Profiles in IP Law: Jessica Bahr

Constellation Brands is a Fortune 500® company and leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spir­its, with operations in the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, Italy, and Canada. Constellation is the number three beer com­pany in the United States, with high-end, iconic imported brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, and Pacifico. The company’s beer portfolio also includes Ballast Point, one of the most awarded craft brewers in the United States, and Funky Buddha Brewery. In addition, Constel­lation is the world leader in premium wine, selling great brands that people love, including Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, Mark West, Black Box, Ruffino, and The Prisoner. The company’s premium spirits brands include SVEDKA Vodka, Casa Noble Tequila, and High West Whiskey.

When I graduated from law school, I began practicing law in private practice. I worked for a boutique IP law firm doing trademark work as well as client counseling in other areas of intellectual property. After spending a couple of years there, I was presented with an opportunity to move in-house to the agency side at a large media conglomerate. I worked in the advertising law department there servicing advertising agen­cies within the organization. And then, a very close friend and mentor came to me with an opportunity and basically said, “I think you should apply for this job.” It was with Constellation Brands. I think she thought that it would be a good fit because it combined both areas of my practice, the substantive trade­mark law and advertising work as commercial counsel. I ultimately went through the application and interview process and, after interviewing with not only the legal department but the business side as well, was offered the opportunity. I’ve been at Constellation now for three and a half years.

I have. I have an undergraduate degree in journalism, and after working in television news during school, I realized it wasn’t for me. After I graduated, I worked for a live entertain­ment company and then an ad agency in marketing and public relations roles. At my first job, I was involved in booking talent to perform at the company’s various live entertainment venues— primarily family shows and comedians. And, at the advertising agency, I was part of a team that helped launch a new brand. I really enjoyed being a part of that process and observing what went into creating a brand from the ground up. I had a little bit of exposure to the legal side of things through both of those jobs over the course of a few years and found myself really intrigued. So, when I went to law school, I went with the hope and expec­tation that I would someday work as a brand attorney in the advertising and marketing space, not really knowing the types of law that would apply to that.

There was nothing pressing at the time I made the change— it just felt like it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I didn’t know it at the time, but I love being on the client side of things because you have the opportunity to really insert yourself in the development process and the business and feel like you’re an extension of the brand—more of an ambassador than you might otherwise be working in private practice.

Every day is a little bit different. I would say about a third to half of my desk is transactional work, focused on drafting and negotiating sponsorship, licensing, talent, and other agree­ments. And then the remaining portion is spent working with the business teams to identify and mitigate risk with brand and marketing execution and supporting new product development. As it relates to the Beer Division trademark portfolio, prosecu­tion and enforcement matters were a portion of my desk. I also spend a lot of time in meetings, as many matters are addressed in person during working sessions.

A lot of what I do touches on various areas of intellec­tual property, and while trademark work touches many of the areas I support, I also deal with advertising law matters, claim substantiation, privacy, copyright issues, consumer promo­tions, sweepstakes and contests, and alcohol beverage trade practice work (which are the state laws and regulations that pertain to alcohol beverage industry members and apply to basically everything that the company does).

We have a regulatory team that manages our state licenses and registrations and getting product into market in a compliant manner. But there is a subset of the trade practice laws that my team handles. And, while I had general familiarity with the rules when I took the job, it took time to get up to speed. Thankfully, we’ve worked with great outside firms over the years with attor­neys who are experts in the alcohol beverage industry—and their guidance and input has helped me develop expertise as well.

Constellation Brands is a growing organization, and there are a lot of different business units that we support. Keeping up to speed on the different laws and regulations for different commodities (beer, wine, and spirits) is an ongoing opportu­nity for my team. Because we’re a client service department first and foremost, a key priority is maintaining a great level of service so that internal business colleagues continue to uti­lize us as a resource and come to us early and often.

As for rewarding, Constellation Brands is a fantastic orga­nization to work for with a wonderful culture, so I enjoy going to work every day. As a brand and advertising attorney support­ing well-known brands, it’s really rewarding to see the work you support in market. The national TV advertising is always fun, and being able to see our sponsorship executions with different partners, whether it’s in professional sports or in the entertain­ment industry, is really rewarding. It makes it feel very tangible.

You know, it’s funny because my son identifies trademarks all the time. I’m already training him, like, that’s a trademark and that’s the logo for that particular brand. So when you see that, you know you’re going to that particular store. It’s an ongoing topic of conversation in our house.

It’s hard to pick just one. Our brands have such iconic iden­tities and campaigns, from Corona with “Find Your Beach,” to the Modelo “Fighting Spirit” campaign, and Pacifico with its “Live Life Anchors Up” focus on outdoor adventure. Each brand brings something different, and I thoroughly enjoy work­ing with our teams to bring to life iconic television advertising, cause marketing campaigns, sponsorship activations, and national consumer promotions. Our brands are strong and con­tinue to be relevant in our consumers’ lives—and that helps make every day at work fulfilling.

