Amy Morrissey Turk and R. Trent Taylor
In 2019, the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) selected McGuireWoods to be one of two national law firms to partner on an initiative to spot class action litigation trends and guide retailers in combating meritless suits.
Norfolk partner Amy Morrissey Turk spearheaded the firm’s participation in the resulting RLC Defense Division initiative, calling it a “great opportunity for McGuireWoods to show our legal prowess and litigation experience in the retail industry.”
Now Turk has teamed up with Richmond partner R. Trent Taylor — a nationally recognized thought leader with extensive experience in consumer class actions and product and food labeling regulatory and litigation matters — to co-lead McGuireWoods’ dedicated consumer products and retail industry team.
The multidisciplinary group, based in cities across the United States and in London, includes dozens of attorneys who represent clients in the space, from global retailers to middle-market consumer brands.
“We’re taking an omnichannel approach by purposefully packaging the broad experience and diverse skill sets that our attorneys bring across practices,” said Turk, who rejoined the firm in 2018 after working 11 years as assistant general counsel at Dollar Tree Inc. “We are excited to provide holistic service to our retail and consumer products clients as a coordinated team.”
The group’s full-service capabilities include advertising, branding and labeling; class, collective and mass actions; consumer products regulatory and risk management; franchising; cannabis, hemp and CBD consumer products; food and beverage; global supply chain; retail financial and operational support; and e-commerce and omnichannel.
“For decades McGuireWoods has represented clients in the consumer products and retail sector, from defending major automotive manufacturers in product liability litigation to advising national grocery chains on multimillion-dollar real estate deals. This team operates as a bridge to connect attorneys from the firm’s related practices and industry teams and leverage the considerable experience and insight of affiliate McGuireWoods Consulting to help clients adapt to increasing pressures,” Taylor said.
Added Turk, “McGuireWoods has a deep bench of attorneys with experience in this sector. Our team brings unparalleled knowledge of the issues our consumer products and retail clients face, and are likely to face in the future. In retail, an operation that offers an array of products and services under one roof is known as a ‘one-stop shop.’ For retailers, McGuireWoods can act as a one-stop shop for their legal needs.”