Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Brian P. Sylvester as a partner in the Complex Litigation + Advisement Group, where he will serve as head of food regulatory within the FDA + Healthcare Regulatory and Compliance practice, in the Washington, D.C. office. A Chambers-ranked practitioner, Sylvester brings over a decade of combined government and private sector experience providing strategic U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulatory advice to leading global companies and trade associations. Chambers writes that Brian “is widely noted as an expert in regulatory issues relating to novel food technologies, with significant experience advising on USDA and FDA regulations.”
Sylvester joins MoFo from another leading global firm, where he most recently served as firmwide chair of its Food Regulatory practice. Sylvester focuses his regulatory practice on FDA- and USDA-regulated products, with an emphasis on the food and beverage sector. Sylvester’s practice spans new product development, labeling and advertising, audits, investigations, recalls and crisis management, and enforcement actions in that area. Prior to his private practice career, he served as an Attorney Advisor in the Office of the General Counsel at the United States Department of Agriculture.
“We are pleased to welcome Brian to MoFo and our FDA + Healthcare Regulatory Compliance team within the firm’s Complex Litigation practice. His focus on emerging food and beverage technologies and regulation will enhance our abilities to serve clients on the cutting edge of food and ag tech,” said Brigid DeCoursey Bondoc, who leads the FDA + Healthcare Regulatory team.
Mitchell Presser, co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Food + Agriculture Group, added: “Brian’s practice is highly synergistic and complementary with our food and agriculture industry practice. In addition to offering tremendous advantages to our high-tech food, food and agriculture, and consumer packaged goods clients, Brian’s presence further expands our regulatory capabilities to other relevant practices and underscores the prominence of our top-tier Food + Agriculture Group.”
As a former USDA regulator, Sylvester focuses his regulatory practice on the entire food product life cycle from “farm to fork” with an emphasis on food tech regulation. Brian has extensive experience with developing tailored regulatory strategies to commercialize a range of food tech innovations, including transgenic crops and alternative proteins, such as cultivated meat and fermentation-derived food ingredients, among others. He additionally counsels early-stage, growth, and global clients on all aspects of cosmetics, over the counter (OTC) drugs, medical devices, consumer products, and a range of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulated commodities. Across all these regulated product categories, his work spans enforcement actions, audits and investigations, regulatory compliance, labeling and advertising, import and export, due diligence, consumer litigation, comment preparation, public policy advocacy at the federal and state levels, and new product development.
A prominent author and voice in global food tech regulation, Sylvester frequently speaks at industry-leading events in the United States, the European Union, China, Israel, and other areas around the world. Over the span of his career, he has received numerous legal industry awards and recognitions, including in Chambers USA, Bloomberg Law, and The National Law Journal, among others.
“At MoFo, I’m excited to collaborate with the Firm’s globally leading, cross-disciplinary Food + Agriculture team across corporate, litigation, IP, trademark and related fields. I’m especially delighted to continue my focus on food tech on a global basis,” said Sylvester. “I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues in D.C., and across the firm’s global offices, to expand our food regulatory offerings, while tapping into my significant USDA and FDA regulatory experience to help clients navigate their most novel and complex regulatory business challenges.”
This news story was originally published on the firm’s website.