Retail & Consumer Brands

Bricks to clicks and back again. Faced with changing consumer habits and unprecedented market and economic forces, today’s competitive retail landscape continues to evolve at lightning speed.

Loeb & Loeb’s Retail and Consumer Brands team helps clients keep pace with rapid industry transformation; navigate financial, legal and regulatory pressures; capitalize on opportunities; and achieve business goals in the marketplaces of today and tomorrow.

We understand the interplay of commercial, economic and technology trends driving modern retail. Our interdisciplinary team advises clients ranging from department and big-box stores to online and specialty retailers as well as consumer products companies of all types on matters touching nearly every aspect of their businesses. Our integrated services encompass the following core areas:

Our team understands the opportunities and obstacles retail and consumer products companies face as they employ and adapt advertising, marketing and technology to reach, serve and expand their markets. We work strategically to help clear, exploit and protect our clients’ critical intellectual property assets — at home and across the globe. We help clients develop, substantiate, clear and defend advertising and marketing claims of all types. Our sweet spot is the increasingly complex convergence of advertising and technology, advising brands and leading advertising, promotions and related agencies on behavioral targeting, data optimization, and digital, mobile and social media campaigns.

We have also successfully represented major retailers in advertising- and IP-related litigation, in investigations and enforcement proceedings by the Federal Trade Commission and other federal and state regulatory agencies, and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and other dispute resolution forums, including self-regulatory proceedings before the National Advertising Division.

Loeb & Loeb lawyers work at the leading edge of big data and the convergence of media, technology and business. We counsel some of the most recognized consumer brands on the privacy and cybersecurity implications of new communications, marketing and advertising strategies, and advise on regulatory and compliance issues related to the collection, storage and use of consumer data, including in connection with interactive marketing campaigns, customer loyalty programs and other transactions involving sensitive consumer information. We also assist our retail clients with their responses to cyberattacks and data breach incidents, including internal investigations and crisis management.

As evolving consumer habits and the explosive rise of e-commerce put greater stresses on brick-and-mortar retail, our team of transactional attorneys and litigators is positioned to guide industry players of all types through a range of financial challenges, including bankruptcy, restructuring and other distressed situations. We provide counsel to debtors, creditors, landlords and other constituencies in out-of-court negotiations and representation in state and federal court litigation across the country.

Loeb & Loeb’s technology and outsourcing lawyers counsel some of the largest global and regional retailers on key initiatives related to enterprise expansion, cloud computing and other new technology implementation. We help our retail industry clients fuel their growth through technology-enabled transactions, including transactions involving point-of-sale devices, sophisticated payment technologies, merchandising and inventory systems, and enterprise information technology solutions to support multichannel retail sales initiatives. Our team advises clients through the full life cycle of transactions, from contract development and negotiation through exit strategies and dispute resolution.

Our litigators defend retail clients in government enforcement actions, regulatory investigations and class action lawsuits alleging violations of consumer protection and unfair competition laws, as well as prosecute and defend against claims of false and misleading advertising. We represent businesses in major investigations before the FTC, the U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general.

Our employment and labor attorneys help retail and consumer products clients manage and optimize their workforces. Our counsel encompasses compensation and commission issues; disability accommodations; terminations and mass layoffs; investigations; harassment and discrimination issues; protection of customer lists and other trade secrets; and uniform and reimbursement issues, with a particular focus on jurisdictions with unique requirements (for example, cities and counties within California). Our practice includes individual, class and representative action litigation, as well as arbitration and the negotiation of agreements, policy creation and harassment awareness training.

From flagship stores in urban settings to malls, shopping centers, outlets and warehouses, our real estate lawyers help clients buy, sell, lease, invest in or develop retail properties of all types. We have unique experience working with retailers and consumer brands in matters at the intersection of real estate, technology and advertising, including lease and licensing agreements for advertising time on electronic billboards and digital screens located at high-profile properties. We also represent retail clients in real estate-related disputes and litigation.

Our lawyers partner with retail and consumer brands clients on the full range of corporate transactions and day-to-day business matters. From evaluating business opportunities, setting — and meeting — short- and long-term objectives, and determining key courses of action to executing capital-raising strategies, licensing agreements, joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures and exit strategies, we help clients fuel growth and meet strategic goals at every stage of their life cycles.