The Bad Lawyers of Hollywood: An Ethics Program

Matthew McLaughlin focuses his practice on corporate and business transactions, including advising companies on corporate and commercial finance matters, federal, state and local economic development incentives, and nontraditional sources of capital.

His industry experience includes manufacturing, food and beverage, energy, and technology sectors. He has worked with clients on every aspect of the expansion and relocation process, including business organization, real property due diligence, acquisition and development, land use and zoning, financing, tax matters, and other state and local regulatory issues.

Matthew represents parties in historic preservation and community development projects leveraging federal grants, new market tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, and historic tax credits. In addition, he focuses a portion of his practice on representing startups, emerging companies, and investors on a wide variety of organizational issues, corporate transactions, corporate financings, securities laws, and corporate-compliance matters.

As an extension of Matthew’s experience in the food and beverage industry, a significant portion of his practice is focused on the alcohol beverage industry, drawing on extensive expertise working with regional craft breweries and craft distilleries in all aspects of their operations.

Matthew advises industry participants throughout the southern United States and beyond on business-entity formation; ownership structure; startup and expansion financing; the filing and registration of trademarks; and protection of all forms of intellectual property. He oversees the land-use approval process for the construction and operation of craft breweries and craft distilleries, and drafts and reviews distribution, licensing, and employment-related agreements.

Matthew also advises clients on Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC) and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) license applications and the filing of other necessary federal and state permits. He also regularly consults craft breweries, craft distilleries, and brewpubs on alcohol and beverage laws. He works with trade associations and guilds on legislative and policy matters that impact the alcohol industry.

John Szymankiewicz is a licensed Professional Engineer and Attorney in North Carolina. Embarking on a second career, John went to law school at night while juggling a demanding full time job, a family, and teaching at a local martial arts school.

While launching his Raleigh law practice, John saw the need for trained, understanding attorneys focused on their clients needs in some key areas. Most importantly, this means developing an ongoing relationship, becoming a business partner, with clients instead of being merely a supplier of services. As such, in this law office, we strive to find the right solution for the client now and in the future. We look for opportunities to work collaboratively and keep costs down for our clients, principally individuals and small businesses.

In addition to being a lawyer, John is an avid homebrewer who got bit by the brewing bug shortly after he discovered that beer need not be yellow fizzy stuff. John believes in continuous, life-long learning and is passionate about the Craft Beer industry. Part of that industry passion includes adopting the spirit that that giving back to the community and supporting the local, independent business person is part of our responsibility as good Beer Citizens.

John is married and has a daughter (attending Full Sail University). John and his wife live in Raleigh NC with their three other “kids” of the four-legged variety.

Since 2009, Candace L. Moon, Esq. has actively served over 450 craft beer breweries, including breweries-in-planning, nationwide. She discovered the need for specialized craft beer counsel while working as a bartender at world-famous Hamilton’s while attending law school in San Diego, California. Through her conversations with brewers, she identified that there were no attorneys catering to the legally complicated industry. As a result, Candace formed The Craft Beer Attorney, APC.

Candace specializes in business entity formation, alcoholic beverage law, contract review, trademark law, and general counsel. She is in demand as a guest speaker for brewers’ guild and association meetings and craft beer conferences nationwide on matters such as distribution laws and trademarks to ensure clients and breweries-in-planning are complying with industry standards and regulations. She has been featured in newspapers, magazines, television segments, and online throughout her remarkable career.

Candace received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and her juris doctorate from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. She sat on the Board of Directors for Pink Boots Society and San Diego Brewers Guild. She is a member of several esteemed professional associations, including the Brewers Association and California Craft Brewers Association, and has received multiple awards and accolades for her work in the industry.

Stuart I. Teicher, Esq. is a professional legal educator who focuses on ethics law. A practicing attorney for over 17 years, Stuart's career is now dedicated to helping fellow attorneys survive the practice of law and thrive in the profession. Mr. Teicher teaches seminars, provides in-house training to law firms and gives keynote speeches at conventions and association meetings. He also provides consultation and representation in attorney disciplinary matters.

Stuart helps attorneys get better at what they do (and enjoy the process) through his entertaining and educational CLE Performances. His expertise is in "Technethics," a term Stuart coined that refers to the ethical issues in social networking and other technology. Stuart also speaks about "Practical Ethics" -- those lessons hidden in the ethics rules that enhance a lawyer's practice.

Mr. Teicher is a Supreme Court appointee to the New Jersey District Ethics Committee where he investigates and prosecutes grievances filed against attorneys, an adjunct Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School in Camden, New Jersey where he teaches Professional Responsibility and an adjunct Professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick where he teaches undergraduate writing courses.