When Latham & Watkins agreed to take on the nonprofit Not For Sale as a pro bono client last year, it never expected to be in the beverage business. But then the organization, which is devoted to combating human trafficking and modern day slavery, decided to launch a bottled tea line. “We agreed to go down this path with them because we were so committed to the cause of ending human trafficking,” says London-based Latham partner William Voge.
Lawyers at Latham & Watkins have devoted more than 1,000 pro bono hours to help launch REBBL, a line of bottled teas that hit U.S. grocery store shelves last month. REBBL, whose name is an acronym of its ingredientsroots, extracts, berries, barks, and leavesis produced with ingredients grown in the Amazonian jungles of Peru and harvested by indigenous men, women, and children in the region who are at risk of being sold into slavery. (The tea line includes such flavors as hibiscus mint, ginger citrus, and forest berry.)
