Retail

Cozen O’Connor’s Retail Industry team serves as a one-stop shop for all segments of the retail industry. Led by attorneys who are widely recognized as trusted partners to and advocates for many of the country’s most prominent brands, our Retail Industry Group has a deep understanding of the multitude of issues that retailers face in both ordinary — and extraordinary — times.       

Trusted Advisers to Retailers on COVID-19 Issues

The retail industry is faced with significant challenges during this unprecedented health crisis. 2020 and 2021 have brought heightened concerns for both essential and nonessential retailers. Our cross-practice group works hand-in-hand with retailers and other consumer-facing companies, helping them navigate a range of pressing and ever-changing concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

By assessing issues, benchmarking practices, and identifying practical solutions in real time, we assist retailers in minimizing disruptions and maximizing protections. Our cross-disciplinary team advises on a host of issues including:

  • Workforce changes
  • Employee leave, work-from-home and travel policies
  • Health and safety policies and procedures for employees and consumers
  • Face covers and temperature checks
  • Employee and consumer privacy
  • State and local regulations regarding store operations and closures
  • Store-reopening protocols
  • Negligence and other tort claims related to alleged exposure
  • Asset protection
  • Contracts with suppliers, operations vendors and other parties
  • Real estate leases
  • The CARES Act
  • Event and subscription services cancellations
  • Returned goods and return policies
  • Shipping disclosures
  • Retooled manufacturing efforts for production of PPE
  • Intellectual property concerns
  • Supply chain and logistics
  • Commercial disputes
  • Consumer, employee and shareholder class actions
  • Customer communications
  • Dynamic pricing and promotional activities
  • Marketing
  • Limitations on telemarketing triggered by state declarations of emergency
  • Immigration and human movement restrictions
  • False Claims Act suits
  • Regulatory compliance

Our Public Strategies Group counsels clients on the latest COVID-19-related policy developments affecting retailers and engages with federal, state, and local governments to pursue comprehensive government solutions. We ensure that retailers have visibility and clarity when it comes to the latest developments that may have implications for their businesses.  

We have never been more proud of being a partner to the industry, and we are committed to assisting retailers navigate these uncharted waters. 

Partners to Retailers in an Evolving Legal Landscape

We recognize that the retail industry is unique. Our firm has a deep industry focus that enables us to be strategic partners to our clients in a complex and ever-changing landscape. We are not merely lawyers who happen to advise retailers. We are retail lawyers.    

As retailers grapple with a multitude of issues — including heightened demands for personalized customer experiences, new innovations in technology and data analytics, trade uncertainties, pricing pressures, litigation challenges, supply chain disruptions, enhanced consumer privacy protections, and changes to the workforce — we provide practical and business-oriented counsel to ensure our clients’ interests are thoroughly protected. Our lawyers are out in the marketplace, meeting with technology vendors and testing the latest tools being developed and pitched to the industry — and assessing their potential privacy, regulatory and legal implications. And we are sought after to speak and write on issues pertaining to the retail industry.      

Our clients include many of the country’s largest and most prominent retailers, as well as international fashion houses, niche and specialty brands, emerging ventures, and e-commerce companies. Our geographic reach, relationships with leading industry associations, and wide array of services, enables us to address any question or issue as it arises, and help retailers remain nimble in this dynamic environment. 

Clients

We recognize and address the shared and individualized needs of different segments of the industry. Our clients include retailers of all sizes and scope:

  • Department stores
  • Apparel
  • Grocery
  • Luxury
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Technology
  • Pharmacy
  • Children
  • Pet
  • Restaurants
  • Accessories
  • Office supplies
  • Electronics
  • Financial products
  • Specialty
  • Direct-to-consumer
  • E-commerce

