Growth of the "Food Court" in San Francisco has leading Food Law Firm Expanding Its Presence in SF

In keeping one step ahead of the growing popularity of what food pundits call the Bay Area’s Food Court, food law firm leader Keller and Heckman LLP reports that Christopher Van Gundy, a recognized expert in food law litigation, has joined the firm’s San Francisco’s office as a partner is its Litigation and Food and Drug Practices.

Food recalls, food safety including food fraud, and consumer class action lawsuits for food marketing claims, have become frequent topics in the media. The Food Court is seen as the Nation’s hub for food litigation maters. Enter Van Gundy who, prior to joining Keller and Heckman, grew and managed the litigation department of Roll Law Group PC where his work was instrumental in the success of POM Wonderful’s legal teams in two key food law cases: POM Wonderful v. The Coca Cola Company in the U.S. Supreme Court, and POM Wonderful’s motion to de-certify a class action in In re: POM Wonderful LLC Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation.

“Chris Van Gundy’s great value is his broad knowledge of litigation and regulation,” notes Richard Mann, Chair of Keller and Heckman’s Management Committee.” In addition to his solid jury trial experience in trying food dales advertising cases, he knows how to probe the operations of a company or industry and rack its global supply chains to design systems that will assess and protect a client from liability and risk.”

One major driver of the expanding work in food law both here and abroad is the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which shifts the primary responsibility for assuring food safety from the FDA to the food industry. The ramifications of this major new legislation and the anticipated regulations are enormous. “Generally, U.S. and foreign processors and importers of food products into the U.S. must verify that food product ingredients are consistent with high U.S. food safety standards and must reckon with enhanced powers for the FDA to require tracing, documentation, and food recalls,” says Van Gundy. ”It is imperative that food companies get proactive as the new law poses challenges for not only small and mid-sized food companies and importers, by major companies as well,” according to Van Gundy.

Joining Keller and Heckman was an easy choice for Van Gundy. “To be part of a full services food law group with such an exclusive mix of over 20 in-house scientists is of incalculable value to my litigation and regulatory practice.”

Van Gundy is also integrally involved in promoting education in Food Law. The State Bar of California has given him preliminary approval to form a Food Law Committee of the Litigation Section. Additionally, he is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Food Advertising Conference sponsored by The Food and Drug Law Institute in October, in New York City.

Van Gundy received his J.D. from Berkeley Law School and an A.B. from Brown University, Phi Beta Kappa.

About Keller and Heckman

Keller and Heckman has a broad practice in the areas of regulatory law, litigation, and business transactions, serving both domestic and international clients. With offices in Washington, D.C., Brussels, San Francisco, and Shanghai, the firm helps the world’s most vital businesses achieve their objectives. A pioneer in the use of interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving, Keller and Heckman has had an in-house scientific staff since 1971 that works closely with their firm’s attorneys on matters of technical complexity.

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