I can definitely relate to that. It’s a very, very crowded mar­ket. I mean there are thousands of craft breweries, craft beer brands. There are a growing number of craft distilleries as well. As it relates to some of our more famous marks, brand extension marks might be a little bit easier to review and clear because of the strength of the portfolio. But as our teams work in new prod­uct development, and if they’re creating innovations that aren’t attached to existing brands, it’s an ongoing discussion and educa­tion with the business about how one-word names are probably going to present some conflicts. And so, we do a lot of work with respect to training and educating the business on advising their agencies when they’re briefing them to come up with distinctive names, maybe two- or three-word names, or you know, combine an English term with a term of a foreign language, or develop an arbitrary word that no one understands, which is sometimes con­trary to marketing’s immediate goals. But we have a lot of those discussions to try and see if there’s something they can do to dis­tinguish new marks in a very, very crowded field.

It is so important to police our brands, and I think we have the benefit at Constellation of being a large supplier with a large sales force. We have a lot of employees who are on the ground, and they care just as much about our brands as we do in the legal department. So, we oftentimes will hear about potential trademark conflicts or issues directly from the market.

Yes, but training is broader than just trademark law for us, as we are in a heavily regulated space. We train on advertis­ing law generally, for example rights clearance, when you can and cannot use something in advertising and when review and approval is necessary. We also do a lot of training on alco­hol beverage trade practices. Thankfully, as I mentioned, we have a strong salesforce who really believe in the brands; so it helps to make that a little bit of an easier process.

Constellation is the high-end leader and driving most of the growth in the beer category. Our beer portfolio is made up entirely of high-end beer and includes strong brands with equity that has been built over a long period of time. For exam­ple, Corona is one of the most iconic consumer brands, and we recently introduced Corona Premier and Corona Familiar, both which had very successful launches. There’s no doubt brand equity plays a key role in success—but it’s also about the quality of the product. I think we do a great job delivering on what con­sumers want—with iconic brands and great tasting, quality beer.

I would say that from my perspective, the law practice in-house differs greatly from law practice in a firm. When I was in private practice, I was dealing with very specific questions, and often had limited information and a set period of time, with the expectation to give an assessment based on a very finite set of facts.

And within budget, which requires you to sometimes not seek additional information. Being in-house you’re embedded as part of a business, and I feel I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of a department that is valued as a business partner. We are involved in many business discussions up front, which allows us to help our nonlegal colleagues early on, identify risks, and, oftentimes, help influence the outcome. We’re not just asked to answer one legal question or assess the likelihood of confusion on one thing without knowing about the impact to the brand or the amount of money behind the product or the willingness to change packaging and that sort of thing. There are many additional factors that I think can inform legal guidance in-house that you sometimes don’t have access to when you’re in private practice.

Yes, sometimes. But when you’re in-house, you’re working collaboratively with the business. So oftentimes there’s the legal risk as it relates to, let’s say, trademarks or a new piece of adver­tising. There’s also the business and financial risk. There’s the public relations risk. So there are a few departments that have a seat at the table, and each can weigh in with their perspective regarding the impact of a decision on the business and what kind of exposure it is going to bring to the company or the brand.

I’m not sure frustrated is accurate, but I always want to make sure that people understand the legal implications of their decisions. With that said, I have an appreciation for business needs, too.

I would say, particularly if you’re transitioning in-house, I think two key things can serve legal counsel well. To the extent the business is willing and able, I would encourage attorneys to get to know the business and their business part­ners. If you are a brand or advertising attorney, see if you can get yourself on the agenda at meetings to discuss strategic initiatives or marketing and strategy plans. At Constellation, I will sit in on meetings from time to time with no expectation of providing legal input just to hear about what the business is planning to do from a strategic perspective. That way, when I see a piece of creative or an activation plan or program, I kind of know how it fits into the broader picture. So get to know your business, and the industry. Additionally, make sure that the business units that you work with understand and know what you bring to the table. Our department always tries to avoid being the last stop in any sort of project or review pro­cess. We don’t want to be known as the department of “no.” The ability to become a part of business discussions early on can significantly impact the perception of the legal depart­ment within an organization.

One of the key things that has been important to me, and it may seem not very material, is for outside counsel to be responsive and ask questions. On any given day I may be in meetings from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and I may only have a few minutes to touch base with outside counsel to discuss a new legal matter. I really appreciate when counsel is respon­sive and asks questions to understand the full scope of the matter up front. Budget is also very important, so if a project is outside the scope of a previously agreed upon budget—be transparent! If an outside attorney is open, transparent, and communicative, this will help to secure his or her position as a trusted advisor to the in-house legal team.

Thanks, Shane. I enjoyed chatting with you as well.