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Alcohol 101: Alcohol Beverage and Distribution Law
Produced on May 05, 2015
Course Information
Course Description
This course, presented by McDermott Will & Emery LLP partner Marc Sorini, provides an overview of alcohol beverage and distribution law in the U.S. Starting with general principles, Sorini takes participants through the legal categorization of different types of beverages, the industry’s primary regulators, excise taxes, the concepts of “control” versus “open” state regulation, the “three-tier system,” franchise laws, “tied-house” and other trade practice restrictions, and the regulation of labeling and advertising.
Learning Objectives:
I. Recognize the overarching themes of alcohol regulation in the United States
II. Identify the multiple jurisdictions and agencies with a role in regulating and taxing alcohol beverages
III. Introduce the basic concepts of excise taxation as applied to alcohol beverages
IV. Understand the categorization of different type of alcohol beverages
V. Grasp the foundational concepts necessary to understand the distribution and sale of alcohol beverages
Credit Information
Faculty
Marc E. Sorini
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Marc E. Sorini is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Washington, D.C. office. He heads the Firm’s Alcohol Regulatory & Distribution Group, where he focuses on regulatory and litigation issues facing the alcohol beverage industry and non-beverage alcohol users.
Marc's alcohol beverage practice covers licensing, labeling, advertising, trade practices, distribution, import-export, formulation and excise taxation. He has represented alcohol beverage suppliers before federal and state courts, the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB), (formerly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms or ATF), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state alcohol beverage control agencies, and he advises clients on compliance with the regulations and policies of TTB, FTC, the Food & Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Chambers USA ranks McDermott’s Alcohol Practice in its first tier and Marc is the only lawyer listed as a “Star Individual” in this field.
Marc also advises companies in the flavor and extract, health care supply and other industries on federal and state regulation of non-beverage alcohol. Recent work includes assisting a national health care supplier establish itself in the business of selling and distributing ethyl alcohol, advising a flavor manufacturer in products liability litigation and obtaining a successful resolution in a TTB investigation into the handling and documentation of non-beverage alcohol.
Marc gives numerous speeches on legal subjects of interest to the alcohol beverage industry. He is a regular at CLE International's Wine, Beer & Spirits Law Conference, the Brewers' Association Conference and Tradeshow, and has addressed the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators, the American Conference Institute, the American Distilling Institute, Americans for Tax Reform and the Rocky Mountain Microbrewers Symposium. Subjects of Marc's public appearances include the future of the three-tier system, federal labeling regulations, managing wholesaler relationships, drafting distribution agreements, franchise law reform, the impact of alcohol beverage trade practice laws on electronic commerce, and legal constraints on new product development.
Marc's writings on legal issues affecting the industry have appeared in American Distiller, Modern Brewery Age, The New Brewer, the ABA Administrative Law Section's newsletter on beverage alcohol practice, and other publications. In 2003 the Washington Legal Foundation published his paper (co-authored with Cary Green) on the First Amendment implications of compelled industry “counter advertising,” and in 1998 the Washington Legal Foundation published his background paper on European restrictions on alcohol beverage advertising.
Marc was awarded the Edward Tamm Award for Georgetown's best student note and was an editor for The Georgetown Law Journal. After law school, Marc clerked for the Honorable Susan H. Black of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Marc is admitted to practice in Georgia, the District of Columbia, the United States District Courts for Colorado and the District of Columbia, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 11th Circuits.
Representative Experience
- Labeling and Advertising - Experience includes carbohydrate claims, the use of spirits brand names on malt beverages, charges of geographic misdescription, organic beer and wine, allegations of youth marketing and natural claims on alcohol beverage labels
- Trade Practices - Represents and counsels clients on issues involving tied-house restrictions, cooperative advertising, sponsorships, branded bars, multiple suppliers employing a joint sales force, vertical integration, alleged discrimination between licensees, coupon and rebate programs, and numerous other activities
- Distribution - Representations include issues such as suppliers' rights during a change in wholesaler ownership and successor importers, the distribution obligations of brand purchasers, existing wholesalers' rights in new products and brand extensions and liability arising from failed negotiations with a prospective wholesaler; also advises clients on the intersection between alcohol beverage law and electronic commerce
- Import-Export - Experience encompasses both traditional import and import services arrangements, CBP requirements for imported products, the documentation of alcohol beverages exported without payment of excise taxes and charges involving alleged schemes to avoid foreign taxes
- Formulation - Advises clients on TTB-required formulas and pre-import analyses, the formulation of flavored malt beverages, the use of new and novel ingredients in the production of alcohol beverages and the 5010 tax credit for distilled spirits
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1994
Lehigh University, B.A., 1988
Reviews
This was a fun and well organized course
Very interesting and the presented explained the topic very well.
Excellent instructor.
Very good
Great presentation!
Great presentation! Kudos.
Very comprehensive overview of the subject area.
One of the best presentations I have ever viewed or attended!
Thank you.
my favorite presenter thus far
This is a very interesting, well developed program. Very well presented.
I found this course very interesting because its relatable to cannabis.
Very informative overview!
Very good course. Got me thinking about some things I never considered.
Excellent
An arcane area but very well presented. This was much more interesting that I anticipated. Excellent speaker.
Helpful
fascinating topic
Very well done!
interesting topic and great high level overview
Great speaker - very informative!
Very informative and interesting program.
Very Educational- thank you.
very informative
Great speaker. Clearly an expert in his field. Well done.
Very thorough.
Great lecturer
Particularly good course.
In my opinion the speaker of this course was well-prepared. Thank you.
