Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to welcome Mary Clarke to the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as an of counsel attorney, where she will expand the National Food and Beverage Law team which joined the firm in March.
Mary guides businesses and key stakeholders through all regulatory, legislative, and compliance matters impacting the alcohol beverage industry, proactively managing risk and creating adaptable frameworks for rapidly evolving regulatory and enforcement policies. Her strategic counsel also extends to emerging and other highly regulated products and industries, including hemp-derived products and food law. She boasts considerable experience engaging with federal and state agencies, including the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
As former assistant general counsel to Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), Mary focused on all aspects of the three-tier alcohol beverage system and assisted in developing policy principles for the regulation of hemp beverages. Earlier in her career, she served as committee counsel for the Maryland House of Delegates’ Economic Matters, where she drafted legislation and advised lawmakers on all matters pertaining to her primary focus areas – alcohol, cannabis, business regulation, and commercial law. Mary’s early private sector experience includes serving as a legislative policy advisor for Lyft, where she counseled on labor, employment, privacy, and emerging technology laws across 25 states.
“We look forward to intentionally growing a legal practice focused on highly regulated industries by expanding our presence into our D.C. market,” said Bill Powers, office managing partner for Spencer Fane in Washington, D.C. “Mary’s dynamic in-house and legislative background will be a fantastic complement to her private sector work as she collaborates with our Florida team and continues to bring national attention to this influential practice area.”
After obtaining her bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, Mary earned her Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School.