Marco D. Costales

Marco Costales has in-depth experience in business transactions. He has clients in various industries, including hospitality, food and beverage, health care, manufacturing, transportation, technology, arts and entertainment and retail and professional service.

Marco’s experience includes representation of corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and joint ventures in connection with formation, financing and credit facilities, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, combinations, loan and financing workouts and restructurings, intellectual property licensing, equipment leasing and general contract, operational and employment-related issues.

Marco currently acts as Nossaman’s Assistant General Counsel with respect to material contracts and commercial agreements between the firm and contractors, consultants, suppliers and vendors. He also handles the firm’s credit facilities with major commercial financial institutions. Along with the firm’s General Counsel and other Assistant General Counsels, Marco reviews engagement agreements and agreements for professional services between current, new and prospective clients (many of which are public agencies or divisions) and client-generated terms and conditions, and billing and other requirements. He also is a member of Nossaman’s Legal Opinions Committee, and prepares, negotiates and issues third party legal opinions in large commercial financing transactions.

In the beverage alcohol area, he represents major supermarket chains and grocery outlets, large restaurant groups, hotel owners/operators, hospitality management companies, golf course facilities, campground and RV park operators, craft breweries, wineries, beverage alcohol importers/wholesalers and domestic and international airlines carriers in connection with alcoholic beverage license applications, transfers, compliance and regulatory matters.

Experience

In addition to being a general corporate attorney, Marco is a beverage alcohol and craft beer attorney who represents clients in all three tiers of the alcoholic beverage industry (manufacturers, distributors/wholesalers and retailers). He assists his clients in connection with alcoholic beverage license transfers, mergers and acquisitions, compliance and regulatory matters (including compliance with California's “Tied-House” restrictions and “Responsible Beverage Service” training/certification).

Marco has extensive contacts with alcoholic beverage license brokers, consultants and others in the industry and has worked with nearly all of the District Offices of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) as well as the ABC's Northern and Southern Division offices and Sacramento Headquarters. He also has worked extensively with the former General Counsel and former Directors of the ABC on behalf of clients. Marco also has contacts with other liquor licensing attorneys throughout the United States, to whom he often refers clients with multi-jurisdictional operations. Marco’s contacts in the industry were particularly useful during the tumultuous times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospitality industry was hit particularly hard and Marco counseled clients in connection with not only the ABC’s responses to the pandemic, but also with respect to operational issues (such as funding options under the CARES Act and accompanying SBA loan programs). Marco continues these efforts as the hospitality industry continues to rebuild and retrench since the pandemic ended.

Due to the fact that many retail alcoholic beverage license transactions involve land use and entitlement issues, Marco often works closely with Land Use attorneys and consultants in order to assist clients in obtaining conditional use permits and other entitlements for their projects.

REPRESENTATIVE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSING WORK [CLIENT NAMES NOT DISCLOSED FOR CONFIDENTIALITY]

Large Supermarket Chain. Retained as local California counsel by one of the three investor groups that acquired all of the brand’s grocery stores nationwide in 2006 and 2012. Handled all aspects of the mass transfer of more than 300 off-sale general alcoholic beverage licenses in connection with client’s acquisition of other large supermarket chain. Handled various post-closing matters in connection with these transactions and continues to represent this client on beverage alcohol licensing and compliance matters. Handled liquor licensing issues resulting from the parent company becoming publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Large American Casual Restaurant and Bakery Group. Retained as local California counsel by the parent company of client in connection with various alcoholic beverage licensing compliance and regulatory issues resulting from a corporate reorganization of the companies. Represented client in connection with licensing and compliance issues and handled California liquor licensing issues in connection with client's bankruptcy reorganization (including liquor license transfers).

Major Domestic and International Airline Carriers. Provides representation to several domestic and international airline carriers in connection with alcoholic beverage licensing, regulatory and compliance matters, for both their aircraft and their premier membership clubs at California airports. Representation also includes advice with respect to private warehouses and transport of alcoholic beverages.

California Beer Trade Association. Represented this trade association comprised of small and craft breweries in connection with distributor issues before the California Attorney General. Prior to the COVID pandemic, Marco regularly attended trade association functions and has begun to do so again since the pandemic ended. Marco continues to represent some of the association’s members (craft brewers) individually.

National and Regional Campground/RV Park Operators. Represents a national and two regional campground/RV park owners/operators on California beverage alcohol legal matters.

