WINE and SPIRITS LAW ACADEMY
September 8 – 10, 2014 •
UC Davis School of Law
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Davis, California
SPEAKERS
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Stephen Stern
Barbara Insel
Madhavi Sunder
J. Scott Gerien
Marina Cousté
John Trinidad
Paul Mabray
Kristen Techel
Theodore Georgopoulos
Jim Terry
Phillip James
Judge Ken Starr
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Matthew Botting
Steve Gross
Michael Halfacre
Doug Wood
John Hinman
Melissa Harms
Tracy Genesen
Erik Lawrence
KC Branch
Elena Carretero
Song Zhu
Laura Millano
Stephen Stern is an experienced senior commercial litigator
best known for his extensive patent copyright and trademark
litigation practice, including his anti-counterfeiting work for many
of the world’s most prestigious brands. He is also well known for
his significant wine law practice and in 2006 was appointed a
Chevalier in the Ordre du Mérite Agricole by the French
government in recognition of his services to the French wine
industry. Listed as a “leading lawyer” in virtually every notable
legal guide and directory, Stephen is recognized as one of
Australia’s foremost trademark lawyers by his clients and the industry. Stephen’s client list is like
a stroll through a luxury department store. He is a leading authority in the intellectual property
field, acting for a wide range of clients including luxury goods manufacturers, clothing, footwear
and textile producers, pharmaceutical companies, telecommunication and electronic companies.
“Wideley regarded as Austalia’s chief authority on anti-counterfeiting matters, Stephen Stern is
a “heavyweight opponent” and has won renown for his work on behalf of Louis Vuitton Malletier,
Cartier, Gucci and other luxury brands.”—World Trademark Review, 2012
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Barbara Insel is a leading speaker on the business of wine. She has
been a featured speaker at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium,
the Free the Grapes Symposium, Viticulture 2007 and meetings
of Napa Valley Vintners, the Wine Institute, California Association of
Winegrape Growers, the National Association for Business
Economics, Family Winemakers of California and numerous regional,
national and international organizations.
In addition to publishing in Wine Business Monthly, Business
Economics and Foreign Affairs and contributing key articles to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of
the Business of Wine, Insel has also been appeared on the Fox Business Network and NBC-11 and
been quoted in a variety of media including the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle,
Bloomberg, the Sacramento Bee, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the Associated Press and
the Baltimore Sun. Having taught for several years at the University of California, Davis Wine
Marketing Course, Insel is now a regular contributor to the Wine Business course at the Culinary
Institute of America. Barbara has led key projects for the Wine Institute, the Napa Valley Vintners,
the San Luis Obispo Economic Vitality Corporation, the New York Wine and Grape Foundation,
Wine America and Family Winemakers of California, among others, as well as numerous
individual businesses and investors in the industry.
Insel spent more than twenty years in international investment and finance and related research,
having held senior positions at Salomon Brothers, Morgan Stanley Asset Management and
Kleinwort Benson. Throughout her career, Barbara has been involved in wine-related
investments and transactions from Latin America to Eastern Europe's wineries and vineyards.
Originally from New York, she has worked there, London, Prague and Moscow. She was one of
the founding staff of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, created to rebuild
Eastern Europe and Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Early in her career she worked on
financial institution restructuring and privatization with the World Bank and then became an
International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Barbara's education includes a B.A. from Barnard College, an
M.A. in Economics from Brown University and an MBA from
Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Professor Madhavi
Sunder is a leading scholar of law and culture. She was named
a Carnegie Scholar in 2006 and has been a Visiting Professor of
Law at the Yale Law School, the University of Chicago Law School
and Cornell Law School. Her work traverses numerous legal
fields, from intellectual property to human rights law and the
First Amendment. Professor Sunder has published articles in the
Yale Law Journal, the Stanford Law Review, the California Law
Review, the Texas Law Review, and Law and Contemporary
Problems, among others. Her book, From Goods to a Good Life:
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Intellectual Property and Global Justice, was published by Yale University Press in 2012.
Special Interests
Intellectual Property, International Intellectual Property, Trademark, Brands, Cyberlaw, Human
Rights (Negotiating Gender, Religion & Culture)
Selected Career Highlights
Delivered The Mitchell Lecture, SUNY-Buffalo, Faculty of Law, Buffalo, NY (2013).
