Retail

Sheppard Mullin’s Retail team has expert knowledge of the retail sector and deep experience advising its various industry leaders. Our clients range from large department stores to specialty product chains that sell everything from high fashion to bargain footwear, from high-tech electronics to low-tech sporting goods, through both brick and mortar and online channels.

From its high revenue production, diverse collection of business establishments, and status as the largest private employer in the United States, it’s easy to see why the retail industry powers the American economy. This sector is also one of the largest internationally and is a major motor for worldwide commerce. Operating in a very competitive environment on a global basis demands that retailers be proactive and efficient with how they tackle the multitude of legal issues with which they are routinely confronted. Moreover, with the rapid transformation of technology and global markets in the retail space, the way retailers sell their goods has also changed and brought about additional considerations. Although the vast majority of retail goods are sold in the most affluent nations, such as the United States and the European Union, they are often manufactured in foreign lands, such as China. This dynamic has forced retail companies and their counsel to become more fluent with, for example, international outsourcing and import/export trade issues. As the retail industry continues to evolve, there will be more pressure on those companies to manage the cross-section of legal concerns that accompany innovation and growth.

To ensure your company is on the cutting edge, you need a law firm that understands your business and can assist you in expanding into new markets and developing new business strategies that can capitalize on the global market, while protecting your products and brands along the way. Sheppard Mullin is the answer.

Our Retail team can assist your company in virtually every area that affects the retail industry:

• ADA Access
• Advertising and Promotions
• Anti-Piracy and Counterfeit Goods
• Antitrust
• Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Technologies
• Corporate Finance and Secured Transactions
• Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy
• E-Commerce
• Employee Benefits
• Factoring and Financing
• Franchise Protection
• Government Relations
• Immigration
• Import, Export and Customs Matters
• Intellectual Property
• Joint Ventures and other Strategic Business Relationships, Transactions and Alliances
• Labor and Employment
• Land Use
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Licensing and Distribution
• Merchandising
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Privacy and Cybersecurity
• Proposition 65
• Real Estate Development and Leasing
• Stock and Equity transactions
• Tax

• Blue Apron
• Burberry
• Carter's
• Columbia Sportswear
• Crate & Barrel
• Dave & Buster's
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Dollar Tree
• Domino's
• Gymboree
• Home Depot
• Kate Spade
• Levi Strauss & Co.
• Little Caesars
• Nordstrom
• Patagonia
• Rite Aid
• Ross Stores
• Save Mart Supermarkets
• See's Candies
• Taco Bell
• The Children's Place
• The Kroger Co.
• The TJX Companies
• Williams-Sonoma

Podcasts & Webinars

Articles

Books

Events

• Click to view our Retail Trend Spotter Blog.
• "Will CCPA’s Definition of Consumer Be Narrowed?" Eye on Privacy Blog, April 11, 2019
• "FTC Looks Back at 2018," Eye on Privacy Blog, April 10, 2019  
• "Aiming for Clarity, DOL Proposes to Update the FLSA’s “Joint Employer” Regulations," Labor & Employment Law Blog, April 15, 2019
• "New Federal Legislation Seeks to Eliminate Mandatory Arbitration Agreements," Labor & Employment Law Blog, March 21, 2019
• "Complicating Simplicity: Ninth Circuit Requires Separate Stand-Alone Documents for Employment Background Checks," Labor & Employment Law Blog, February 6, 2019
• "National Labor Relations Board Issues Decision Overruling Obama-Era Independent Contractor Test: What This Means For (Putative) Employers," Labor & Employment Law Blog, January 31, 2019
• "Massachusetts Changes Data Breach Notification Requirements," Eye On Privacy Blog, January 29, 2019
• "WARNING: Prop 65 Has Changed – If Your Product Is Sold In California Or You Do Business In California, Pay Attention," Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog, January 16, 2018
• "'Ban the Box'" and Background Checks – Recent Trends and Movements," Labor & Employment Law Blog, July 12, 2017
• "Mendoza v. Nordstrom – Day Of Rest Rule," Labor & Employment Law Blog, June 8, 2017
• "Unfair Scheduling: How New York City’s New Predictive Scheduling Law Continues The Trend And Makes Operations More Difficult For Employers," Labor & Employment Law Blog, June 7, 2017

• OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Survival Guide
  12.22.2021
• California Passes Sweeping Package of “Green” Bills
  11.15.2021
• FTC Signals Plan to Enforce Civil Penalties for Deceptive Endorsements
  11.04.2021
• FTC to Increase Enforcement Against “Dark Patterns” Directed at Consumers
  11.03.2021
• California Passes Law Establishing New Wage and Hour Requirements for Employers in the Garment Industry
  10.19.2021
• 2021 California Legislative Update: California’s New Employment Laws
  10.07.2021
• Governor Newsom Signs Warehouse Quota Legislation Into Law
  09.23.2021
• San Francisco Mandates Proof of Full Vaccination for Entry Into Many Establishments
  08.20.2021
• Face-Covering Considerations for Retailers in a Post-Color Tiered California
  06.15.2021
• The Expanded Reach of States for Sales & Use Tax Purposes – More Than Just e-Commerce Retailers are Impacted
  05.19.2021