Capabilities 

  • Advertising
  • AG investigations and enforcement
  • Antitrust
  • Arbitration agreements and class action waivers
  • Artificial intelligence, AR/VR and biometric tools
  • Asset protection
  • Automatic renewals/subscription services
  • Brand protection
  • Business disputes
  • California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
  • Class actions
  • Co-branded credit cards
  • Consumer products
  • Corporate finance
  • Corporate governance
  • Credit reporting
  • Crisis management
  • Consumer class actions 
  • COVID-19 issues
  • Customs and trade
  • Cybersecurity and data protection
  • Data breach
  • E-commerce
  • Email campaigns
  • Employee benefits
  • Employee health and safety
  • Employee training and management
  • Employment litigation
  • Executive compensation
  • Fair pay
  • False claims
  • Foreign practices
  • Franchising
  • GDPR
  • Gift cards
  • HR investigations
  • Human trafficking
  • Influencer marketing
  • Immigration
  • Internal investigations
  • International
  • IP
  • Labor disputes
  • Licensing
  • Loyalty programs
  • “Made in USA”
  • Marketing practices
  • Mass Arbitration
  • Mergers & acquisitions
  • Mobile apps
  • Pay cards
  • Pricing and promotions
  • Privacy compliance
  • Privacy litigation
  • Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)
  • Product labeling
  • Product safety
  • Proposition 65
  • Real estate
  • Reference pricing
  • Remote workforce
  • Restructuring
  • Rewards programs
  • Securities
  • Shipping and delivery
  • Social media
  • Sponsorships/collaborations
  • Supply chain
  • Sweepstakes
  • Tax
  • Technology transactions and licensing
  • Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
  • Terms & conditions and terms of use
  • Text messaging
  • Trademarks
  • Trade secrets
  • Wage and hour class actions
  • Website and mobile app accessibility (ADA)
  • Weights & measures
  • Workplace safety

 

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Publications

State and Local Legislators Are the ‘Tail Wagging the Dog’ When It Comes to Federal Employment Litigation Impacting Retailers [Retail Industry Leaders Association]

April 19, 2023

Michael Schmidt, Steven Millman, and Austin Dieter authored an article about the unprecedented number of state and local laws that retail employers face.

Yeah, About That Consignment Agreement … How You Can Lose Your Goods in a Retail Bankruptcy [Alert]

December 08, 2020

Allen Guon and Robert Fishman discuss the Uniform Commercial Code and the steps necessary to perfect your consignment under it.

New U.S. Ban on Chinese Cotton Suppliers Adds Stress to Fashion Industry’s Weakened Supply Chain [Alert]

September 21, 2020

Danielle Garno, Heather Marx, and Samuel Mogensen discuss U.S. Customs and Border Protection five WROs banning cotton, apparel, and other goods that were produced with state-sponsored forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Fashion Industry Adaptations Amid Trade War, Pandemic

September 18, 2020

Heather Marx published an article to Law360 discussing the different effects that trade policies and the COVID-19 pandemic have had on the fashion industry.

DOJ Prosecutes Fashion Company For Skirting Customs Tariffs - Could This Be The Hot New Trend? [Alert]

September 02, 2020

Danielle Garno, Rachel Collins Clarke, and Joseph Simpson discuss the DOJ's action against Ambiance Apparel and what it could mean for other fashion companies.

The benefits of long-term relationships in influencer marketing

August 14, 2020

Mayura Noordyke contributed an article to Agility PR Solutions discussing how putting in the work to build long-term relationships with influencers is the best way for brands to reap stable and continuing benefits.

Making Sense of "Made in the USA"

July 30, 2020

Richard Fama and Brenden Coller contributed an article to Retail Leader discussing what “Made in the USA” really means and if the definition of that phrase will change given the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent announcement of a proposed rule governing “Made in the USA” claims.

Lease Forbearance Agreements in the Age of COVID-19

June 02, 2020

Adam Silvermann discusses a variety of issues and provisions landlords (and tenants) should consider when crafting a lease forbearance agreement during the COVID-19 crisis.

While the world is on pause, it’s a good time to review your social media compliance policy

April 20, 2020

Brianne Polito contributed an article to Agility PR Solutions encouraging businesses to review their social media advertising strategies and compliance programs to ensure that they are updated, specifically tailored to the business, and that their marketing teams as well as influencers understand what is required under the FTC regulations.

In The News

Nearly 100 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers, 27 Practices Earn Top Recognition in Chambers USA 2024 Guide

June 10, 2024

Chambers USA rankings are based on an “assessment of a firm’s work and opinions from external market sources, with an emphasis on client feedback.” In order to be ranked in the guide, lawyers and firms must demonstrate “sustained excellence.”

Tariff Takedown: Why Ambiance Apparel's $118 Million Federal Case is Fashion's Cautionary Tale

September 22, 2020

Rachel Collins Clarke was featured in a Sourcing Journal article which discusses how federal prosecutors have filed charges against a Los Angeles Fashion District clothing importer.

People

Awards

Nearly 100 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers, 27 Practices Earn Top Recognition in Chambers USA 2024 Guide

June 10, 2024

Chambers USA rankings are based on an “assessment of a firm’s work and opinions from external market sources, with an emphasis on client feedback.” In order to be ranked in the guide, lawyers and firms must demonstrate “sustained excellence.”

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