Federal Agencies 2030 - Looking Forward, How Cannabis Reform Will Shuffle the Deck

Cynthia Meyer Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Kleinfeld, Kaplan & Becker, LLP

Cynthia L. Meyer is a partner at Kleinfeld, Kaplan & Becker, LLP, whose practice focuses on FDA law and advertising law.  She regularly provides counsel to and advocates on behalf of clients in FDA-regulated industries, particularly in the dietary supplement, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.  She advises on legal and regulatory matters involving various federal and state agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and has represented clients in advertising disputes in front of the National Advertising Division (NAD).

Cynthia frequently speaks and writes on a host of FDA and advertising issues, including dietary supplement labeling and structure-function claims requirements, advertising claims substantiation, and the regulation of hemp/CBD. She has authored or co-authored chapters and articles in multiple publications, such as A Practical Guide to FDA’s Food and Drug Law Regulation (multiple editions), Bringing Your Pharmaceutical Drug to Market (2015), and Law360. She currently serves on the Food and Drug Law Journal Editorial Advisory Board and has previously served on the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Advertising & Promotion for Medical Products committee and its Food Advertising, Labeling, and Litigation committee.  Cynthia has also been recognized in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for FDA Law.

Cynthia received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.S. in biology from Duke University.

Mr. Robert Martin Tobiassen, J.D., LLM Taxation Related Seminars and Products

Principal

Tobiassen Consulting + Solutions LLC

Robert M. Tobiassen is the President of the National Association of Beverage Importers, Inc. (NABI), Washington, DC, since October 2018. Prior to that appointment, he was the Principal at Tobiassen Consulting Plus Solutions LLC, after a 34-year Federal service career with regulatory, taxation and administrative and judicial enforcement experience with the domestic and global alcohol industry and served in the career Senior Executive Service (SES) as the inaugural Chief Counsel, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Department of the Treasury in 2003. As TTB Chief Counsel, Mr. Tobiassen liaisoned with CBP, USTR, and the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, as well as Capitol Hill. He served on USTR delegations to negotiations with the European Commission in Brussels and the WTO in Geneva.

Mr. Tobiassen holds a B.A. in Political Science with distinction from the University of California, Berkeley, a J.D. from the Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon where he served on law review, and a LL.M. in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC. Among other awards, Mr. Tobiassen received the 2003 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious SES Executives and the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the Secretary of the Treasury.

Rob Kimmer, Esq. Related Seminars and Products

Head of Trademarks, Copyright & Entertainment Law

Mei & Mark, LLP

Rob Kimmer is Head of Trademarks, focusing on the prosecution and litigation of worldwide trademark, copyright, brand, advertising, entertainment, and trade secret matters. He also focuses on the intersection of venture capital, early-stage/emerging companies, and intellectual property along with celebrity branding/endorsement matters and the Firm’s internationally-recognized cannabis practice.

Mr. Kimmer assists clients with worldwide naming/branding projects, trademark clearance reports, securing portfolios of trademark and domain registrations as well as enforcement of these valuable intellectual property assets. His specialty is developing business-centric and cost-effective IP strategies that meet each client’s specific needs. He has experience counseling clients with regard to sensitive copyright matters, such as certification testing materials and proprietary computer program code along with difficult-to-protect certification, sound, trade dress, and color registrations.

Having filed and won the first ever .XXX Domain Rapid Evaluation Service (RES) proceeding in the world, Mr. Kimmer is well-versed in domain name matters. He has successfully handled a variety of international disputes and Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings.  Mr. Kimmer’s world-renowned expertise in the cannabis, CBD, and psychedelic branding space is recognized by INCBA (The International Cannabis Bar Association) and peer industry groups.  He is currently counsel on a major CBD/cannabis trademark case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit – In Re Joy Tea – 22-1041.

Mr. Kimmer has counseled Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, technology start-ups, venture capital firms, Oscar®-winning actors (serving as General Counsel of management teams), Grammy®-winning singers, accelerators, cannabis companies, and non-profit organizations in regard to trademarks, branding, naming projects, prosecution, trade dress, trade secrets, copyright, and IP enforcement. He has developed unique industry specialties in the CPG, toy/game, cosmetic, banking, beverage, alcohol, beer, restaurant, food, cannabis, and celebrity branding spaces. Mr. Kimmer understands the true value of branding/trademarks and can ensure that these valuable corporate assets are fully cared-for and protected.

Prior to joining Mei & Mark, LLP, Mr. Kimmer was an attorney at the Washington, D.C. offices of Michael Best and Rader Fishman & Grauer, as well as serving as practice group chair of an IP boutique. He has also worked as in-house counsel for Maple Life Financial®/MLF® Financial Group, a financial and insurance company that is a joint venture with Morgan Stanley®, Reservoir Capital®, and Cantor Fitzgerald®.

Education

• J.D., The George Washington University Law School
• B.A., Emory University

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Cases

In Re Joy Tea – 22-1041 (CAFC)

In Re Joy Tea (TTAB)

Ford Motor Company vs. Mustangs Unlimited Inc. (6^th Cir)

Patron Spirits International AG v. Mountain Melodies, LLC (TTAB)

Successful settlement against Marvel®

Successful settlement against Apple®

Successful Settlement against PSI®

Professional Recognition

• Who’s Who in America 
• Who’s Who in American Law 
• Speaker for INCBA (The International Cannabis Bar Association)

Community Involvement

• Member of INCBA (The International Cannabis Bar Association)
• Member of the Wyngate Citizens Association in Bethesda, MD
• Active member of the GW Law Alumni community and Center for Professional Development & Career Strategy
• Active Member of the Emory Alumni Association’s DC Chapter

Outside Interests

• Juggling – Performed in Super Bowl® XXXIV, for the Atlanta Braves®, the Atlanta Hawks®, The Smirnoff® Vodka Corporation, GSK®, for President George H.W. Bush, and for Muhammad Ali.

TV game show veteran – having appeared on Win Ben Stein’s Money® and NBC®’s Million Second Quiz® (hosted by Ryan Seacrest), and The Game Show Network®

Mai T. Dinh Related Seminars and Products

Assistant General Counsel, Marketing, Regulatory, and Food Safety Programs Division

Office of the General Counsel, USDA

Mai Dinh is the Assistant General Counsel for Marketing, Regulatory, and Food Safety Programs Division where she manages a staff of attorneys providing legal advice to the Agricultural Marketing Service, including the recent regulations on the Domestic Hemp Production Program and the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.  Prior to USDA, she was the Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) where she guided significant rulemaking actions and program developments on passenger information screening and general aviation security.  Prior to TSA, she supervised teams of attorneys at the Federal Election Commission who developed regulations to implement sweeping campaign finance reform legislation. Ms. Dinh is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.