The Food Lawyers

What The Food Lawyers does

The Food Lawyers (legal entity: Salmas Law – The Food Lawyers) is a privately-held, single-office law firm headquartered in Los Angeles at 1880 Century Park East, Suite 611. Founded in 1990 by Managing Principal George C. Salmas, the firm exclusively represents food and beverage companies worldwide, with a service portfolio spanning six integrated practice areas: Class Action Defense, Prop 65 Defense, Litigation, Regulatory (FDA/USDA representation), General Counsel, and Washington D.C. Lobbyist services. Its positioning is built on three-plus decades of vertical specialization rather than breadth, serving clients ranging from family-owned startups to large enterprises across CPG, seafood, dietary supplements, and specialty food segments.

The firm generates revenue through professional fees on a quote-based, hourly and matter-specific pricing model. Its delivery model combines attorneys (partners and counsel across litigation, corporate, Prop 65, and regulatory groups) with embedded food scientists holding PhDs in Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology, plus a D.C. lobbyist with three decades of regulatory experience. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, supported by content marketing through the firm's website, Insights blog, and case studies, plus LinkedIn presence for the Managing Principal. The firm does not use resellers; relationships are typically multi-year and cross-practice (e.g., litigation plus regulatory for the same client). Key publicly disclosed client logos include Trader Joe's (via a truffle olive oil supplier), CedarLane, Taste Nirvana, Crown Prince, and Quest Nutrition.

Strategic positioning is reinforced by several industry-shaping regulatory petitions the firm has won, including FDA recognition of konjac as dietary fiber, an FDA-driven reclassification of allulose calories from 4 cal/g to 0.4 cal/g, and USDA approval of a new oat hull fiber/oat bran blend for meat products. The firm also reports a perfect record of label approvals (no approved label challenged by a regulator or class action) and notable case outcomes including a $28M trade secret judgment, dismissal of class actions against Trader Joe's, and avoidance of a $500M recall for a client. Several attorneys maintain affiliations with Montage Legal Group's freelance attorney platform, providing on-demand capacity without fixed headcount expansion.

Name

The Food Lawyers

Legal name

Salmas Law - The Food Lawyers

Website

https://thefoodlawyers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Food Lawyers is a Los Angeles-based boutique law firm founded in 1990 that exclusively represents food and beverage companies worldwide, providing class action defense, Prop 65 compliance, litigation, FDA/USDA regulatory representation, general counsel, and lobbying services to clients ranging from startups to large enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Commercial Law (BPAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food Industry Licensing, Registration & Compliance Audits (HLAJAEAG)

Keywords

• Food industry law
• Beverage legal services
• Regulatory defense
• Class action litigation
• Proposition 65 compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Professional Fees: The firm generates revenue through legal fees for services including class action defense, Prop 65 defense, litigation, regulatory matters, trademarks, contracts, and general counsel services for food and beverage companies. Fee structures typically include hourly rates for litigation matters and potentially fixed fees for specific services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Food Lawyers is a specialized boutique law firm that provides legal services exclusively to food and beverage industry companies. The firm offers class action defense, Proposition 65 defense, litigation, regulatory compliance, general counsel services, and lobbying/legislative advocacy. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the firm leverages over three decades of niche expertise to serve food and beverage clients facing legal and regulatory challenges.

Product overview

The Food Lawyers is a law firm offering exclusively legal services to food and beverage companies worldwide, not a software product company. The firm provides six integrated service areas: Class Action Defense (defending against food labeling and consumer protection class actions), Prop 65 Defense (California regulatory compliance and litigation), Litigation (trade secrets, trademarks, contracts, and commercial disputes), Regulatory (FDA/USDA representation and ingredient/labeling approvals), General Counsel (ongoing legal counsel for food business operations), and Lobbyist (Washington D.C. advocacy). These services work together to provide comprehensive legal representation for the food industry, from compliance and regulatory matters to full-scale litigation defense.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Class Action Defense

Quantifiable outcome

• Obtained $28 million judgment and permanent injunction in trade secret case
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Montage Legal GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeveral attorneys affiliated with The Food Lawyers (including Julia Thrower, Janine Weiss, and Yvette Golan) are also affiliated with Montage Legal Group's freelance attorney platform. This allows the firm to access additional legal talent as needed while maintaining their core food law specialization.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Foley & Lardner LLP: National law firm with a dedicated Food & Beverage Industry Team handling regulatory, labeling, and litigation matters. Closely comparable in vertical specialization for food industry legal services.
• Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney LLP: National firm with a Food and Beverage practice group serving manufacturers, retailers, and distributors on regulatory and litigation matters. Comparable as a food-industry-focused legal services provider.
• Keller and Heckman LLP: Long-standing boutique law firm specializing in regulatory law for food, drug, cosmetics, and consumer products. Directly comparable as a specialty food and FDA-focused legal practice serving food and beverage manufacturers.

Broad incumbents

• Sidley Austin LLP: Global law firm with an established food, drug, and medical device practice. Comparable on FDA regulatory and food industry litigation, though it serves a broader client base beyond food and beverage.
• Hogan Lovells: Global full-service firm with a prominent FDA and food regulatory practice. Comparable as a major competitor in food regulatory and litigation matters, though operating at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: Large full-service firm with a Food and Agribusiness practice covering regulatory, litigation, and transactions for food companies. Comparable on industry focus and regulatory expertise.
• Perkins Coie LLP: Large international firm with food and beverage industry experience including labeling, advertising, and regulatory compliance. Comparable on consumer protection and labeling class action defense work.
• McDermott Will & Emery LLP: Global law firm with a strong Food and Beverage regulatory practice. Comparable on FDA/USDA regulatory and food industry litigation matters, though with broader practice areas and global footprint.
• Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP: Large international firm with a dedicated food and drug regulatory practice. Competes for the same food industry regulatory and litigation work as The Food Lawyers, but with vastly greater resources and geographic reach.

Emerging players

• Davis Wright Tremaine LLP: Full-service firm with a notable advertising and food labeling practice that frequently handles class actions and Prop 65 matters. Comparable on consumer-protection and labeling litigation work for food clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thefoodlawyers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Food Lawyers