Delivered The Hochelaga Lectures, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong (2012).
Named One of 12 Emerging Scholars in Academia Under 40 by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
Magazine (January 2010).
Selected Publications
From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Property and Global Justice (Yale University Press,
Forthcoming, 2012).
Fred Korematsu: All-American Hero (Carolina Academic Press, 2011).
“Everyone's a Superhero: A Cultural Theory of Mary Sue Fan Fiction as Fair Use,” 95 California
Law Review 597 (2007) (with Anupam Chander).
“The Invention of Traditional Knowledge,” 70 Law and Contemporary Problems 97 (2007).
J. Scott Gerien is co-managing partner at DP&F and heads
the firm’s Intellectual Property Department. He has been
practicing in the areas of trademark, copyright and unfair
competition law since his first case in 1996. His experience
covers all aspects of these areas of law, including practice
before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO),
counseling on protection, licensing and acquisition of
intellectual property, and enforcement and litigation in
state and federal court. He has represented clients in more
than 250 administrative proceedings in the USPTO and has filed and prosecuted in excess of 2,500
trademark applications.
Selected Publications
“Wine Brands and Appellations of Origin,” Wine Law in America, May 2011
“Protecting Your Design: Message is the bottle,” July/August 2009 - Download Article
“Protectable Trademarks for Packaging,” May/June 2009 - Download Article
“International Trademark Treachery in the Internet Age,” August 11, 2008 - Download Article
“Geographical Branding,” May/June 2007
“A Multilateral Register for Geographical Indications for Wines and Spirits: A Summary and
Assessment of the Competing Proposals,” 2007 - Download Article
“Avoiding Branding’s Cardinal Sins,” November/December 2006 - Download Article
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“The Vineyard Designation: Branding & Trademark Issues for Wineries & Vineyard Owners,”
April 2003
Education
J.D., University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (1996).
B.A., Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut (1990).
Marina Cousté is an experienced litigator, specializing in all areas of
intellectual property. Her practice concentrates primarily on complex crossborder intellectual property disputes, with a particular focus on patent cases
in which she also advises on validity and freedom to operate issues. Marina
has notably represented leading actors in the patent wars of the
telecommunications sector, as well as numerous innovative pharmaceutical
companies in patent proceedings. She is ranked among the best attorneys in
international intellectual property publications.
Her clients belong to the most prestigious companies in their field of activity and include
GlaxoSmithKline, Mitsubishi, Gemalto, Nokia, Procter & Gamble, the Pasteur Institute, Bell
Helicopter Textron and DSM Dyneema.
Marina Cousté is ranked among the best attorneys in international intellectual property
publications. Moreover, the latest edition of Legal 500 notes that her team “is highly regarded
for its patent litigation expertise.” Who’s Who Legal adds that she “is known for her work in the
area of high-tech patents” and that “she is ‘without doubt a star’ in the field,” echoing the words
of some of her clients quoted by Chambers Europe 2014 and who state that “she was excellent
and handled the technical aspects of the case really well, whilst not being a scientist."
Marina Cousté is a member of various associations: the Association Internationale pour la
Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (AIPI) [International Association for the Protection of
Intellectual Property], the Association Française pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle
(AFPPI) [French Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property], the European Patent
Lawyers Association (EPLA), and the Association Française des Praticiens du Droit des Marques
et des Modèles (APRAM) [French Association of Legal Practitioners in Trademarks and Models],
among others.
John Trinidad works with the Wine Law, Alcohol Beverage, Business,
Geographical Indications and Intellectual Property groups. During his time at
DP&F, he has advised wine industry clients on a broad range of issues,
including the purchase of winery brands; drafting of grape purchase, custom
crush, and third party marketing agreements; franchise law; and trademark
registration and brand protection. He has also counseled clients in responding
to audits from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and
obtaining federal and state permits and licenses for alcohol beverage businesses. John also serves
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as General Counsel to the American Wine Consumers Coalition, an advocacy organizations
seeking to protect consumer rights and lower barriers to wine access, and is a member of the
Advisory Board of the Napa Valley Wine Library Association.
