Jessica M. Brown
Partner
Overview
Jessica M. "Jessie" Brown is an attorney in the firm's West Coast Litigation Group and practices in commercial and appellate litigation, as well as regulatory compliance. Ms. Brown's practice includes class action defense and arbitration in a wide variety of industries, some of which are featured below. She represents clients in federal courts and before regulatory bodies nationwide and is licensed in California and Alaska. She provides wrap-around legal counsel to her Alaska clients in highly regulated industry sectors, including alcohol beverage, telecommunication, maritime, as well as oil and gas.
In addition, Ms. Brown provides regulatory counsel and consults with management on governance matters and strategic initiatives. The core of her practice focuses on the alcohol beverage industry sector, focusing on retailers (including multi-state restaurant and convenience store clients) as they navigate merger and acquisition (M&A) challenges, regulatory enforcement, class action and e-commerce developments, including the development of marketplace facilitators (MPFs) in the United States.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Brown served as an adjunct professor of law at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. After receiving her law degree, Ms. Brown clerked for Justice Craig F. Stowers of the Alaska Supreme Court and Judge Susan Y. Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. While in law school, Ms. Brown served three semesters as a judicial extern to Associate Justice Ming W. Chin of the Supreme Court of California. She also interned in the French-speaking appellate chamber of Judge Mehmet Güney of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
Representative Experience
- Represented an international alcohol beverage manufacturing client in class action pre-litigation negotiations concerning false advertising allegations; successfully resolved matter to client's satisfaction
- Represent national chain convenience store clients in administrative enforcement actions and pre-litigation risk avoidance strategies, including for false advertising matters
- Represent national retailers in regulatory compliance as it pertains to marketplace facilitator (MPF) contracts and ancillary sales tax issues
- Represent national chain retailers in successful merger, acquisition and joint venture endeavors involving alcohol license maintenance and transfer
- Represent most alcohol retailers, hotels, recreation lodges, restaurants, gas stations, wholesale suppliers, airport purveyors and cruise ships in successful initiation or buy-sell licensing transactions, renewal applications and entity change of form issues in Alaska
- Represented an Alaska Native Corporate client in a pre-litigation telecommunication matter concerning implementation of a government contract and award
- Seconded to a subsidiary of an Alaska Native Corporate client to monitor and advise on ongoing rate litigation in the oil and gas industry
- Represent Alaska's adventure lodges and ski resorts in real estate, regulatory and corporate compliance issues, including alcohol licensing matters
- Represented a crude oil supplier in a state regulatory matter concerning its spill contingency plan
- Represented vessel owners in a regulatory action before the U.S. Maritime Administration
Appellate
- Represented a federally recognized Indian tribe in a precedent-setting Native American law matter before the Alaska Supreme Court that resulted in full vacatur and remand in favor of client
- Represented a mining group in agency actions, as well as trial and appellate litigation, to successfully quiet title to claims in dispute
Business
- Represent a California healthcare provider in ongoing governance compliance and board dispute resolution matters
- Represented a California healthcare provider in a hospital services agreement and claims dispute in arbitration and litigation
- Represented one of the oldest affinity insurance providers in California in a complex shareholder dispute that achieved favorable outcomes for the client
- Represented one of the largest online trademark filing services in the country against state and federal unfair competition claims
Credentials
- Golden Gate University School of Law, J.D., with honors
- Graduate Theological Union, M.A., Ethics
- Barnard College, Columbia University, B.A., cum laude
- Alaska
- California
- All State Courts in Alaska
- All State Courts in California
- U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- National Association of Licensing and Compliance Professionals (NALCP)
- National Association of Alcohol Beverage Attorneys (NAABLA)
- Alaska Bar Association, Pro Bono Service Committee
- Alaska Bar Association, Law Examiners Committee
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star Award, 2017-2022
- Roger J. Traynor California Moot Court Competition, Excellence in Appellate Advocacy Award (First-Place Team); Best Brief Award (First-Place Team); Outstanding Individual Achievement in Oral Argument, 2013
- English
- French