Overview
Christine Dower is a lawyer in the Alcohol Regulatory & Distribution Practice Group. She advises clients in the alcohol beverage, nontraditional beverage, private equity and growing cannabis industries on regulatory, litigation and transactional issues.
Christine has substantial experience conducting due diligence on behalf of companies seeking to acquire or invest in the alcohol beverage industry. She counsels clients in a variety of complex transactions – including acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, and strategic investments – on the legality of corporate structures and proposed investments under federal and state trade practice laws and regulations. Her work in this area includes advising clients on the risks involved in such transactions, drafting and negotiating the relevant provisions of transactional documents, and evaluating associated licensing requirements and post-closing distribution strategies.
Prior to joining McDermott, Christine was a litigator representing Fortune 500 companies in a variety of complex commercial and product liability matters. Her experience in all aspects of litigation enables her to provide strategic advice and counseling to companies facing government investigations, commercial disputes and arbitration. She has advised clients in assessing legal and compliance risks, developing litigation and defense strategies, creating search terms and other workflows to identify key documents and to reduce the universe of documents, managing eDiscovery document productions, and preparing witnesses for depositions, government interviews and trials. She has also managed large-scale document reviews, performing preliminary assessment and conducting quality control processes.
Results
- Conducted multistate surveys for national retailer and third-party provider related to tied-house, trade practice and advertising regulations. Worked closely with regulators to obtain clarity and guidance on issues
- Provided regulatory and licensing guidance to national retail chain franchise owners in connection with the amending and transferring of liquor licenses to ensure compliance with state and local law
- Advises private equity firms and alcohol beverage producers and retailers on tied-house restrictions impacting potential investments and/or restructurings
- Represents suppliers and their officers and directors in American Arbitration Association arbitrations relating to breach of contract and tort claims
- Reviews large sponsorship and advertising agreements, ensuring compliance with state and federal alcoholic beverage laws
- Advises large retailers and suppliers on strategies relating to the distribution of alcohol beverages in multiple states in connection with entering new markets
Credentials
Education
Temple University Beasley School of Law, JD, 2012
University of Delaware, BA, 2005
Courts/Agencies
US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Admissions
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
