Richard M Blau

Practice Areas

Alcohol Beverage

Cannabis Industry

Residential, Resort and Club,

Restaurant

Litigation

Food Law

Hospitality

International

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association, Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice (1987–Present); ABA Committee on Beverage Alcohol Practice

ABA Advisor, Uniform Law Commission’s Alcohol Direct Shipping Compliance Act Committee (2020–2024)

The Florida Bar

The New York State Bar

The District of Columbia Bar

The American Law Institute (Elected Member, 1995; Lifetime Member, 2020-Present)

The National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (Industry Member, 1989; Elected to the NCSLA Hall of Fame in 2018-Present; The National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (Industry Member, 2001-Present)

The Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys (Elected Member, 2001 - Present)

Publications

Presentations and Seminars:

“Adapting Today, Thriving Tomorrow: Responding to Demographic Shifts and Trends,” Presenter, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) Annual Conference, March 28, 2025

“The Litigation Landscape: A Brave New World?” Panelist, NABCA 32nd Annual Symposium on Alcohol Beverage Law & Regulation, March 24, 2025

“Legal Update,” National Conference of State Liquor Administrators 2024 Annual Conference, June 18, 2024

“Mastering E-commerce: Strategies for Sales and Compliance Success in the Digital Age,” 2023 Distilled Spirits Council of the United States Annual Conference, June 15, 2023

“Legal Update,” National Conference of State Liquor Administrators 2023 Annual Conference, June 13, 2023

“Mastering Marijuana, CBD, and Hemp Business Law in 2023,” The Rossdale Group CLE Recording and Podcast, April 2023

Articles and Publications:

“GrayRobinson Alcohol Law Team: Alcohol Industry Stakeholders: Deadline to Comment on Proposed Rule to Require Nutritional Information and Ingredients on Alcohol Labels and Advertisements is August 15,” GrayRobinson Insight, April 15, 2025

“GrayRobinson Cannabis Law Team: Florida Legislators Propose New Tax on Hemp Consumable THC Products,” GrayRobinson Insight, April 8, 2025

“GrayRobinson Food Law Team: Time to Wake Up to the Seriousness of Bird Flu,” GrayRobinson Insight, January 29, 2025

“GrayRobinson Alcohol Law Team: American Single Malt Whiskey Earns its Own Standard of Identity,” GrayRobinson Insight, December 17, 2024

“GrayRobinson Alcohol Law Team: Getting Started in the Alcohol Industry: Proven Advice for New Licensees,” GrayRobinson Insight, November 21, 2024

“GrayRobinson Food Law Team: PSA: Biden Administration Increases Crop Insurance Opportunities,” GrayRobinson Insight, August 1, 2024

“GrayRobinson Cannabis Law Team: Did you Know: The Reclassification of Marijuana is Upon Us,” GrayRobinson Insight, July 15, 2024

“GrayRobinson: The DEA Proposes Rescheduling of Marijuana: What It Means for Businesses and the Road Ahead,” The Cannabis Law Report, July 3, 2024

“GrayRobinson: The DEA Proposes Rescheduling of Marijuana: What It Means for Businesses and the Road Ahead,” The Cannabis Law Journal, July 3, 2024

“The Tax Man Cometh… Unless Impacted Businesses Act Now,” GrayRobinson Insight, July 8, 2024

“All Cannabis All the Time: MA Saga Explained; Other Emerging Issues: Cyber Threats, Drink Spiking,” Beer Marketer’s Insights, June 25, 2024

“GrayRobinson Alcohol Law Team: Alcohol Retailers Take Note: Using a Delivery Service Comes with Certain Risks,” GrayRobinson Insight, June 24, 2024

“Alcohol Experience Matters: Professor Blau Poses Questions about Unexpected Legal Decisions,” Beer Marketer’s Insights, June 20, 2024

“For Florida’s Agricultural Growers, Choice of Entity is a Key to Economic Success,” GrayRobinson Insight, May 22, 2024

“Weed the people: recreational marijuana on the ballot in November,” WUSF Florida Matters, April 24, 2024

“GrayRobinson Alcohol Law Team: Alcohol Industry Leaders Join Retail Groups in Addressing Organized Retail Crime,” GrayRobinson Insight, January 16, 2024

“GrayRobinson Food Law Team: New Wage Rates for H-2A Workers Now Effective for 2024,” GrayRobinson Insight, January 9, 2024

“GrayRobinson Alcohol Law Team: Good News for Alcohol Beverage Exporters,” GrayRobinson Insight, November 10, 2023

“Major Movement: HHS Recommends DEA Reschedule Marijuana to Schedule III of Controlled Substances Act,” GrayRobinson Insight, September 5, 2023

“GrayRobinson Food Law Team: Bi-Partisan Effort Underway to Relax Restrictions on “Prevented Planting” Insurance Due to Unprecedented Drought,” GrayRobinson Insight, August 25, 2023