John has been published and quoted in a number of publications on wine law issues, including
Wine Business Monthly, Practical Winery & Vineyard Management, Decanter.com, and EaterNY,
and is a frequent contributor to the DPF wine law blog, LexVini. He has also presented at the
University of California Berkeley School of Law, the UC Davis School of Law and wine industry
conferences.
In 2011, John explored his interest in the wine industry by working harvest at wineries in Sonoma
and Burgundy and visiting more than 50 wineries in France and Germany. This hands-on
experience gave John a deep appreciation for the complex set of regulatory and business
problems faced by growers and producers. It also drove him to try to combine his legal and
business experience.
Prior to joining DP&F, John launched a well received wine blog and actively used Twitter and
Facebook as outlets for his writing and publicizing wine-related information. In 2013, John was
named as one of seventeen “Wine Experts to Follow on Twitter” by Food & Wine Magazine, along
with noted experts such as Eric Asimov of the New York Times and Jon Bonné of the San Francisco
Chronicle. John lives in Napa, enjoys cooking, and is an avid photographer.
As Chief Strategy Officer of VinTank, Paul Mabray’s
leadership is the driver for the overall vision, strategic
direction and product development. Handling all of the
business development and sharing the vision for product
development allows him to be in a key position to connect
emerging technologies for the wine industry.
Paul has been in the wine and spirits industry for more than
20 years. He has worked for Napa Ale Works, NiebaumCoppola, WineShopper/Wine.com and also was the North
American Beverage Consultant for Sumitomo Corporation of
America from 2002 through 2005. He founded Inertia in 2002 as one of the first major companies
established to bridge the barrier between wineries and their customers. He was CEO from 2003
until 2008 creating the largest and most powerful e-commerce platform for the wine industry,
the Rethink Engine.
Under his leadership, Inertia created incredible new products for the wine industry to help open
up the ability to sell and market direct, including the innovative Direct to Trade, ReThink
Compliance, Brix Open Source CMS, Marketplace Enablement and many more. For his last six
months at Inertia, Paul was Chief Strategy Officer and EVP of Business Development in charge of
creating key strategic direction, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. Inertia
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successfully evolved into Winedirect.com and is the foremost leader for enabling direct to
consumer for the wine industry.
VinTank is a continuation of his desire to help revolutionize the wine industry by bridging the gap
between wine and the digital world.
A four-time American Wine Blog Awards finalist, he has also been a guest lecturer at UC
Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, UC Davis and many other symposiums, seminars, blogs and
periodicals for his leadership in the wine industry. Paul formerly sat on the Board of Directors for
the wine business social network Openwineconsortium.org, which was sold to FOHBOH, and the
Board of Advisers for Snooth.com, Taste.com and Cruvee.com (which was purchased by VinTank).
He now is on the Board of Directors for the theappreciationengine.com.
Kristen Techel is well versed in all aspects of alcoholic beverage law. In
particular, she is a specialist in the nationwide advertising, promotion and
marketing of alcoholic beverages—including third party providers,
sweepstakes, contests, discounts and coupons. A substantial portion of her
practice focuses on the legal issues surrounding Internet sales models, direct
shipment of alcohol and social media. She frequently advises clients on
licensing, regulatory compliance, tied-house issues, alternating
proprietorships, emerging business models and more.
Kristen was born and raised in Napa, working the foiling machine at a winery on weekends, where
she made a name for herself with her consistently wrinkly application. Luckily, she realized her
interest in the industry would be better served with a law degree, and now makes up for her past
by ironing out wrinkles of an entirely different kind.
Experience: Hinman & Carmichael, LLP, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.
Education: B.A., UCLA, 2000. J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law, 2003.
Theodore Georgopoulos graduated from Athens Law School in
1997, and did his postgraduate studies in International Law (Athens,
1998) and European Law (Aix-en-Provence, 1999). He has a Ph.D. in
European and Comparative Law (Aix-en-Provence, 2003, magna cum
laude) and Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (Aix-en-Provence,
2009).
