An intimate, interactive room. Not a lecture hall.
Working sessions, live decision labs, and structured roundtables designed for senior in-house counsel and compliance leaders. Built to be useful the Monday after you get home.
Discuss Key Trends
Tariffs, MAHA scrutiny, GLP-1, and federal vs. state conflicts reshaping F&B legal strategy.
Hot Topic Roundtables
Small-group, choose-your-lane roundtables on the specific risks in your portfolio.
Panel Discussions
In-house counsel and top law-firm partners debate live claims, class actions, and enforcement.
Collaborative Insights Exchange
An exchange, not a broadcast. Everyone in the room contributes to the conversation.
Shared Solutions
Leave with practical answers to the questions keeping F&B legal teams up at night.
Networking
Coffee breaks, luncheons, and a cocktail hour built to connect senior peers across specialties.
Built for in-house legal, regulatory, compliance, and risk leaders in Food & Beverage.
Target Audience
Senior in-house counsel across regulatory, litigation, marketing, advertising, privacy, IP, and food safety at manufacturers, CPG, retail, QSR, and specialty food companies.
Networking
Built to connect senior in-house counsel across specialties. Structured roundtables and receptions make it easy to meet the peers solving the same problems.
Program Design
The agenda addresses the most pressing legal and regulatory challenges facing the industry right now, in an interactive format you can use immediately.
In-house counsel and the firms that advise them.
The 2026 faculty pairs in-house legal leaders from major food & beverage brands with partners from the country's leading F&B regulatory and litigation practices.
In-House Counsel & Industry
Law Firm Partners
Two working days, in full detail.
Every session, description, and speaker, exactly as scheduled. Subject to change.
Program Agenda
October 6–7, 2026 • Riverfront Plaza, Chicago, IL
Registration & Breakfast
Welcome from our Host, Foley & Lardner
Momentum Opening Remarks and Ice Breaker
What Keeps You Up at Night? A Candid Look at Real-Time Pressures Facing In-House Legal and Compliance Leaders
Tariffs shift overnight. States pass laws that conflict with federal guidance. Marketing wants to move faster. Regulators, plaintiffs and advocacy groups are all paying closer attention. For in-house legal and compliance leaders in the food and beverage industry, the challenge isn't just knowing the rules—it's making decisions in an environment where the rules are constantly changing, and the stakes keep getting higher. Join senior practitioners for an unfiltered conversation on what's really driving concern right now, where risk feels hardest to manage, where internal pressure is increasing, and how teams are making calls without clear answers. Expect candid perspectives, real-world examples and a chance to benchmark how your peers are navigating today's uncertainty.
- Managing whiplash from tariffs, trade shifts and global instability and the downstream legal and compliance impact
- Responding to increasing scrutiny on ingredients, labeling and "what's really in the product" from regulators, plaintiffs and the public
- Navigating inconsistent execution across facilities, regions or partners, where policies exist on paper but implementation varies in practice
- Designing products for global markets, where differing regulatory requirements force tradeoffs between consistency, speed-to-market and compliance
- Balancing pressure to move faster and say more with the need to manage legal and compliance risk
Federal vs. State: How Do You Operate When the Rules Don't Align?
For in-house legal and compliance leaders, the challenge is no longer just keeping up with regulations—it's making defensible decisions when federal and state requirements conflict and enforcement priorities diverge. Federal guidance doesn't always align with state law, and regulators at both levels are increasingly active in areas like ingredient restrictions, labeling, and consumer-facing claims. This session will take a practical look at where these conflicts are creating the greatest legal exposure and how enforcement is actually playing out in practice. Hear how your peers are assessing risk, prioritizing compliance across jurisdictions, and making judgment calls in an environment where scrutiny is increasing and the "right" answer may depend on who is enforcing it.
- Where federal and state requirements are diverging most, and how that impacts risk exposure
- How recent enforcement actions are shaping decision-making around ingredients, labeling, and claims
- How teams are managing inconsistent requirements that impact both product formulation and marketing decisions
- Practical approaches to risk-based decision-making across jurisdictions, especially in gray areas influenced by evolving scrutiny
- How in-house leaders are advising the business when the answer is not "yes" or "no" but "it depends where, how and what you say"
Networking Coffee Break
The MAHA Movement: Legal and Regulatory Strategies for Ingredient Scrutiny and Consumer Transparency
As scrutiny around ingredients and product transparency accelerates, in-house legal and compliance leaders are being asked to make real-time decisions without clear regulatory alignment. This interactive session will walk through real-world scenarios facing food and beverage manufacturers today, with live polling and peer discussion on how to approach reformulation, labeling and claims decisions.
- Best practices for responding to state-level ingredient bans and conflicting requirements
- When to reformulate, relabel or hold position—and what drives that decision
- How far to go on ingredient transparency and "ultra-processed" positioning
- Where you draw the line on "free from" and other proactive claims
Approve, Edit or Reject? A Live Claims Decision Lab
From "all natural" and "clean" to functional benefits and emerging GLP-1-adjacent positioning, food and beverage claims are facing increasing scrutiny. During this interactive, scenario-based session, attendees will step into the role of decision-maker and evaluate a range of real-world claims through live polling. Walk away with practical frameworks to assess substantiation, identify risk and support the business with confidence.
- Evaluating a range of claims, including "natural," "clean," functional benefits, sustainability and ESG-related claims (e.g., 'eco-friendly,' 'carbon neutral,' 'responsibly sourced'), and GLP-1-adjacent positioning
- Applying substantiation standards and assessing the strength of supporting evidence
- Identifying risk triggers that may lead to regulatory scrutiny or class action exposure
- Practical frameworks for deciding when to approve, modify or reject claims
Networking Luncheon
AI in Practice: How Legal and Regulatory Teams Are Using It—and Where the Risks Lie
AI is quickly moving from experimentation to everyday use across legal, regulatory and compliance functions. This interactive session will explore how legal and regulatory teams are using AI in practice today, where it is adding value, and where guardrails are essential.
