to see the ambiguity in the law as challenging, not frustrating. It is when the law is "gray" that your skills as an attorney will truly shine. And you need to be able to provide sound and clear recommendations to your client even when there is no "black letter law."
I think the best way to become this type of lawyer is to work with and learn from good lawyers. That is easier said than done in today's job market, but if possible try to get a job working with more senior lawyers even if they don't do any work for breweries -- you can be the one who builds the craft beer practice at the firm. Law school does not really prepare one to be a lawyer right away; you learn by doing in this field. In Canada, law students must work for about a year under the guidance of practicing attorneys before becoming licensed attorneys, this is called "articling." It seems like a worthwhile system, though not without its critics. Get some experience, develop your lawyering skills, and find mentors. In another article, Herrmann notes that there are no "mentors," there are just "decent human being[s] who respect the feelings of others, and work collegially with people to achieve your common goal." Find them. Work with them. That phrase could describe the craft beer community.
Second, related to the first tip, is to build your network particularly if you can't find a job at a law firm. As a craft beer attorney, you will be dealing with a wide variety of issues (entity formation, trademarks, leases, employment issues, ABC regulations, environmental issues, land use, etc.), and it is not really feasible as a young attorney to try to cover all of these areas. You will need a good referral network in order to get guidance or even to refer clients to other attorneys who have knowledge in those areas that you are just learning. See if other attorneys will co-counsel with you. As a young attorney, it is difficult being a "jack-of-all-trades" or general counsel in a highly regulated industry like brewing, when you do not have some solid experience under your belt. So a good network helps compensate for that as you build your skills and experience.
Third, be lucky. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but it is part of being successful. As Herrmann says about luck and business development in his more recent article:
I think the best way to become this type of lawyer is to work with and learn from good lawyers. That is easier said than done in today's job market, but if possible try to get a job working with more senior lawyers even if they don't do any work for breweries -- you can be the one who builds the craft beer practice at the firm. Law school does not really prepare one to be a lawyer right away; you learn by doing in this field. In Canada, law students must work for about a year under the guidance of practicing attorneys before becoming licensed attorneys, this is called "articling." It seems like a worthwhile system, though not without its critics. Get some experience, develop your lawyering skills, and find mentors. In another article, Herrmann notes that there are no "mentors," there are just "decent human being[s] who respect the feelings of others, and work collegially with people to achieve your common goal." Find them. Work with them. That phrase could describe the craft beer community.
Second, related to the first tip, is to build your network particularly if you can't find a job at a law firm. As a craft beer attorney, you will be dealing with a wide variety of issues (entity formation, trademarks, leases, employment issues, ABC regulations, environmental issues, land use, etc.), and it is not really feasible as a young attorney to try to cover all of these areas. You will need a good referral network in order to get guidance or even to refer clients to other attorneys who have knowledge in those areas that you are just learning. See if other attorneys will co-counsel with you. As a young attorney, it is difficult being a "jack-of-all-trades" or general counsel in a highly regulated industry like brewing, when you do not have some solid experience under your belt. So a good network helps compensate for that as you build your skills and experience.
Third, be lucky. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but it is part of being successful. As Herrmann says about luck and business development in his more recent article:
"I saw, for example, remarkably inept lawyers inherit institutional clients. That inheritance turned the inept into heavy-hitters, . . . A single stroke of luck — inheriting a large institutional client — could turn the inept into rich, powerful, and well-respected lawyers. It’s hard to intentionally replicate that route, but it’ll probably work for a couple of readers of this column. More power to you, I suppose."
I've seen that too. It happens. Nothing beats being in the right place at the right time. Even before the recent craft beer boom, there were alcohol beverage law firms and craft beer attorneys,* but today there are suddenly many attorneys and firms with "craft beer" law practices. Some have years of experience but are perhaps not that active online or on social media, while others are inexperienced but with an eye-catching logo and website. Today, it is not enough to be a good attorney anymore, if it ever was, you also need to market yourself and to be lucky.
"Luck" is also recognizing and being open to opportunities when they present themselves. Ultimately luck may be more instrumental in your success than how many Facebook 'likes' you receive, how many years of experience you have, or even how good an attorney you are.
"Luck" is also recognizing and being open to opportunities when they present themselves. Ultimately luck may be more instrumental in your success than how many Facebook 'likes' you receive, how many years of experience you have, or even how good an attorney you are.
Seneca The Younger: Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity
An early version of the Red Rocket Ale label. The beer has been a favorite of mountain bikers. So prepare to be lucky. Be on the lookout for opportunities. I got lucky. For most of the 2000's, I worked at a large international law firm in San Francisco when a colleague asked me to help a Northern California craft brewery with a trademark dispute. The brewery was well-known but was a relatively small client for this large firm. A simple trademark cease-and-desist letter evolved into federal court litigation, and I immersed myself in learning all I could about the craft beer industry and relevant laws. It was fun, I loved it. It didn't feel like work.
Today I now represent many craft breweries at a mid-size firm, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean, in Oakland. What I liked most about that trademark matter and about my current work is the people and their passion. Good people, with good stories. I like the story about a home brewer (Richard G. Norgrove) working at a bicycle company, Salsa Bicycles, whose Red Rocket Ale starts as a homebrew and eventually leads to the creation of Bear Republic Brewing. And I like Jim Furman's story about "a chemical engineer beer head with the heart of a sand-drenched Burning Man raver" who teams up with his brother-in-law to found Black Hammer Brewing. See Liquid Bread article. It's those kind of stories that make this fun and worthwhile.
Yes, I did get lucky, not by inheriting a large institutional client; rather, I got lucky in that I get to do what I do for a living, helping creative and passionate people that I like and respect. That’s luck. Plus I get to drink a lot of good beers and call it "business development."
Today I now represent many craft breweries at a mid-size firm, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean, in Oakland. What I liked most about that trademark matter and about my current work is the people and their passion. Good people, with good stories. I like the story about a home brewer (Richard G. Norgrove) working at a bicycle company, Salsa Bicycles, whose Red Rocket Ale starts as a homebrew and eventually leads to the creation of Bear Republic Brewing. And I like Jim Furman's story about "a chemical engineer beer head with the heart of a sand-drenched Burning Man raver" who teams up with his brother-in-law to found Black Hammer Brewing. See Liquid Bread article. It's those kind of stories that make this fun and worthwhile.
Yes, I did get lucky, not by inheriting a large institutional client; rather, I got lucky in that I get to do what I do for a living, helping creative and passionate people that I like and respect. That’s luck. Plus I get to drink a lot of good beers and call it "business development."
Seneca the Younger The Roman statesman Seneca the Younger said that "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." It's a simple equation. So just combine the words of Mark Herrmann and Seneca the Younger, with a pint of Pliny the Elder, and you'll be on your way to becoming a craft beer attorney. Here's to you. (Thanks to Sophia Van Valen for organizing the event, Jim Furman for hosting and being on the panel, and craft beer attorney Craig Rashkis (Farwell Rashkis LLP) who drove up from Los Gatos to be on the panel).
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* For example: Marc Sorini at McDermott Will, Glenn Rice at Funkhouser Vegosen, the Hinman & Carmichael firm, and the Strike & Techel firm. among many others..
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