Full-time Associate Professor (Maître de conférences) at Reims Law
School since 2004, he mainly teaches Wine Law, Comparative
Constitutional Law as well as European and International Law. He also
teaches as Permanent Visiting Professor European Economic Law in Aixen-Provence (since 2005), EU Law at the Democritus Law School (Komotini, Greece, since 2008)
and Comparative Constitutional Law at the Institute of Political Studies of Paris (Reims campus,
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since 2010). Previously, he taught EU Law as Visiting Professor at the European Institute of Public
Administration (Brussels), at the Bucharest Law School (Romania), the Law School of the
Universities of Montpellier and Bordeaux, the Bordeaux School of Management, the School of
Agriculture of Angers, Stanford Law School and Berkeley Law. He lectures at Harvard, Minnesota
and NYU, and is the supervisor of six Ph.D. theses in Wine Law and European Law.
Director of the Wine & Law Program, he teaches a Jean Monnet Course in EU Wine and Spirits
Law and is responsible for several research programs in legal studies related to the wine industry.
As a researcher at the “Centre de Recheche sur la Décentralisation territoriale” (Reims), he is
responsible for Research on Wine Law at the University of Reims Law School. He has also spent
seven months on a Fulbright Scholarship as a Visiting Academic Scholar in the NYU Jean Monnet
Center (N.Y., U.S.A., 2006) and at the Law School of the University of Tübingen (Germany, 2002).
As an Attorney-at-Law, he joined the Athens Bar Association, specializing in the field of European
Law and Wine Law. He did an internship in the European Court of Justice (2001), and is the Legal
Counsel of the Greek Wine Federation and the Greek Association of Producers of Spirit
Beverages. He has represented his clients before national and European courts, including the
European Court of Justice.
Writing activity: He is the author of four monographs and two textbooks in EU Law, some 50
articles as well as the editor of two books (published in English, French and Greek), focusing on
the enforcement of European and International Law in the national legal order (with emphasis
on the French, German and U.S. Law) on questions of substantive EC and U.S. Law (especially Tax
and Public Economic Law), and on European and Comparative Wine Law. He is also director of
the series Vin & Droit of the Mare & Martin Publishers (Paris).
Theodore is a member of the the French Association of European Law, of the Examination
Committee of Paris Bar Association, the Editor Board of the Journal of Administrative Law
(Athens), the European Union Studies Association, the International Wine Law Association, the
European Association of Wine Economists and the American Association of Wine Economists, the
Council of Reims Law School, the French University Council (CNU), and the Law and Consumer
Protection Committee of the International Vine and Wine Organisation.
Prizes – Scholarships: Jean Monnet Module in EU Wine Law (2009) ; EU – U.S. Fulbright
Scholarship (2006); Emile Noël Scholarship of the Centre Jean Monnet, NYU School of Law (2006);
Ph.D. Prizes of the Centre Français de Droit Comparé (2004), the Groupe Européen de Droit Public
(2004), of the University Aix-Marseille III (2004) and the French ECSA Organization (2004);
Research Scholarship of the French-German Office of Youth (2002) and of the Hague Academy of
International Law (2000).
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Jim Terry is a Director with Dickenson, Peatman &
Fogarty and has extensive experience practicing in
the areas of Business, Alcohol Beverage and Real
Property matters. He has represented a variety of
buyers and sellers in numerous vineyard and winery
acquisitions throughout California. His wine industry
related practice also includes business entity
selection and formation, business planning,
particularly in relation to family succession issues, sales and acquisitions, grape purchase
agreements and vineyard leasing. While at DP&F, Jim has represented American and
International wine companies and grape growers, wine importing companies, wine brokers,
developers, REITs, financial institutions and public and private companies in matters ranging from
business entity formation and restructuring, real estate sales, acquisitions and leasing, business
and asset sales and acquisitions, debt and equity financing transactions, and succession planning.
Jim acted as lead counsel for a leading vineyard development company in connection with
acquisition and due diligence of vineyard development properties throughout the state of
California having cumulative value in excess of $250,000,000. In 2012, Jim was lead counsel for
an International wine company in its acquisition of vineyard and wine production facilities in
California. In 2013, Jim was recognized by Chambers USA as one of the leading wine industry
lawyers in the country.
Philip James is the founding CEO of Lot18, a website that
provides consumers with access to a curated selection of
wines. Lot18 is headquartered in New York City, and is backed
by $45 million in venture capital from Accel, NEA and FirstMark
Capital.