Various Hotel Owner/Operators Throughout the State. Represents owner/operators, hotel management companies and hospitality consultants on beverage alcohol matters in connection with hotels throughout the State, including in Downtown Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Central California. Marco often drafts and negotiates management and concession agreements for these clients. He has also represented lenders to these entities, advising them on liquor licensing issues as part of due diligence and risk assessment.

Various Golf and Country Clubs in California. Represented owners of PGA and other golf facilities and country clubs in connection with original and subsequent license transfer issues and compliance matters.

Large Restaurant Groups. Handled beverage alcohol licensing matters for owners of several well-known restaurants throughout Southern California, including Downtown LA, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.

Bars and Nightclubs. Represents owners of two upscale nightclubs, bars and music venues in Southern California regarding liquor licensing matters.

Upscale Wineries. Represents award-winning Napa Valley and Ojai/Ventura wineries on beverage alcohol matters and, with the assistance of Nossaman colleagues, intellectual property and environmental /land use matters.

Large Warehouse Facilities. Represents large beverage alcohol warehouse clients in connection with licensing, permitting and operational issues.

Fitness Company. Represented an international owner and operator of health clubs in connection with land use and alcoholic beverage license issues in California.

Large National Restaurant Group. Represented well renowned national restaurant groups in connection with licensing and compliance issues for multiple California locations, until their acquisition by another multinational group.

Healthcare

Marco also is a healthcare transactional attorney with decades of experience in handling corporate deals, workouts, restructurings, contracts and intellectual property licensing matters. He also is responsible for maintaining the corporate records of several physician/medical groups.

EXPERIENCE

A Large Non-profit Medical Center Operating in More Than 40 Locations. Represents this renowned nonprofit Medical Center and its affiliated organizations in a wide variety of transactional matters, including corporate governance/maintenance of subsidiary and affiliated organizations, consulting and service contracts, and vendor contract preparation and negotiation. Marco has also represented this client with respect to clinical trial agreements, intellectual property portfolio management and protection (including compliance with the Bayh-Dole Act) and I.P. exploitation (including patent and software licensing transactions), research arrangements, debt and equity investments, acquisitions and divestitures.

Heart Center Foundation. Represented a nonprofit public benefit corporation in connection with corporate governance issues, agreements with a world renowned School of Medicine and Medical Center and various healthcare regulatory matters. In addition, Nossaman assisted this client in connection with a private letter ruling request from the IRS with respect to some proposed transactions with a separate medical group. Nossaman also represented the client in connection with its acquisition by a world famous health system in Southern California.

Two Medical/Physician Groups. Marco also has represented several medical groups with affiliations to the well-known medical center described above. One of the groups has over 200 shareholders, and Marco handled most of its corporate governance issues, including changes to charter documents, issuance of stock and buy-backs of stock. The other medical group is a small partnership, and Marco assisted them in creating two classes of partnership interests as part of a restructuring. He currently handles all of the transactional work in connection with the admission of new partners to that partnership.

Amublatory Surgery Center Company. Represented a publicly-held company in connection with its acquisition activities and software licensing transactions.

Los Angeles-Based Biomedical Research Institute . Represented this nonprofit public benefit organization in connection with its corporate governance issues, finance issues, clinical trial agreements, intellectual property matters, employment arrangements and related transactions. For over 10 years, Nossaman served as the client’s "general counsel", and handled not only corporate work, but also employment, real estate, litigation and other legal matters for them. Marco regularly met with the Board of Directors and, when asked, Committees of the Board.

Association of Registered Nurses. Acted as this trade association's counsel and parliamentarian at its 49th Annual Congress. Assisted delegates with questions concerning Robert's Rules of Parliamentary Procedure, helped delegates draft resolutions to bring before the House of Delegates, assisted staff with the preparation of meeting scripts and wrote an article for its Congress News Publication.

Publications

Speaking Engagements

News

Podcasts

Community & Professional

California Bar Association, Member

Los Angeles Bar Association, Member

National Association of Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Attorneys (NAABLA), Member

National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association (NABCA), Member

National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA), Industry Member

California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA), Prior Associate Member

Ontario II Chapter of ProVisors® Professional Networking Group, Member

Honors & Recognitions

Named as a Legal500 “Los Angeles Elite” Attorney for­ Banking and Finance, 2026

Los Angeles Times, B2B Publishing, "Banking & Finance Visionary" honoree, 2024

Individual recognition for Food & Beverages: Alcohol – Nationwide, Chambers USA, 2022-2025

Recipient of the International Advisory Experts (IAE) Award for Alcoholic Beverage & Controlled Substances Licensing & Regulation, 2020

Named a "Top Attorney" by Pasadena Magazine, 2013