Richard
M.
Blau
CURRICULUM VITAE OF
RICHARD M. BLAU, ESQ.
Blau, Richard M.
545 Ladrone Avenue
Tampa, Florida 33606 USA
+1 (813) 220-8125
Practice Area: Richard Blau was the founder of Holland & Knight LLP's Alcohol Law Practice (1989-2005), as well GrayRobinson P.A.’s Nationwide Alcohol Law Group/Regulated Products Section (2005-2025). Mr. Blau counsels clients on the rules, regulations, and business practices that govern the production, importation, distribution, marketing, sale and consumption of distilled spirits, wine, beer, and other licensed beverages.
Mr. Blau has alcohol industry-specific experience in the following areas of alcohol regulation:
- Administrative law and compliance;
- Litigation, including trial and appellate representation, and service as an expert witness;
- Dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration;
- Regulatory guidance for mergers and acquisitions;
- Advertising and promotional law;
- Importation matters;
- Trade practice regulation and innovation, including e-Commerce compliance and guidance;
- Brand development and protection;
- Alcohol-related legislative drafting and lobbying;
- Supplier/Wholesaler relations; and
- Responsible vendor training and development of best practices for the alcohol beverage and hospitality industries.
Mr. Blau also works closely with representatives of state and federal government, drafting administrative rules and proposed legislation - both on behalf of clients, as well as at the request of regulators. He has testified as an expert on alcohol regulation and related legal issues before state legislators in Florida, Hawaii and New York, as well as before the Interagency Panel of the U.S. Trade Representative in connection with proposed tariffs on alcohol beverages imported from the European Union.
Mr. Blau has experience representing all three tiers (manufacturers & importers, wholesale distributors and retailers), as well as all major segments (beer, wine, distilled spirits and hybrid producers) of the alcohol beverage industry. He has represented: international multi-brand owner/importers as well as both foreign and domestic manufacturers; statewide wholesaler trade associations and distributors that operate in multiple states through affiliated entities; and retailers (including national and multistate restaurant and hotel chains) across North America.
Professional Memberships: Mr. Blau is a member of The Florida Bar, The District of Columbia Bar, the New York Bar, the American Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association. He is admitted to practice law in the following courts: United States Supreme Court; United States Court of International Trade; United States Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh and Federal Circuits; United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida; United States Court of Military Appeals; the Florida Supreme Court; the District of Columbia Court of Appeals; and the New York Court of Appeals; Additionally, Mr. Blau is an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Alcohol & Hospitality Industry-Related Activities: Mr. Blau served for six years as the Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Beverage Alcohol Practice. He also served for several years on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys (AHIA). Mr. Blau is an Industry Member of the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA) as well as the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA), and lectures on Twenty-First Amendment issues before regulators at annual meetings of both organizations. Additionally, Mr. Blau recently served as the American Bar Association’s Advisor to the Alcohol Direct Shipping Compliance Act Committee of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
Professional Honors: Awarded the highest rating assigned by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (AV), Mr. Blau’s proficiency has been recognized by Chambers and Partners (Mr. Blau is ranked “Band 1” nationally for Food & Beverage Law since 2008), as well as by repeated and current selection by peer-ranking publications such as Best Lawyers in America (ranked nationally for Alcohol Beverage & Food law), Super Lawyers and Legal Elite. In 2019, the state alcohol regulators of the NCSLA inducted Mr. Blau to the organization’s Hall of Fame (only the 10th person so honored during the organization’s 85 year history).
Career: Prior to joining GrayRobinson, Mr. Blau was a partner at Holland & Knight LLP, where he originated that firm’s Alcohol Beverage law practice. As a trial lawyer with over thirty years of experience, Mr. Blau has litigated jury and bench trials in state and federal courts, and has participated in numerous arbitrations and mediations. In the area of alcohol beverage regulation, Mr. Blau successfully litigated on behalf of manufacturers, setting important precedents for the industry in Geary Distributing Company v. All Brand Importers, Inc. (imposing constitutional limits on the application of a state beer franchise law) and in Jim Taylor Corporation v. Guinness Import Company (defining “brand extension” under Florida law). Mr. Blau also has served on several occasions as an expert witness, testifying on alcohol beverage brand ownership and distribution matters in both court and arbitration proceedings.
Since establishing the Nationwide Alcohol Industry Group and Regulated Products Section at GrayRobinson, Mr. Blau has worked both nationally and internationally helping clients achieve business objectives within the rigorous and complex regulatory environment governing the United States marketplace. In addition to representing global drinks companies as outside regulatory counsel for North America, Mr. Blau presided over the licensure and compliance responsibilities for two of the largest M&A transactions involving U.S. retailers in America –
(i) the acquisition of the entire Hess Corporation retail network by Marathon Oil Company, in which the Alcohol Industry Group was privileged to represent both Hess and Marathon in this US $2.875 billion transaction that entailed compliance responsibilities for over 10,000 distinct licenses across multiple states; and
(ii) the acquisition from Sunoco LP of more than 200 Sunoco branded gas and convenience retail stores by 7-Eleven, Inc. in a single transaction for a purchase price of approximately US $1 billion.
Publications: For over a decade, Mr. Blau annually edited the nationwide Survey of Reported Judicial Decisions Addressing the 21st Amendment and Related Alcohol Lawsfor the American Bar Association and the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators. From 1998 through 2006, he also authored the chapter “Beverage Alcohol Practice” for the annual Developments in Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice published by the American Bar Association. Other publications by Mr. Blau include: a chapter entitled “The Role of the Food and Beverage Attorney,” for the anthology Best Practices for Alcohol Beverage, Food and Drug Law, which was published by Aspatore Books; an article co-authored with U.S. Senator Connie Mack (R-Fla.) entitled “The Need for Fair Play: Repealing the Federal Baseball Antitrust Exemption,” which was published by the Florida Law Review of the University of Florida’s College of Law; a paper, “The Competency and Credibility of Children as Witnesses,” which was delivered to the World Conference on Police Psychology at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia; as well as “Speedy Trial: Pre-accusation Delay, Post-accusation Delay, and the Speedy Trial Act of 1975” which was published in the Georgetown Law Journal. Articles related specifically to alcohol industry issues that Mr. Blau has authored are listed below.
Education:
- Brandeis University, B.A. (1979); Recipient, Jacob Thurman Award.
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. (1982); Associate Editor for Topics, Georgetown Law Journal.
Professional:
- American Bar Association (ABA Committee on Beverage Alcohol Practice, Vice Chairman,
1996-2000; Chairman, 2001-2007);
- The Florida Bar (Chairman, Grievance Committee 13-A, 1990-1992);
- The American Law Institute (Elected Member, 1995 - Present);
- The National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (Industry Member, 1989 – Present);
- The National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (Industry Member, 2001 – Present);
- The Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys (Elected Member, 2001 – Present; Member,
Board of Directors, 2013-2016);
- ABA Advisor, Uniform Law Commission’s Alcohol Direct Shipping Compliance Act Committee
(2020 – Present).
- Rated “Band 1 - National” for Food & Beverage Law by Chambers and Partners (2008 - Present);
- Ranked in Best Lawyers in America (2011 -- Present);
- Rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (1992 – Present);
- Selected as “Top Attorney” by Super Lawyers (2006 – Present).