Prior to Lot18, Philip was the founding CEO of Snooth, a
lifestyle media company with several properties, including
Snooth.com, TheSpir.it and WhatsCook.in. Philip is also a
founder of Popdust, a music-focused content and commerce
company backed by RRE, NEA, Lerer Ventures, Softbank,
Raptor and Project A.
Philip was named a Finalist in the 2012 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and to
Business Insider’s 2011 “Silicon Alley 100” list of the most important figures in the New York tech
sector. He was also invited to be in the second annual class of NYC Venture Fellows, a program
from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office that recognizes the achievements of the city’s most
promising entrepreneurs. Philip is also a mentor at the New York branch of Techstars, a startup
accelerator program.
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Philip graduated from Oxford University in 1999 with a master’s in Chemistry, and from Columbia
Business School with an MBA in 2005. In addition he holds the Certified Specialist of Wine from
the Society of Wine Educators.
In 2013 Philip rode his motorcycle 17,000 miles around the world, raising money for Wine to
Water, a water charity with projects in 15 countries. His trip was cut short after needing surgery
upon crashing in Kazakhstan. Philip is also a mountaineer and a sailor. A certified Yachtmaster,
Philip has sailed in many offshore races, including the Trans-Atlantic ARC race in 2002. He has
also climbed on five continents and climbed Mount Everest in 2003 and played a role in the high
altitude rescue of Conan Harrod from Everest's North Face.
A distinguished academician, lawyer, public servant and sixthgeneration Texan, Judge Ken Starr serves as the chief
executive officer of Baylor University, holding the titles of
President and Chancellor. On June 1, 2010, Judge Starr began his
service as the 14th president to serve Baylor University and was
named to the position of President and Chancellor on November
11, 2013. In providing the additional title, he is charged with the
task of increasing Baylor’s influence in the nation and around the
world.
Judge Starr also serves on the faculty of Baylor Law School as The
Louise L. Morrison Chair of Constitutional Law and teaches a
seminar on current Constitutional issues. Judge Starr is a member of the Board of Directors for
the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and currently serves
as President of the Southern University Conference. In addition, he serves as a member of the
Board of Trustees for the Baylor College of Medicine and the Board of Trustees for Baylor Scott
& White Health.
In September 2010, Judge Starr established his first fundraising priority: The President’s
Scholarship Initiative, a three-year challenge to raise $100 million for student scholarships, which
was completed five months ahead of its goal. He also is leading Baylor into the future under Pro
Futuris, a new strategic vision developed with the collective wisdom of the extended Baylor
family.
Judge Starr has argued 36 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including 25 cases during his
service as Solicitor General of the United States from 1989-93. He also served as U.S. Circuit Judge
for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1983 to 1989, as law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E.
Burger from 1975 to 1977 and as law clerk to Fifth Circuit Judge David W. Dyer from 1973 to
1974. Starr was appointed to serve as Independent Counsel for five investigations, including
Whitewater, from 1994 to 1999.
Prior to coming to Baylor, Judge Starr served for six years as The Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean
and Professor of Law at Pepperdine, where he taught current constitutional issues and civil
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procedure. He has also been of counsel to the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he was a
partner from 1993 to 2004, specializing in appellate work, antitrust, federal courts, federal
jurisdiction and constitutional law. Judge Starr previously taught constitutional law as an adjunct
professor at New York University School of Law and was a distinguished visiting professor at
George Mason University School of Law and Chapman Law School. He is admitted to practice in
California, the District of Columbia, Virginia and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Starr is the author of more than 25 publications, and his book, First Among Equals: The
Supreme Court in American Life (2002), was praised by U.S. Circuit Judge David B. Sentelle as
"eminently readable and informative…not just the best treatment to-date of the Court after
[Chief Justice Earl] Warren,[but] it is likely to have that distinction for a long, long time."
A member of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco, Judge Starr and his wife, Alice, have
three children and six grandchildren.
Matthew Botting was appointed to the position of ABC General
Counsel in August, 2008. Botting has more than 16 years of state
government legal experience. He was ABC’s Chief Legal Counsel from
2000-2004 before he left for a short time to work in private practice.
Botting returned to ABC in 2005 where he served as a Staff Counsel III
until his appointment to General Counsel. Prior to joining ABC in 2000,
Botting was a Deputy Attorney General with the California Department
of Justice. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce
(Economics) degrees from Otago University in New Zealand before
relocating to the United States.
