Stokes Lawrence provides comprehensive, cross disciplinary counsel to a major agricultural processing company—strengthening its employment practices, restructuring its farming operations, and ensuring compliance across a complex, multisite organization.
Our client is a longstanding, multisite agricultural processing company with operations across Washington and beyond. As both a major employer and a government contractor, the company faces unique regulatory, workforce, and operational challenges. They rely on our firm for strategic, industry-specific guidance that supports every facet of their evolving business.
the work
The client needed to modernize its employment practices, harmonize compliance across multiple facilities, and navigate complex wage and hour issues, all while preparing for the next phase of organizational growth. At the same time, the company was undergoing a major restructuring of its agricultural operations—separating farming activities from processing and freezing—and required guidance on regulatory compliance, contract development, and farm labor contractor obligations. Managing these parallel challenges demanded a coordinated team approach.
Employment & Compliance Advisory
Our Employment team worked closely with leadership and human resources on:
- Comprehensive review and modernization of employment policies
- Implementation of best practices for wage and hour compliance
- Guidance across multiple collective bargaining agreements
- Support for the company’s first round of H‑2A visa placements
- Ongoing strategic advice tailored to multisite agricultural operations and government‑contractor requirements
Corporate Restructuring & Agri‑Business Support
Simultaneously, our Business and Agriculture teams advised on forming a new affiliate dedicated to farming operations. This work included:
- Structuring and launching a new agricultural entity
- Reorganizing farming activities separately from the processing business
- Ensuring compliance with farm labor contractor requirements
- Fully revising grower and harvest contracts to reflect the new structure
By coordinating across practice groups, we delivered consistent advice aligned with the company’s broader operational and regulatory goals.
an ongoing partnership
The firm’s cross‑disciplinary collaboration helped the company strengthen its compliance infrastructure, streamline internal processes, and position its agricultural operations for future growth. Through this ongoing partnership, the client benefits from seamless, holistic service—receiving employment, agricultural, and business counsel that is coordinated, practical, and deeply informed by industry knowledge.
This work demonstrates our ability to guide complex agricultural enterprises through structural change while supporting day‑to‑day workforce and compliance needs.
