This month Reed Smith partner Tracy Genesen left the firm to become general counsel for one of the firm’s clients, Scotch whisky company Edrington USA. The company was launched in the spring to handle U.S. distribution for the Scotland-based corporation’s brands, which include Macallan and Cutty Sark.
Genesen comes to Edrington with a barrelful of experience in the alcohol industry. After planting a vineyard near Lake Tahoe 15 years ago, she became interested in making it easier for alcohol producers to get their products to market. In 2004, she served as the American Wine Industry’s litigation strategist for the U.S. Supreme Court case Granholm v. Heald. The resulting decision allowed out-of-state wineries to ship wine directly to consumers in New York and Michigan.
