The Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference is a specialized conference focused on legal, regulatory and compliance issues affecting the food retail and wholesale industry. It brings together legal counsel, compliance officers, regulatory professionals and senior executives who face these issues in food retail/wholesale. You should attend if your organization deals with compliance risk, regulatory changes, litigation exposure or broader legal issues in the food industry, and you want to stay current, network and gain actionable insights. 

The 2026 Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference will take place July 19-21, 2026, at The Westin Portland Harborview in Portland, Maine.

Registration for the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference is available online through the FMI event webpage: https://www.fmi.org/legal-conference/registration 

The Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference is open to legal counsel, compliance officers, regulatory professionals and operational executives in the food retail and wholesale sectors. It is open to the industry; invitation is not required. 

Registration fees for the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference vary based on membership status and timing. Early-bird rates are available for those who register before February 27, 2026. Group or multi-attendee rates may be available for organizations sending multiple participants. Full pricing is posted on the event registration page: https://www.fmi.org/legal-conference/registration

Business casual attire is recommended for all sessions and networking events at the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference.

Attendees of the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference will get the most benefit if you have any of these roles: in-house general counsel, compliance officer, regulatory affairs leader, risk or audit director, senior operations executive with accountability for legal/compliance or outside counsel who serves food-industry clients. Because the conference is tuned to the food retail/wholesale vertical, it is particularly relevant to companies in that space.

The program at the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference will address the latest in food regulatory developments, recent updates in labor and employment law, practical compliance scenarios for complex legal issues, evolving patchworks of state laws and regulations, and crisis management, recalls, claims, litigation trends and beyond. 

The Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference is described as the only industry conference specifically tailored to legal, regulatory and compliance issues in the food retail and wholesale industry. It brings together a highly targeted audience of food-industry counsel/compliance professionals (versus broader legal conferences), which can make for more relevant content and networking. Because the vertical is narrow (food retail/wholesale), the sessions are likely highly applied to your business context rather than general legal compliance content. By attending sessions at the Legal Regulatory and Compliance Conference, you could be eligible to receive CLE credits (pending state approvals). 

The Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference includes a welcome happy hour, networking sessions, and an evening reception and dinner, offering multiple opportunities to build relationships and exchange ideas with industry peers.

Past participants have highlighted: “I thought the speakers and topics were really great and relevant. Each topic really encompassed everything I oversee as in-house counsel and was all beneficial to me (supply chain, labor and employment, cyber, labels, etc.).”

At the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference, you can expect to gain: Up-to‐date insight into regulatory developments affecting food retail/wholesale; practical strategies for compliance, risk management and litigation readiness in your industry; networking with peers and experts who face the same issues in the food industry;  Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits; and an opportunity to benchmark your company’s legal/compliance posture against others in your vertical.

Sponsorship opportunities for the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference are available for solution providers and partners supporting financial and operational excellence in the food industry. For details, visit the sponsorship page at https://www.fmi.org/legal-conference/sponsorship

For questions about the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference, please reach out to Tara Laptew.  

Updates about the Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Conference will be posted on the FMI event webpage and shared through FMI newsletters and social media channels. https://www.fmi.org/legal-conference 

Trade media may reach out to media@fmi.org to request attendance to FMI events. Some FMI events are closed to media. Please see our press credentials for events details: https://www.fmi.org/newsroom/press-credentials