Napa, CA (January 6, 2026) – Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (DP&F) is pleased to announce that attorney Tracy Genesen, former Vice President and General Counsel for Wine Institute, has joined the firm’s Alcohol Beverage Law and Compliance (ABLC) practice group. Tracy is internationally recognized for her legal work in the alcohol beverage industry. At DP&F she will continue providing incisive, strategic counsel to help business owners and operators successfully navigate the challenges inherent to highly regulated industries, including those for wine, spirits, and ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs). “We are thrilled to have Tracy join our team and further expand our deep bench of attorneys with expertise in the alcohol beverage space,” said DP&F managing partner John Trinidad. “She has been at the forefront on the key legal and policy issues – both domestic and international – that alcohol beverage businesses face: advertising a

Napa, CA (December 2, 2025) – Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (DP&F) is pleased to announce the election of Melissa Granillo, a member of DP&F’s Litigation group, to the firm’s partnership. Melissa is an experienced litigator who has represented businesses and individuals in a wide variety of general litigation matters such as contract disputes, trust and estates litigation, and real property law. She has also handled a broad array of matters for DP&F’s wine industry clients, including matters pertaining to grape purchase, alternating proprietorship, production, custom crush and distributorships, as well as smoke taint claims and collections. Partner David Balter, who leads the firm’s Litigation Group, shared, “Melissa is an accomplished litigator who has had enormous success obtaining favorable results on behalf of clients over the last fifteen-plus years of her practice. Guided by her character and integrity, Melissa approaches every ma

Napa, CA (September 30, 2025) – Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (DP&F) is pleased to announce the addition of three new Associate Attorneys: Leslee Carroll, Nick Conti, and Elena Moreno. DP&F Litigation Group Grows by Two DP&F’s Litigation group, led by firm partner David Balter, grew by two associate attorneys this summer. This expansion serves DP&F’s commitment to delivering effective, efficient, and results-oriented solutions to help clients navigate civil litigation disputes. Leslee Carroll joined DP&F from a firm focused on construction litigation and has experience in all manner of civil litigation, including contract claims, tort actions, and property disputes. She received her law degree from the UC Davis School of Law, and her B.A. from UC Santa Barbara. Leslee is a member of the Richard M. Sangster American Inn of Court and serves on the board of Napa County Women Lawyers. Nick Conti worked in the field of special education law prior to j

Owen Dallmeyer, photo by Emma K Creative Napa, CA (March 3, 2025) – Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (DP&F) is pleased to announce the election of Owen Dallmeyer in DP&F’s Business Law group to the firm’s partnership. Carol Kingery Ritter, who leads the Business Group notes, “Owen has been a member of the Business Law group for 8 years and is an anchor in our transactional practice. I look forward to Owen’s partnership in providing excellent service to our wide range of local and wine industry business clients.” Owen joined DP&F in April 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Owen was a litigator specializing in wage and hour and traditional labor law in San Francisco for a national law firm. Owen received his law degree from the UC Davis School of Law and his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He has also earned his Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wine. About DP&F Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty PC (D

Afternoon Brief, September 26th

Red Blotch Virus Detected for First Time in Australia in Wine Grape Collections: A grape disease that hasn't been found in Australia before has been identified in three separate states...

Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (DP&F) announces the addition of a dedicated alcohol beverage compliance group to its existing Alcohol Beverage Law practice, offering full service alcohol beverage law and compliance services to its clients. The new Alcohol Beverage Law & Compliance Group provides complete alcohol beverage law and compliance services, including federal and state licensing and renewals, direct to consumer and out of state supplier licensing and renewals, ongoing reporting and tax payment services and COLA review and registrations. “This is an exciting development for the firm and one that has been a long time coming,” said Bahaneh Hobel, head of the Alcohol Beverage Law & Compliance Group. “It’s been our goal to expand the compliance services we offer to our clients, so that we can operate as a one-stop-shop for all of their alcohol beverage law and regulatory needs. Combining the expertise of our alcohol beverage attorneys with a dedi