Speakers: RLC Board

*By Invitation Only

With midterm elections around the corner, and at least two years remaining on the second Trump Administration, Congressional investigations and oversight will be an increasingly hot area for the restaurant industry and its members. Gabriel Gillett and Jon Skladany from Jenner & Block will share insights and offer practical advice for how to successfully navigate these waters. They will cover the current oversight landscape and how it may change in 2027; how inquiries begin and unfold – from document requests and subpoenas to transcribed interviews and hearings; how to respond – including narrative strategy, stakeholder management, and executive testimony preparation; collateral concerns that can arise on the heels of congressional activity; and concrete steps in-house leaders can take to reduce legal, reputational, and operational exposure before an inquiry begins.

The Golden State – the fourth largest economy in the world – presents seemingly irresistible opportunities for the restaurant industry. But those opportunities come at a cost – General Counsel of multi-state corporations regularly report that their “legal spend” in California is wholly out of proportion to the amount spent elsewhere. And things don’t seem to be getting better. The state continues to adopt novel and sweeping regulations increasing the compliance obligations for businesses. This panel will take a look at the trends in increasing regulation over the past five years, with a special emphasis on changes implemented to be effective on January 1, 2027. This “legal update” session will also include practical suggestions to ensure compliance; along with a discussion of potential opportunities for RLC to become involved in potential state-wide responses to the new laws.

Join us for dinner, networking, and fun at the Welcome Reception & Dinner.

Plaintiff litigation shops are deploying machine learning models and advanced litigation analytics to uncover wage and hour violations at scale, using predictive algorithms to identify algorithmic bias in scheduling systems, detect anomalies in timekeeping data, and surface hidden wage patterns across multi-unit restaurants that would be nearly impossible to uncover using traditional auditing methods. This panel will expose the specific AI and data science techniques plaintiff attorneys are weaponizing in wage and hour litigation, including wage prediction models and temporal pattern analysis to detect off-the-clock work. Panelists will also discuss how forward-thinking restaurant operators and in-house counsel are deploying the same technologies defensively: conducting predictive compliance audits, identifying system level vulnerabilities before plaintiffs do, and building accountability into scheduling and compensation systems to create defensible practices. Learn what specific data points, system integrations, and analytical approaches both sides are using, and discover how restaurants that move first on compliance gain a critical competitive advantage in avoiding the next generation of wage and hour litigation.

This session provides an update on the rapidly evolving landscape of gas bans and other anti-gas measures at the national, state, and local levels, with a focus on what these developments mean for the restaurant industry. Attendees will receive the latest on the high-stakes litigation challenging gas bans and other anti-gas measures, along with an overview of the legal theories and strategies being used to challenge these laws. The presentation will also explore the model building code process and its impact on gas availability. Attendees will leave with a practical understanding of the current threats to gas service and the tools available to respond.

There has been a significant uptick in threatened and filed class actions and mass arbitrations challenging pricing and fees in connection with orders placed directly through restaurants’ websites and mobile apps and through third party delivery platforms. This follows a wave of interest in pricing and fee issues, including algorithmic pricing, by Congress, government agencies and State Attorneys General. Meredith Slawe and Mike McTigue, the co-leaders of Skadden’s Consumer Class Action and Mass Arbitration practice and Margaret Krawiec, co-head of Skadden’s Washington, D.C. Litigation group and the firm’s Congressional Investigations practice, will share insight on recent developments in this space. They will also provide practical strategies to mitigate risk.

Join us for our keynote luncheon! Lunch will open at 12:15 PM and programming will begin at 12:30 PM. Speaker TBD.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), recently passed by the U.S. House and now pending Senate consideration, could significantly reshape first-time union contract negotiations by imposing compressed bargaining timelines, mandatory mediation, and a potential path to binding arbitration. For restaurant employers—where multi-unit operations, high turnover, scheduling complexity, franchise relationships, and brand visibility can complicate labor strategy—the bill raises important questions about preparedness, leverage, and risk management. Join Jackson Lewis P.C. attorneys for a practical discussion of the FLCA’s key provisions and what they could mean for restaurant and hospitality companies if enacted. The session will address accelerated bargaining obligations, the role of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the possibility of an imposed two-year collective bargaining agreement, and steps employers can consider now to prepare for a faster, more structured first-contract process. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the bill’s potential operational, legal, and workforce implications for the restaurant industry.

Restaurants and celebrities have a love affair spanning nearly a century with A-listers jockeying for the toughest tables and operators leveraging this star power to drive business.  Today, more than ever, brands and talent are finding ways join forces for mutual financial benefit.  From investments to joint ventures to ambassador agreements and blends of the aforementioned, a myriad of contractual structures, economic terms, and other key provisions are behind the silver screen of every transaction between stars and restaurants.   Riley Lagesen has structured and negotiated restaurant transactions involving the biggest names sports, music and entertainment.   Join this session for an in-depth look the legal and business terms behind the deals that are redefining how stars and restaurants partner for success.

Seven U.S. states have enacted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws that establish new obligations for producers of packaging and single-use food serviceware. These laws require producers to undertake specific responsibilities such as reporting requirements, fee reimbursement, and source reduction. Under the statutory definitions adopted in these laws, restaurant owners and operators may, in some circumstances, qualify as “obligated producers” who are subject to EPR compliance requirements. This presentation helps demystify the complex and evolving world of EPR compliance for the restaurant industry, including understanding who is an obligated producer, compliance differences between the seven state EPR laws, and practical strategies for compliance and monitoring legislation.