Brigid O’Hara, a 2020 graduate of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, currently serves as Compliance Counsel at Wine.com. She credits her experience with the Food and Farm Business Law Clinic at Pace Haub Law for significantly shaping her career trajectory in the beverage industry.
While attending law school, O’Hara participated in an internship with Heineken, which introduced her to key industry professionals, including her future employer. “The connections I made through the Food and Farm Business Law Clinic were integral in landing an interview and ultimately a job at Wine.com,” she said.
Reflecting on her education and extracurricular activities at Haub Law, O’Hara noted, “I was able to determine what type of law I wanted to practice, in a general litigation versus transactional sense, and the content area I was particularly interested in. I feel very lucky to have had a clinic experience like the one I did, because it was instrumental in understanding the type of practice I really wanted to do, which was transactional, business, hopefully beverage oriented, work.”
In addition to her time with Heineken, O’Hara interned at Reckitt Benckiser. She found that she enjoyed working in-house legal roles. “I knew I wanted to get to an in-house position as fast as possible, and luckily, I was able to skip the more traditional route of 2-3 years at a firm before jumping in-house, which I am super thankful for!” she explained.
O’Hara described her clinic experience as unique. “I absolutely loved working in the clinic. I loved that I had two separate clients and handled the matters for them with other students, as if working with other associates in a firm. The seminar portion of the clinic was also very interesting because we were learning about the other students’ clients and the various issues they were handling, which meant the experience covered a massive range of business, food, farming, and beverage related topics.” She recalled assisting a non-profit client with obtaining tax exempt status and managing incorporation needs—tasks relevant to her current responsibilities involving corporate filings and tax matters.
After graduating from Pace Haub Law School, O’Hara earned an LLM in Corporate Compliance from Fordham Law School. She began her career during significant changes within the alcohol industry following increased home consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to O’Hara: “I started my career in 2021, freshly off a massive change in the alcohol industry stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry, and my company specifically, really had a boom in 2020… The industry continued to change at the end of 2021 and into 2022… Many alcohol companies are having to handle lower than average sales…”
She added that these trends have led marketing and sales departments within alcohol companies to adapt their strategies: “The industry as a whole… are having to face tough decisions on how to handle different and lower alcohol consumption.” Despite challenges facing established firms due to generational shifts away from alcohol consumption among younger people—a trend observed across multiple reports—O’Hara sees opportunities ahead: “We are currently in an exciting time in the alcohol law world… It will be very interesting to see how the shoes of the people who have made the alcohol industry what it is today will be filled.”
In her role at Wine.com she manages compliance across several areas: “I work closely with essentially every department at the company: human resources, marketing, merchandising, finance, engineering/development, and operations. I handle employment matters… approve marketing campaigns… conduct tax compliance… maintain website terms and conditions…” Her duties also include licensing for alcohol sales and being a point of contact for regulatory agencies.
O’Hara emphasized that choosing Pace Haub Law gave her access to broad educational opportunities: “I felt that Pace Haub Law could offer me so many different options and a broad and great legal education. And I was right. I absolutely loved law school. I had great classes, great professors… made great connections…” She initially considered environmental law but valued not limiting herself too early: “I felt that Pace Haub Law could offer me so many different options… through opportunities and experiences I had in school.”
For those interested in entering alcoholic beverage law or compliance roles within this sector O’Hara advises building networks: “The more people you can meet… make appearances at conferences… possibly publish papers or articles… Your ability to stay in this industry will greatly increase…” She characterized those working within alcohol regulation as both relaxed yet highly intelligent.
Outside work O’Hara enjoys reading extensively as well as outdoor activities such as hiking or kayaking; she also pursues art during winter months.