Nice and comprehensive for a broad subject
Informative
Great course.... enthusiasm made the subject matter pop. Would recommend getting him to do more. :-)
The instructor made this program very enjoyable to watch and referenced current events as well as historical facts to tie in with the material.
Presenter had encyclopedic knowledge of the topic.
Wonderful instructor and materials!!
Excellent speaker.
Interesting and informative
Outstanding.
Excellent presentation and very well presented (i.e., no endless droning on!). Many thanks Marc!
I particularly enjoyed the history bit. Thanks for an informative class.
Great course!
Great presentation!!
Not an area I deal in, but very interesting.
Great program
good overview
excellent presenter - great energy talking to a camera for 90 minutes
Very helpful
Really great presenter. Excellent presentation.
Excellent presentation by a speaker with command of the subject matter.
Interesting topic. Materials and course were well organized and the instructors had sufficient time to discuss nuances in alcohol law.
This is the best CLE I have seen in a long time. Mr. Sorini gave important information in an orderly, concise, interesting way with humor. Clearly he is deeply knowledgeable in this area.
Excellent presentation on a complicated topic. Highly recommended, even if it really isn't your practise area.
A fantastic program. Would love to see more from this presenter.
Fun, interesting speaker.
Very interesting subject by good speaker.
Excellent speaker.
Terrific presentation.
This speaker by far was the best of all speakers to date. Very effective eye contact, body language and speech.
Great topic and terrific presenter
Excellent presentation.
I would love another CLE on this topic! Excellent
Very substantive course. Great speaker.
Perhaps the best Lawline presentation I have watched--and I've watched quite a few, most good. Fascinating. Complex. And though an hour and a half, doesn't drag at all.
GREAT PRIMER - THANK YOU.
This was one of the best courses I have taken on Lawline. Great speaker with an obvious expertise in the subject matter. Great intro course. I would love to see more advanced courses on the topic from this presenter.
Mr. Sorini is an excellent speaker and made the subject matter interesting.
Very well done. Educational and engaging.
Good value, variety of courses
Well prepared and well presented!
Instructor was excellent and clear.
Very substantive, and presented in an efficient and entertaining way.
presenter was very good...a great deal of information
Presenter was very knowledgeable and made listening easy.
This topic and the presenter were good.
Excellent summary presentation and introduction on topic that is difficult about which to find substantive CLE presentations. Very effective review.
interesting and fast paced.
Excellent presenter.
Super presentation
Excellent program. It's a 100° Saturday afternoon and I needed to do some CLE. When I saw my old colleague Marc Sorini's name, I knew which program I'd select. This is one of the most interesting CLE programs I've heard in several years even though it's not an area of law in which I practice.
Informative
Interesting and concise.
A challenging topic covered well by the speaker who delivered the material in a most engaging fashion. McDermott Will & Emery LLP is lucky to have access to your considerable knowledge in this area.
Great presnetation
This course (especially the speaker) was fantastic, I really felt like the 50,000 foot overview was perfectly paced and very interesting, a great way to get some CLE.
Great seminar to learn the history surrounding the development of alcohol law in this country at the federal and state levels..
Interesting topic and excellent presentation.
Great presentation!
Thorough!
Thoroughly enjoyed this course. The instructor was well-informed and able to maintain my interest throughout.
An excellent overview by an engaging speaker. Highest recommendations.
Great CLE
Very good presentation.
Educational AND entertaining - high recommend.
Fascinating - thank you!
Excellent instructor.
thank you, Marc!
Excellent course. Tons of good info presented in a concise and effective manner.
excellent lecturer - engaging
Course slides were very helpful
great
Very interesting topic - I learned a lot about the history of alcohol regulation in the United States!
Great!
Great presentation, I vote for an Alcohol 102 class. Deal with more local licensing, liability, insurance and operational issues for retailers.
Fantastic program
Excellent presentation: fast-paced, informative and interesting. All 4's for Mr. Sorini!
Best course I've ever taken in my life.
Great overview of a fascinatingly complex and diverse area of law.
This guy has to be a professor - what a great, entertaining way to present the material.
excellent and very interesting.
Great presenter
Great speaker
I enjoyed the broad approach taken by the speaker, and as the Virginia Wine Snob, I will find it useful to help my vineyard/winery clients.
Great topic: had lots of details to learn.
Engaging speaker
Speaker was excellent, very dynamic and engaging. Easy to listen to for the entire session.
I would LOVE to take more classes from him on this subject. He's great!
Great speaker.
Would love more on this topic! Fascinating area of law and great presentation.
Excellent in every way!
Great Speaker - A more in depth look would be great
Excellent speaker and insightful analysis of an area that is difficult to cover in such a short period of time.
Excellent overview of a very complex topic. Bring this guy back for a follow-up course.
great speaker,kept it interesting
excellent presentation
Very informative lecture. It's a great overview and I would love to see some more detailed lectures on the subtopics. Amiable speaker.
Polished and professional. This one was really good.
Great presentation
Mr. Sorini makes a complex topic fascinating. Kudos!
Wonderful program and instructor; would take again.
Speaker was very effective and covered a large breath of material. For someone with limited exposure in this area of law I found the course interesting and informative.
enjoyed historical perspectives on the law
Very good speaker. Great presentation. Thank you.
Very good knowledge of the subject that I am most interest in for representation of clients, but for myself as well. Am thinking of opening a Blues club!
Great Speaker! Held my attention the whole time. Obviously knows his stuff. We have a lot of brew pubs, distilleries and wineries in my state-NC and there have been my changes in NC state law.
Attorney Sorini did an excellent job!
excellent program