Steve Gross is Director of State Relations at the Wine Institute, where
he has been employed since 1986. Steve’s duties entail overseeing the
activities of the Wine Institute’s six State Relations Regional Counsels as
they address state legislation affecting the wine industry, as well as
coordinating Wine Institute’s legislative and regulatory activities with
staff, contract lobbyists and member wineries.
Steve regularly participates in many national programs dealing with
issues facing the wine industry, both on the legislative and regulatory
levels. Steve serves on the Board of Directors of both Sustainable Conservation and the California
Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB). He also serves on the Sonoma State
University Wine Business Program Executive Advisory Board. A native of Nebraska, Steve brought
to the Wine Institute knowledge garnered during his ten years of employment in the on-sale food
and beverage industry, as well as extensive experience in political campaigns and legislative
activism.
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Michael I. Halfacre was appointed Director of the Division of
Alcoholic Beverage Control by Governor Chris Christie. He began his
work as Acting Director on February 6, 2012 and, after New Jersey
Senate confirmation, was sworn in as Director on March 30, 2012.
Prior to coming to the ABC, Halfacre served as mayor of Fair Haven. He
took office in the Monmouth County borough in 2007 and won
reelection in 2010. In addition to his role as mayor, Halfacre ran his own
law practice, where he specialized in transactions, including sales and
refinance of real estate and transfers of ABC licenses and worked as a
municipal prosecutor in nearby Little Silver and Rumson, where he argued for convictions for
drunk drivers and adults who provided alcohol to underage drinkers.
As mayor of Fair Haven, Halfacre lowered property taxes every year from 2008 to 2011. He
spearheaded the town’s efforts to share police and emergency dispatching services with
Monmouth County, which saved $100,000 annually. He also increased recreational opportunities
in Fair Haven by hiring a full-time Recreation Director, paid for completely by program fees. Prior
to becoming mayor, Halfacre served on the borough’s Board of Education and was the board’s
attorney for 10 years.
The lifelong resident of Fair Haven has a strong connection with his hometown. He has served on
the boards of the Fair Haven Community Appeal, the Fair Haven Education Foundation and Fair
Haven Parents for Parks. He was an affiliate member of the Fair Haven Fire Company. During his
work as a lawyer, he has served as a trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, OceanMonmouth Legal Services and the Monmouth Bar Association.
Halfacre earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Florida State University,
where he was the co-captain of the varsity swimming team. He later earned his law degree from
the University of Dayton. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1991. He is married to Tricia,
and has three children: Ellie, Matthew and Marshall.
Doug Wood is Co-Chair of Reed Smith's Media & Entertainment Industry
Group and the firm's Advertising, Technology & Media Group. He has more
than 35 years of experience representing the entertainment and media
industries, including individuals and multinational companies in motion
picture, publishing, advertising, marketing, promotions, unfair competition,
intellectual property and e-commerce matters.
He is the author of Please be Ad-Vised: A Legal Reference Guide for the Advertising Executive,
now in its 7th edition. Doug is a member of Reed Smith’s Social and Digital Media Task Force and
co-editor of the Social Media White Paper, entitled Network Interference: A Legal Guide to the
Commercial Risks and Rewards of the Social Media Phenomenon.
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Doug serves as legal adviser to several worldwide trade organizations and is General Counsel to
the Association of National Advertisers, the Advertising Research Foundation, and the
Advertising Council. He is also the chief negotiator for the Joint Policy Committee on Broadcast
Talent Union Relations, the multi-employer bargaining unit for the advertising industry that
negotiates the multi-billion dollar commercials collective bargaining agreements with SAG-AFTRA
and the American Federation of Musicians. In addition, Doug is the founder of the Global
Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA), a network of independent law firms that have expertise in
advertising and marketing law with members in more than 50 countries. In 2012, Doug created
the Party of We, a website dedicated to debates and conversations related to the Internet.
Doug also has considerable experience in intellectual property issues that rise in connection with
marketing brands, including trademark protection, Internet domain name disputes and gTLD
issues, and ICANN governance.
Doug is a frequent speaker, writer and media commentator on a variety of subjects involving
media, entertainment, advertising and marketing-related legal topics for the Association of
National Advertisers, the World Federation of Advertising, the American Advertising Federation,
the International Advertising Association, and advertising agency networks and clubs throughout
the world.