“Marijuana and the Right to Bear Arms: A New Direction Emerges,” GrayRobinson Insight, August 10, 2023

“The Growing Confluence Between Alcohol and Cannabis: A-B Sells Craft Brands to Tilray,” GrayRobinson Insight, August 8, 2023

“As High Summer Approaches, Dairy and Cattle Ranchers Should Focus on Reducing Animal Heat Stress,” GrayRobinson Insight, July 26, 2023

“This Small Law Firm Is Investing Big—in Artificial Intelligence,” Law.com, July 18, 2023

“Russia v. Ukraine Spills Over Into the Beer Market,” GrayRobinson Insight, July 17, 2023

“Biden Administration Announces $1.7 Billion to Fund High-speed Internet Access for Farmers, Rural Communities, and all Floridians,” GrayRobinson Insight, June 28, 2023

“DEA Reportedly Set to Issue New Rules for Synthetic Cannabinoids, Including Rules for Delta-8 THC,” GrayRobinson Insight, May 31, 2023

“Florida Recreational Marijuana One Step Closer to the November 2024 Ballot,” GrayRobinson Insight, May 16, 2023

Experience

Richard presides over GrayRobinson’s Regulated Products Section and oversees the firm’s legal guidance, compliance, and support services for the alcohol beverage, cannabis, food, and tobacco products industries. Richard and his colleagues focus on the rules, regulations, and business practices that govern the marketing, sale, and consumption of distilled spirits, wine, beer and other licensed beverages.

As a trial lawyer with over 40 years of experience, Richard has litigated jury and bench trials in state and federal courts. In the area of alcohol beverage regulation, he successfully litigated on behalf of manufacturers, setting important precedents for the industry in Geary Distributing Co. v. All Brand Importers, Inc. (imposing constitutional limits on the application of a state beer franchise law) and in Jim Taylor Corp. v. Guinness Import Co. (defining “brand extension” under Florida law).

Richard works with all three tiers of the alcohol beverage industry. He has represented international importers and domestic manufacturers, statewide wholesaler trade groups and regional distributors, and retailers (including multistate restaurant and hotel chains) across the United States. Richard and the firm’s Alcohol Industry Team service retail licensees in a variety of ways, including liquor, tobacco and lottery licensing; health and food service inspection compliance; responsible vendor and employee training; representation in administrative proceedings; and litigation/dispute resolution.

Richard also works closely with representatives of state and federal government, drafting administrative rules and proposed legislation – both on behalf of clients and at the request of regulators. For example, he prepared an administrative regulation and statutory amendment at the request of the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, to codify the impact of a judicial decision that he successfully obtained on behalf of a client. He has testified before governmental bodies, such as the New York State Assembly, regarding alcohol laws and related issues. Richard counseled legislators of Hawaii on the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Granholm v. Heald and recently testified before legislative committees of both the Florida Senate and the House of Representatives regarding issues relating to the direct shipment of wine.

For over twenty years, Richard annually edited the nationwide Survey of Reported Judicial Decisions Addressing the 21st Amendment and Related Alcohol Laws for the American Bar Association and the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators. For several years as Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Beverage Alcohol Practice, Richard also authored the chapter “Beverage Alcohol Practice” for the annual Developments in Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice published by the American Bar Association. Other publications by Richard include a chapter titled “The Role of the Food and Beverage Attorney” for the anthology Best Practices for Alcohol Beverage, Food and Drug Law, which was published by Aspatore Books; an article co-authored with U.S. Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) titled “The Need for Fair Play: Repealing the Federal Baseball Antitrust Exemption,” which was published by the Florida Law Review of the University of Florida’s College of Law; a paper, “The Competency and Credibility of Children as Witnesses,” which was delivered to the World Conference on Police Psychology at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia; and “Speedy Trial: Pre-accusation Delay, Post-accusation Delay, and the Speedy Trial Act of 1975,” which was published in the Georgetown Law Journal. Richard continues to publish and post articles related specifically to alcohol, food and cannabis industry issues (referenced below).

Recognized nationally by Best Lawyers in America (Food and Beverage Law – Nationwide) and awarded the highest rating assigned by Martindale-Hubbell (AV), Richard devotes a substantial portion of his practice to trade regulation, litigation and dispute resolution involving the hospitality industry. He has industry-specific experience in the areas of administrative practice and regulatory compliance, advertising and promotional law, intellectual property rights, importation matters, supplier/distribution relations, and alcohol industry business practices. Richard’s proficiency has been recognized by Chambers and Partners (Richard has consistently been ranked “Band 1” for Food and Beverage Law-Nationwide since 2008), as well as listed repeatedly and currently in peer-ranking publications such as Super Lawyers and Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite.

Work Highlights

Transnational and domestic mergers & Acquisitions of Licensed companies

Education

Awards