Just like a large corporation or a startup technology venture, independent vineyards and wineries must work with outside counsel to address a range of business and legal issues, from real estate guidance and regulatory compliance to tax advice and merger and acquisition work.

Senior partner Jim Seff has practiced wine law for more than 40 years, is the founder and former leader of Pillsbury’s Wine, Beer and Spirits practice and spent 13 years as a lawyer for Wine Institute, a California trade group. In a wine law practice section profile, he tells Super Lawyers that the industry is one of the most heavily regulated in the United States and that differences between federal and state laws make the regulatory landscape particularly challenging.

“If you have a client who’s selling wine in every state, then you’ve got 51 jurisdictions to deal with,” he said. “The laws are similar, but never identical, and then you get into further complexity in the way that each regulatory authority is interpreting its own law.”

But Seff also says those complexities are what keep the work interesting.

“When I get up in the morning, I never know what will be waiting for me in the office. It keeps me very engaged,” he said.