- Where AI is being used across legal and regulatory workflows (e.g., claims review, research, documentation)
- Key risks tied to accuracy, confidentiality and reliance on AI-generated outputs
- How teams are establishing internal policies, approvals and guardrails for AI use
- Practical considerations for balancing efficiency gains with legal and compliance risk
Protecting Your Brand: Practical IP Strategies for Legal and Compliance Leaders
Brand protection is no longer just an IP issue—it's a cross-functional priority that touches legal, compliance, marketing and innovation teams. Learn how to spot risks early, align internal teams and implement scalable strategies that safeguard your brand while supporting the business.
- Identifying and mitigating risks related to trademarks, trade dress, packaging and marketing assets
- Managing copycat products and brand enforcement in a fast-moving and highly competitive market
- Establishing internal processes and guardrails to ensure consistent and compliant brand usage across teams and partners
- Best practices for collaborating with marketing, innovation and external partners to protect IP without slowing down the business
Networking Coffee Break
End of Day 1
Networking Cocktail Hour
Day 2 Welcome Back! Opening Remarks
Bridging the Gap: A Role-Playing Exercise in Marketing, Legal and Compliance Alignment
Marketing wants to move fast. Legal and compliance need to manage risk. In this interactive role-playing session, attendees will step into the roles of marketing, legal and compliance leaders to work through real-world scenarios facing food and beverage companies today.
- Navigating tension between creative marketing concepts and regulatory or legal constraints
- Managing internal pressure to move quickly while maintaining compliance standards
- Practicing how to communicate risk, push back and propose alternatives effectively
- Identifying strategies to improve cross-functional collaboration and decision-making
Networking Coffee Break
TikTok Boom: Navigating Influencer Risk in Real Time
In today's fast-moving digital landscape, influencer partnerships offer powerful opportunities for brand growth, but also introduce complex legal and compliance risks. Participants will work through a fictional but realistic case study involving a food and beverage brand partnering with a social media influencer. Designed as a dynamic "choose-your-path" experience, this session will challenge assumptions and spark debate.
- Advertising disclosures and FTC scrutiny
- ESG product claims and FDA considerations
- Contract terms and reputational risk
- Balancing risk and reward in today's social media-driven marketplace
Shhh.. the Secret's Out: Trade Secret Risks Every Food Company Should Be Stress-Testing
Your R&D team uploads a formula into an AI tool. A key employee leaves for a competitor. A co-manufacturer begins producing a suspiciously similar product. What happens next? This highly interactive session will walk attendees through a series of real-world trade secret scenarios facing today's food and beverage companies. Participants will evaluate risks, identify vulnerabilities, and discuss practical strategies for protecting confidential information in an environment increasingly shaped by AI, data sharing, and workforce mobility.
- Interactive hypotheticals: Is it a trade secret—or not?
- AI and confidential information: Where are the legal and operational risks?
- The hidden vulnerabilities in vendor, supplier, and co-manufacturing relationships
- Lessons from recent trade secret disputes and enforcement actions
- Building a defensible trade secret program that stands up under scrutiny
End of Day 2 — Closing Remarks. See You in 2027!
The complete Food & Beverage compliance brochure.
Designed for, and open to, in-house compliance employees only.
If you're not an in-house compliance employee and you're interested in attending, please contact Shari Gelfand at shari@momentumevents.com or schedule a meeting. Group rates for teams are available through Arianne Leclair at arianne@momentumevents.com. View the cancellation, refund, and transfer policy.
+1 312-288-2900
Hotels Nearby
Please note there is no exclusive housing block for this event. If you are contacted by a 3rd-party housing company claiming a relationship with Momentum Events Group LLC or its event, these companies are not affiliated with us in any way.
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Here's what your peers are saying.
A great opportunity to engage with peers and learn from one another.
I enjoy this conference for the great content & speakers giving practical application tips.
This conference was engaging and informative in the Food/Bev Regulatory Space.
Great information, interactive, and great connections.
A lot of informative experience, which I feel will translate into a lot of good for my client.
Wonderful opportunity to benchmark and network with industry leaders.
Lots of quality information for legal and regulatory personnel.
Very good first experience!
The topics gave a lot of food for thought.
CLE credit, sought by state on request.
Continuing Legal Education accreditation is sought based on registrant requests. Approval is decided state-by-state and hour requirements vary. Tell us your state when you register and we'll pursue it.
Frequently asked questions.
- Unparalleled in-house benchmarking and best-practice sharing
- Opportunity to hear directly from regulators
- A rapidly evolving industry that requires continuous education
- An intimate, exclusive audience
- Premier thought leadership
- Senior Counsel — Regulatory, Food Safety & Quality
- Senior Counsel — Litigation
- Senior Regulatory Compliance Counsel
- Senior Counsel — Marketing
- Senior Counsel — Advertising
- Senior Counsel — R&D, QA
- Senior Counsel — Privacy
- Senior Counsel — IP
- Legal Affairs / Litigation
- Regulatory / Scientific / Government Affairs
- Quality Assurance / Food Safety
- Operations / Risk Management
- Health, Safety & Sanitation
- eCommerce & Merchandising Law
- Product Labeling, Marketing & Advertising
- IP and Privacy
- Retail
- Manufacturing
- Consumer packaged goods
- Quick service food & restaurants
- Wine and spirits
- Specialty food and beverage