John Hinman has more than 35 years of experience with all
aspects of the alcoholic beverage industry, is an administrative
hearing advocate, and is one of the leading alcoholic beverage
trade practice, marketing and distribution lawyers in the United
States. John has published numerous articles and treatises. He
has successfully represented industry members in BATF, TTB and
ABC discipline, protest, and appeal proceedings up to and including the California Supreme Court.
John is actively involved in First Amendment and Commerce Clause litigation around the country
and was a pioneer in establishing the legal framework for alcoholic beverage businesses using
new communications technology.
Admissions
1975, California; U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of
Appeals 2005, Supreme Court of the United States.
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A., with honors, 1971).
Columbia University (J.D., 1974); Phi Delta Phi (Story Inn).
College of Advocacy, University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1980).
Community and Professional Involvement
John practiced for five years as General Counsel of Sonoma Vineyards, the first publicly traded
national winery. He has served on the Advisory Council to the California Senate Select Committee
on California's Wine Industry and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Wine
Distribution Association. He has also drafted legislation amending various provisions of the
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California Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. He currently serves on the board of directors and as
general counsel of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association (specialtywineretailers.org) and the
California Music and Culture Association (cmacsf.org), and on the board of directors of Raphael
House (raphaelhouse.org).
John has lectured at University of California, Davis Extension on the "Legal Aspects of Winery
Management" and on "Buying and Selling Wine Grapes." John has also lectured with the
California Department of Food & Agriculture Educational Seminar Team, has testified before
state legislatures in California and other states on alcohol policy matters, and is a regular
participant on panels in industry seminars throughout the United States.
Melissa Harms started her legal career at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky &
Walker, where she advised Fortune 500 companies, large financial
institutions, and government entities. Additionally, Harms has worked in
business development at a high technology media organization, before she
joined a private immigration firm specializing exclusively in immigration law.
She has advised large public universities, private research entities,
multinational corporations, as well as small start-up ventures on a variety of
immigration issues.
Her expertise and experience includes obtaining non-immigrant and permanent residency status
for foreign national employees, ensuring document compliance with immigration laws and
export control regulations, and recommending policies and procedures for employing foreign
nationals. Additionally, Harms has represented individuals in family-based permanent residence,
naturalization, asylum applications and waivers of the two-year return requirement for J-1 visa
holders.
Harms has served in a number of leadership positions on the American Immigration Lawyers
Association Northern California Executive Board, most recently as liasion with the California
Employment Development Department, which issues prevailing wage obligations for nonimmigrant visa petitions and labor certifications. Harms teaches courses on immigration law at
both the University of California and California State University. She has been invited to speak
locally and nationally at conferences and presentations on various immigration subjects.
Melissa Harms graduated cum laude from Duke University with a B.A. in both History and Public
Policy. Additionally, Harms participated in a scholar exchange program studying international
relations and government at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Harms earned her law degree
from the University of Georgia, where she received a merit tuition scholarship and served on the
Editorial Board of the Georgia Law Review.
Melissa Harms offers personalized attention to each of her client’s needs. All cases are treated
as priority and are handled expeditiously with a careful eye towards the ever-changing trends in
immigration law.
13
Tracy Genesen is currently the General Counsel of Edrington
Americas. She was a partner in the San Francisco office of Reed Smith
LLP, directing a variety of complex multi-district federal court
litigation, focusing primarily on constitutional law matters, with
particular focus on challenges to state alcohol regulatory statutes. She
also manages high-volume complex civil litigation cases in the health
care, software and professional liability areas and is an experienced
regulatory attorney who has represented numerous clients before the
California
Department
of served
Alcohol
Beveragelegal
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the adviser
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Trade Commission. Earlier
in her career,
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thethe
State
Bar of California with particular emphasis on
high profile attorney ethics cases.
Genesen was recently selected as a “Top Women Litigator” by the Daily Journal, which called her
the “primary go-to litigator for American wine industry trade associations on constitutional
issues.” She served as the American Wine Industry’s litigation strategist for the landmark U.S.
Supreme Court case of Granholm v. Heald and recently won the Family Winemakers v.
