Citing evolving and exciting industry, 42-year-old says he ‘wants to be part of it’

By Jeff Kelley for VBWA

• Listen to our in-depth interview with Mike on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to shows. No podcast app? No problem. Click here to listen online. An abridged written interview is below.

Rolling off seven years as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Mike Mullin has joined the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association as the organization’s first-ever in-house attorney.

During Mike’s seven years in the General Assembly representing the 93rd District (James City County, Williamsburg and part of Newport News, and York County), he passed about 40 bills and served on several committees, including Counties, Cities and Towns, Courts of Justice, and Commerce and Labor. He earned his undergraduate degree from Christopher Newport University, J.D. from the Catholic University School of Law, and is a proud grad of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

The VBWA’s decision to bring Mike on board is emblematic of an evolving association and the beer wholesale business in Virginia and across the nation. Having an in-house attorney with a deep understanding of both the legislative and legal worlds provides the VBWA with a unique advantage.

Recently, we sat down with Mike to discuss his time as a legislator, his insights on Virginia’s beer and alcoholic beverage industry, his experience as an attorney…and Batman.

VBWA’s Jeff Kelley: You spent seven years in the General Assembly before announcing you would not seek re-election to be with your young and growing family. What are you taking from your experience as a legislator?

Mullin: We’ve been blessed to be pretty busy down here in Williamsburg and Newport News. During my time in the General Assembly, I spent a lot of time on the Commerce and Labor and Courts of Justice [committees]. A lot of that time was focused on criminal justice-reform issues and on energy-related issues.

I had a real opportunity to be able to work across the aisle, because during those seven years, we had multiple changes in the House. We had Republicans in charge, we had Democrats in charge. We had COVID, and we had huge changes in the General Assembly. And what you learn during that time is that you have to work together. It is an incredibly important way to pass that many bills: by finding common ground.

“We listen to our members, first and foremost. ‘No surprises’ is going to always be the watchword.” – Mike Mullin, VBWA counsel

VBWA: When the wholesalers visited the state capitol in January, it was Del. Don Scott who told our members that 90% of the bills that pass are unanimous, while the rest end up as headlines. What has been your experience in terms of working across the aisles to find agreement?

Mullin: I’ve got to disagree with my good friend, Don — I think it’s probably even more like 95%! Most of the things we do in the General Assembly are bipartisan. We keep a river between us and Washington, D.C. for a reason.

Most of the job of the General Assembly is about passing a budget, appointing judges, making sure that we have good schools, that we have great roads, and making sure that we’re always the No. 1 state to be doing business. Virginia has had a long history of doing important work on business-related issues.

It’s about just trying to have good government, and that’s not really controversial. That’s not Republican or Democrat. And so you only hear about the few sorts of things that get in the newspaper on a daily basis — the sorts of controversial topics that light up Washington.

VBWA: Tell us about your career as an attorney — you’ve worked in family law and criminal defense. You’re a certified gang investigator. Why move to regulatory law? 

Mullin: Most of my career, I’ve been in the courtroom. And that’s meant either as a prosecutor, a defense attorney or, most recently, as a divorce attorney handling family law cases. I sure have loved the opportunity to be in court. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be like Jack McCoy from “Law & Order.” I think I’m probably dating myself with that, right?

I’ve probably had my hands in just about every type of case that makes it into a courtroom. I’m excited to try a new type of law and get really into the nitty-gritty of working with VBWA, which is a whole new adventure.

 Mullin with his wife, Rebecca, and their three children.

VBWA: What appealed to you about going in-house at a trade association, versus continuing with a law firm?

Mullin: From a practical perspective, instead of having 50 or 60 clients, you have one. And that’s a nice thing, to be able to make sure that when you pick up the phone, you’re only answerable to one client. The opportunity to be able to really focus on one area of law is really interesting.

We have seen such incredible growth in the alcohol sector here in Virginia over the course of the last four or five years. And the nature of the business is really changing dramatically. So many members have seen their business change, not just in terms of how much bigger the industry has gotten, but also with online retail, with drop shipping, and other changes. This is a different time here in Virginia. I’m looking forward to learning a lot from our members and being part of the VBWA family.

VBWA: You haven’t even started and you seem already well-versed on the issues here. 

Mullin: Well, you could say I’ve certainly had an opportunity to enjoy some product.

VBWA: Your role requires understanding the politics as well as the legal elements of wholesale and alcohol laws. You’re also barred from lobbying for a year after you step down as a Delegate. What is your legal and political approach to your job as an industry attorney?

Mullin: It’s about being able to provide the best possible legal advice and make sure that we are focused not on the politics of something, but about what is the most forward-thinking business perspective three to five years down the road so that our members are able to plan their businesses years in advance.

I want to always make sure that we are giving legal and business advice that helps them plan their business. Not based on “R” or “D,” but based on what is happening across the country.

Right now, you have a lot of bad pieces of alcohol legislation popping up in other states, and we want to make sure they don’t come here to Virginia.

And so a lot of what I’m going to be doing is monitoring what’s happening in other states, bringing that to our members, making sure they’re aware of what’s happening so that we can be aware and prepared in case that ever comes here to Virginia.

We listen to our members, first and foremost. “No surprises” is going to always be the watchword.

VBWA: What drew you to beer wholesalers, in particular, of all of the many trade associations out there?

Mullin: More than anything, I’m excited to be able to work with a group of men and women like the wholesalers. These are family-owned businesses. These are organizations that are employing so many across the Commonwealth. They are opening opportunities for new business, opening new opportunities for employment. Alcohol is one of the fastest-growing retail spaces in Virginia and across the United States. And I wanted to be a part of it.

I’ve been very blessed to know and work with [VBWA President and CEO] Phil Boykin and [Director of Operations] Kelli Gaudreau for many years. And so the opportunity to continue to work with them was something that I jumped for immediately. You could not think of two more practiced and thoughtful people in Richmond than Phil and Kelli.

I also have really been enlightened by our current counsel, Kevin McNally. He is, I think, probably the most thoughtful and biggest brain on alcohol issues in all of Virginia. And so to be able to work with him, to study under him, that’s just an opportunity I couldn’t pass by.

VBWA: You have been open in recent months about your family, coping with the loss of your young son earlier this year. How are you and your family doing?

Mullin: Our community and the love of so many have held us up. And we could not be more grateful for all of our friends and loved ones who’ve been holding us up over the course of this past year.

VBWA: You’ve got a community of support in VBWA and many Virginians. You also consider yourself an “unabashed Batman obsessive.” So, what era of Batman? 

Mullin: I came up on Batman: The Animated Series, which I still think is one of the best representations of Batman ever. It’s a more mature version of Batman that you started seeing in the mid-90s. Once I get settled in the office, I’m going to have a couple of those figurines up on the mantel. So come on by, and hopefully members will check it out, too.

VBWA: Finally, what kind of content are you consuming these days, and do you consume for fun or to be more informed?

Mullin: Alright, so the big thing that everybody needs to be watching, obviously, is The Great British Bake Off. We are in week three right now. My wife and I watch that every Friday on Netflix. There’s been a lot of rhubarb hate right now on that show. I’m not liking that.