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 participation in the Food and Farm Business Law Clinic at Pace for helping to shape her legal career path.
During law school, O’Hara interned with Heineken, where she met several industry professionals, including her future supervisor. “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,” said O’Hara.
Reflecting on her time at Pace Haub Law, O’Hara said, “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.”
O’Hara also completed an internship with Reckitt Benckiser during law school. This experience confirmed her interest in working as an in-house attorney. “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 stated.
She described her time with the Food and Farm Business Clinic 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.” One client she assisted was a non-profit organization; she helped secure tax-exempt status and complete incorporation tasks. These experiences provided foundational skills relevant to her current responsibilities involving corporate filings and tax matters.
After earning her JD from Pace Haub Law School, O’Hara pursued an LLM in Corporate Compliance from Fordham Law School. She began her professional career amid significant changes within the alcohol industry due to shifts brought by COVID-19. According to O’Hara: “I started my career in 2021… The industry continued to change at the end of 2021 and into 2022… Many alcohol companies are having to handle lower than average sales as younger generations continue to trend towards not consuming as much alcohol as their predecessors did at their age.”
O’Hara noted that these trends have prompted alcohol companies’ marketing departments to adapt strategies for customer retention: “The industry as a whole… are having to face tough decisions on how to handle different and lower alcohol consumption.” Despite these challenges she observed new opportunities: “We are currently in an exciting time in the alcohol law world… This is leaving a gap for younger attorneys to make a space and name for themselves.”
As Compliance Counsel at Wine.com today, O’Hara’s role spans multiple areas including employment matters; contract review; marketing approvals; tax compliance; data security; privacy management; website terms maintenance; licensing; legal research; regulatory updates; customer escalations; agency liaison duties among others.
O’Hara emphasized how Pace Haub Law offered diverse educational options: “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 originally considered environmental law but found herself drawn toward food-and-beverage-related legal work after interning at an alcohol law firm during college.
For those interested in entering this field she advised networking widely within what she describes as a close-knit sector: “The more people you can meet… possibly publish papers or articles… Your ability to stay in this industry will greatly increase…” She added that it is both enjoyable yet intellectually demanding work.
Outside of work O’Hara enjoys reading extensively along with outdoor activities such as hiking or kayaking when weather permits; during winter months she pursues painting or drawing using skills from her art degree.
