Mindy A. Abern

OF Counsel, Chicago Office

P:(847) 962-1028

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Worked on 1000s of cross-channel promotions spanning all forms of PR and marketing, including print, broadcast, radio, social, digital, OOH and in-store promotions

15+ years experience in packaging review for consumer packaged goods including in the highly-regulated fields of nutrition, sustainability and health

Helps clients engage A-list talent and influencers including navigating the dynamic world of SAG-AFTRA and union compliance

Counsels clients in the creation and management of multimillion-dollar international economic recovery grant programs

Drafts T&Cs for all types of contests, sweepstakes, hackathons, grant programs, tournaments and related documents such as prize provider agreements, releases, and winner declarations

FUN FACT!
Mindy serves on the Board of Directors of Gratitude Generation which provides community-service opportunities in the Chicago area for children, families, and organizations.

About Mindy

Mindy A. Abern joined InfoLawGroup in 2017 from her own marketing and advertising law firm which she successfully managed for eight years. Mindy also previously served as marketing counsel for Sears Holdings Corporation. Mindy focuses on a wide range of consumer promotions, marketing agreements and has a unique background in food and beverage compliance matters including extensive experience in consumer packaging.

She helps clients execute every type of marketing promotion utilizing all types of media. She regularly advises on legal aspects of: contest and sweepstakes administration and fulfillment, charitable initiatives/grants, consumer research programs, influencer campaigns, and advertising campaigns. Mindy has drafted hundreds of official rules for contests, sweepstakes, hackathons, incentive programs, developer programs, incentivized research programs, loyalty programs, dogfooding campaigns, gaming tournaments, grant programs, and academic competitions.

Clients value her in-house experience and view Mindy as a trusted partner to help them develop internal processes for administration and execution of promotions. This spans the life of a promotion from intake of necessary information upon conception of an idea all the way through proper notification procedures and documentation for prize winners.

Mindy advises clients on all issues related to engaging celebrity talent and influencers, including union/SAG-AFTRA compliance, content licensing, compliance with FTC guidelines, agreement structure, and usage rights. Her experience includes everything from the micro-influencer to A-list movie starts, Broadway stars, and celebrity chefs.

Mindy regularly drafts and negotiates an array of agreements including: sponsorships, joint promotions, personal services, intellectual property licensing, media buys, lead generation, prize provision, creative services, agency agreements, consumer research, and production services. She gained her original interest in this area when helping a national retailer launch its private label with 100s of items across the food, beauty, cleaning, toiletry, pet and baby categories. Since this first product launch, Mindy has reviewed thousands of product packaging ranging from cleaning products to canned vegetables to alcoholic beverages and everything in between. She reviews labels for national regulatory compliance, proper nutrition labeling, environmental certification, product/health claims, and product safety. Her experience extends to the highly-regulated alcoholic beverage and cannabis industries where she advises on compliance for product packaging, promotions, advertising, and social media.

Mindy also assists clients who need to resolve disputes related to their marketing with competitors, self-regulatory bodies, or government agencies. Disputes may be false advertising claims, product certifications, green claims, or retail operations issues such as pricing and sale frequency.

“Mindy is thorough, professional, flexible and prompt – everything I value in a lawyer!”

— Happy Client

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Reviewed 1000s of product packages and worked with creative agencies, laboratories, copyrighters, marketers, suppliers, and retailers to ensure legal compliance.
Counsels clients in the highly-regulated alcoholic beverage and cannabis industries regarding trade practice compliance and regulatory issues.
Is an integral part of helping a top social media company develop augmented and virtual reality, including content curation, promotions, and technology development.
Appreciates the demands, priorities and pressures of her clients due to her in-house legal experience at a multi-billion-dollar retailer and strives to provide solution-oriented guidance.
Advises on legal compliance for domestic and global promotions, including: contests, sweepstakes, charitable promotions and grant programs, gaming tournaments, hackathons, and developer programs.
Guides clients on influencer marketing, including: creation of endorsement and testimonial policies, drafting of agreements for influencer services, union (SAG) compliance, content licensing, and reviewing social media content for legal compliance.
Is a trusted advisor to clients, helping them to execute integrated marketing campaigns while minimizing legal risks and achieving business goals.
Drafts agreements for creative services, such as: design and development, project administration, production, content creation, event production, and branding.
Guides retail and corporate clients through process of consumer research from privacy issues like data retention and collection of personal information to usage, incentivization, and claim substantiation in advertising.
Helped to launch one of 2022s biggest Music NFTs working through music licensing, platform engagement, royalty negotiation, and NIL licensing.