Vincent O’Brien

Senior Counsel
Nixon Peabody LLP

Vincent “Vince” O’Brien has extensive experience in beverage alcohol law, a category to which he has dedicated his entire career. He joined the law firm of White & Case and was assigned to its Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., account. Five years later, he was named general counsel and director by Seagram and was later elevated to executive vice president while maintaining his roles as general counsel and director. Mr. O’Brien later joined forces with Abe Buchman in creating the beverage alcohol boutique firm of Buchman & O’Brien. In June of 2004, following the retirement of Mr. Buchman, Vince joined the national firm of Nixon Peabody LLP, where he established the firm’s Beverage Alcohol Group.

Mr. O’Brien is a frequent lecturer and speaker on beverage alcohol issues at international symposia and conferences. His engagements include four published presentations at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) global symposia concerning appellations of origin. He has also been a guest lecturer at Aix-Marseille Law School in France, and was named as a member of a special industry advisory committee to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office regarding wine and spirits intellectual property issues during Uruguay Round GATT negotiations. In 2006 and again in 2007, Mr. O’Brien was named one of New York’s Super Lawyers.

Mr. O’Brien has been honored by wine societies in France and Hungary and is a recipient of the Chevalier de l’Ordre Mérite Agricole bestowed by the French government.