Retail and brand promotions have drastically evolved and continue to change. The use of social media influencers has been transformational, and the practice of using computer-generated images and/or robot influencers is becoming more common. Our lawyers work with in-house legal and marketing teams as they plan and execute advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns. We regularly audit ad copy, marketing materials, websites, software apps, and labeling for false advertising, claim substantiation, regulatory compliance, intellectual property infringement, and right of privacy and publicity issues. We also draft and negotiate ad agency, co-promotion, influencer, celebrity endorsement, sponsorship, and other marketing services agreements. Our lawyers advise clients on how to comply with Federal Trade Commission rules and guidelines, as well as on how to avoid consumer, competitor, and regulator challenges associated with marketing campaigns. 

Over the past several years, many retailers have announced store closings, and others have filed for bankruptcy to reorganize, conduct a going-concern sale, or liquidate. Even those operating in the retail industry who are not facing financial issues can be significantly affected when their customers, vendors, and/or contract counterparties experience financial distress or commence a bankruptcy proceeding. It is important that financially healthy retail businesses know how to minimize the risks presented by bankruptcy and insolvency, as well as how to take advantage of potential opportunities available in the bankruptcy and restructuring context. Members of our Bankruptcy & Restructuring team have represented retailers in reorganization and liquidation proceedings, creditors and official committees of unsecured creditors in retail bankruptcy cases, landlords whose tenants experience financial distress or commence bankruptcy proceedings, purchasers of assets out of bankruptcy, trade creditors with reclamation and similar rights, secured creditors, trustees, and receivers. 

Consumer protection laws mean high stakes for retail and consumer products companies. Government investigations, class actions, and adverse publicity can follow even small legal missteps. Perkins Coie helps companies navigate compliance with consumer protection laws, and our seasoned litigators—who include former enforcement officials and counsel practicing before government agencies and other regulatory organizations—use innovative approaches to address consumer issues, including class actions. 

Intellectual property (IP) is a core asset for retailers and consumer products companies. Protecting patents, trademarks, and other IP assets is mission critical, as are the IP strategies and programs that can keep competitors at bay in jurisdictions worldwide. Our team develops proactive brand protection strategies and aggressively defends these rights in court when disputes arise. Such issues include trademark and copyright, domestic and international trademark work, domain name disputes, website audits, advertising review, and dispute management; patent procurement and patent advice to brick-and-mortar retailers and e-commerce companies; and IP litigation on behalf of consumer brands and companies that manufacture, market, and distribute products for sale by traditional retailers. 

Our Labor & Employment lawyers regularly counsel some of the largest national retailers on a variety of issues, from day-to-day employment counseling to strategic planning and advice to the defense of aggressive class-action litigation. We have extensive experience advising retailers on framing executive employments, attracting top talent, and negotiating and drafting separation agreements; counseling on fair labor practices and proactively defending our clients when individual wage-and-hour claims or wage-and-hour class actions are filed; discretely navigating sensitive workplace conduct situations; and applying the American with Disabilities Act to retailers’ core technologies, including point-of-sale devices, websites, and mobile applications. 

While data and security breaches are happening in virtually all industries, significant attention is given to breaches committed against retail and consumer products because they are often household names, and many state laws require retailers to notify the public of a breach. Our Privacy & Security lawyers represent the world’s leading internet companies, brick-and-mortar retailers, and emerging online businesses. From data protection and breach preparedness to new requirements under the California Consumer Privacy Act, we are known for our commitment to achieving favorable outcomes for our clients in the data and privacy arena. 

Perkins Coie assists retail companies and property owners in realizing and protecting the value of their real estate portfolios. We assemble retail real estate counsel teams to precisely match the needs of each client’s project or legal challenge. We advise both large, corporate retail clients and emerging retail companies with respect to leasing issues across the country, and our lawyers often serve as outside real estate counsel for clients with respect to their expanding footprints for retail, headquarters, and home office leases across the country and internationally. In addition, Perkins Coie real estate lawyers have helped several online retail companies address their evolving real estate needs as they transition from online to brick-and-mortar sales. 

Our lawyers have represented some of the most significant e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers in a variety of matters, including retail sales tax collection issues (discounts, coupons, loyalty programs, bad debts, nonresident exemptions, internet sales, nexus, and taxability); sales tax on consumables and construction activities; special taxes on liquor, soda, and plastic bags; and property tax disputes for big-box retailers and mall owners. 

The compliance environment for retailers and consumer products companies has rapidly shifted in recent years. Today, companies are held to a higher standard and are expected to monitor their supply chains like never before. A company’s supply chain is now measured based on the impact that it is making in promoting sustainability, human rights, fair labor practices, and anti-corruption policies. Our Supply Chain Compliance and Corporate Social Responsibility teams support retail and consumer products businesses in these efforts. Since establishing a first-of-its-kind practice among Am Law 100 firms, we have helped companies address virtually every type of compliance issue. We have conducted risk assessments, designed and revised dozens of compliance programs, and conducted extensive U.S.-based and international supply chain investigations. Our team includes former officials from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and state attorneys general offices, as well as former in-house counsel.