Isabelle R. Cunningham

Isabelle counsels clients in the alcohol, conventional beverage, food, and consumable hemp sectors through every stage of the product lifecycle, from product formulation and labeling through advertising and distribution. Well-versed in the complexities of food and beverage law, including Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, Isabelle serves as strategic regulatory counsel to manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. She advises on commercial agreements including production and supply agreements, distribution agreements, and marketing and sponsorship contracts as well as alcohol franchise law and trade practices, wholesaler relations, and tied house law. Isabelle also provides regulatory guidance on investments, mergers, acquisitions, and cross-tiered business relationships, such as trademark and data licensing agreements, within the alcohol beverage industry.

Isabelle has extensive and industry-leading experience with product launches. She advises clients on the launch of new and innovative products in the alcohol and food and beverage categories across all phases, including product formulation and labeling, pre-market regulatory approvals, and marketing, promotion, and advertising.

Before entering private practice, Isabelle served as in-house counsel at a multi-billion-dollar beverage company, where she advised senior leadership on compliance with alcohol beverage franchise, contract, and trade practice law and negotiated contracts in connection with sponsorships, marketing, and creative services. She also helped manage the company’s national network of distributors.  She was part of the team overseeing one of the largest craft brewery mergers in the United States, including assisting with national wholesaler consolidation efforts. Isabelle’s business-minded counsel is shaped in large part by her years of experience working directly with procurement, sales, and marketing teams on commercial agreements and risk mitigation strategies.