Jenkins case in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Erik Lawrence obtained his J.D. at UC Davis, School of Law. He is
currently a Senior Attorney at Gaw Van Male (Napa, CA). Previously,
he was the Associate General Counsel at Sutter Home Winery –
Trinchero Family Estates.
Before that, Erik worked as an attorney at Dickenson, Peatman &
Fogarty and Shartsis Friese, and has been the Director of the Napa
Valley College Foundation since 2010. He also was a commercial banker
with Wells Fargo for seven years
K. Christopher Branch has practiced law in the State of California for
more than 20 years. In 1996, Branch founded his own legal services firm,
where he represents entrepreneurs, corporations, LLC’s, trusts and
partnerships. He received his .J.D from Loyola Law School where he is an
adjunct professor of Wine Law. He obtained a B.A. from the University of
Southern California in International Economics.
He actively teaches professionals and students at regional wine forums,
local colleges and major wine universities in France and California. He
resides in the Central Coast of California and Napa Valley with his wife, Anne. Their labrador,
Roxy, often accompanies Branch to meetings in the vineyards.
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Elena Carretero holds an M.A. on Economy from the Catholic University
of Leuven (Belgium), and has been an active participant on key wine trade
negotiations between the European Union and Chile, and also in the IPR
chapter of the EU Agreement. For five years she served as the Chilean
government’s representative in the World Wine Trade Group treaties.
After her experience in the public sector, Carretero became the CEO of
Vinnova and Tecnovid, companies created in Chile as a partnership
between private sector and universities for Research and Development.
During that period she was in charge of the signing of the agreement with
UC Davis for R&D. One of the innovative programs she developed was the Sustainability Program
and Standard for the Chilean Wine Industry (http://www.sustentavid.org/).
Today she is part of the board of directors of the R&D and Sustainability of Wines of Chile and
she currently serves as the Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director of Santa Rita—the second
most important Chilean vineyard.
Dr. Song Zhu was named among the top 75 Intellectual Property
Lawyers in California in 2013 by the Daily Journal. His practice focuses
on intellectual property litigation, licensing, counseling, procurement,
opinion and due diligence. He has represented clients from the
United States, China, Europe and Japan, including multinational
companies and technology startups in numerous intellectual property
litigation matters.
Zhu has represented clients on patent aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and has filed and
prosecuted appeals before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office. He has also prepared and prosecuted hundreds of patent
applications involving a variety of technologies such as semiconductor manufacturing,
electronic devices, telecommunications, computer systems and software, renewable energy,
automotive systems and medical devices. In addition, he has prepared opinion letters on
infringement, validity and patentability.
Zhu is a partner with WilmerHale. Prior to joining WilmerHale, he was a partner in the San
Francisco office of a major law firm, where he represented clients in the technology,
automotive, medical devices and electronics industries. Before then, Zhu was a senior engineer
at General Motors, where he conducted research on electronic systems, engines and
powertrains, and coordinated research projects involving engineers from different divisions of
the company.
15
Laura Millano is an IP/commercial lawyer (qualified in Italy,
England and Wales). Since 2014 she is Of Counsel at Interpatent, a
very well reputed Italian intellectual property consulting firm
(established in Turin, northwest Italy, in 1927). She also works as a
solo practitioner dealing mainly with contractual matters. Her clients
include companies in the business of network infrastructures and
integrated services for electronic communications, software houses
and import/export companies.
Her employment history includes almost four years in an Italian toptier law firm specializing in intellectual property law and almost three
years as an in-house lawyer in a successful Italian company (Seven S.p.A.), which producing bags.
She also worked for two years in the UK as an assistant solicitor at Hill Dickinson LLP (Manchester
office) and, since her return to Italy in 2009, she served as an assistant director at the University
of Turin/WIPO/ILO (Master of Laws in Intellectual Property Law). After this amazing experience
she worked in a boutique law firm in Turin and in a boutique law firm in Milan dealing, in both
cases, with commercial contracts and intellectual property law matters (contentious and noncontentious) for a wide range of Italian and foreign clients.
Millano holds an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Manchester and
received a law degree from the University of Turin (first class and honours). She also attended
the BPP courses (law school) in the UK to qualify as a Solicitor. She contributes to the legal journal
“Giurisprudenza Italiana” with comments on intellectual property and copyright cases.
16