Customer Service Human Resources

JOHN ANDREW ARMSTRONG, ESQ. 330-***-****

**** ******* *** ****, ******, Ohio 44256 abnwj1@r.postjobfree.com

CAREER OBJECTIVES

GENERAL COUNSEL wishes to continue proven success in the application of extensive legal knowledge and judgment to multiple

growing business environments by proactively identifying potential liabilities, fashioning creative and business competitive solutions to

legal issues and providing an outstanding defense where necessary to a wide range of clients and legal challenges and enable them

to maximize their business opportunities and growth potential.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

The primary legal counsel responsible for the legal health of four growing, national, marketing companies with a combined

total of 1000+ employees and $210 million in sales revenue annually.

Expert in understanding the relationship between business needs and legal requirements to achieve a competitive marketing

approach for financial success, as well as, Federal and State Regulations compliance.

Directed all Legal, Human Resource and other Administrative Depts. for the start-up and rapid development of two $100-

million Direct Marketing businesses and a 50-80 million-dollar Retail Dietary Supplement, Food & Drug company inside of

seven years.

Responsible to develop and negotiate all contracts for the start-up of businesses including, but not limited to: Proprietary

Ingredient Licenses, Manufacturing and Supply Contracts, Confidentiality Agreements, Non-competition Agreements,

Employment Contracts, Settlement Agreements, and Real Estate Purchase Agreements.

Expert in Employment Law and Human Resources Direction: never losing a legal dispute with employee in 7 years.

Maintained the Legal Compliance of a 300 seat Sales Center comprised of Telesales Associates and Customer Service

Reps.

Responsible for the successful resolution of 2 Federal and 12 State regulatory inquiries for advertising claim substantiation.

Responsible for the legal review and defense of 7 years of print advertising achieving an annual circulation of 1.2 billion

impressions.

10 years of successful Legal Practice in both public sector and private corporate and firm environments.

o 3 years as Assistant Prosecutor and Judicial Staff Attorney in two Ohio Counties.

o 7 years successful Corporate Legal Practice involving multiple industries and business models.

LEGAL EXPERTISE

Contract Drafting, Review and Electrical Appliance Regulations Federal & State Regulatory Compliance

Federal Trade Commission Regs.

Negotiation Real Estate Contracts

Food & Drug Admin. Regulations

Employment Laws - Federal and State Administrative Law

Good Manufacturing Practices Regs.

Business Operations Law Corporate Form Compliance

Trademark Registration

Advertising Compliance Review Civil Litigation

State Consumer Protection Regulations

BUSINESS EXPERTISE

Direct Mail Marketing Process Development/Implementation Public & Media Relations

Retail Marketing Associate Training and Development Management & Planning

Telesales Center Compliance Business Growth and Development GMP/Quality Control

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Arthur Middleton Capital Holdings, Inc. (“AMCH”) 3939 Everhard Road, Canton, Ohio 44709

AMCH is the Holding Company for the companies below which employ 1,034 associates in three locations:

PatentHEALTH, LLC Republic Telecom Worldwide The Granted Wish Foundation

World Reserve Monetary Exchange, Inc. Universal Healthcard, LLC Midwest Model Management, Inc.

Heat Surge, LLC - Consumer Electronics Universal Physicians, LLC

Vice Pres. and General Counsel - Canton, OH 2006 – Present

Provide critical legal advice on business decisions to President/Owner, Officers, Vice Presidents and Directors primarily

involving Operations, Business Development and Expansion, Advertising and Employment issues.

Maintain compliance with employment laws: proficient in Title VII, ADA, FMLA, ERISA, sexual harassment, etc.

Draft, review and negotiate all contracts including, but not limited to: Vendor Manufacturing and Supply Contracts,

Confidentiality Agreements, Non-competition Agreements, Employment Contracts, and Royalty Agreements.

Oversee, direct and manage the legal research and workload of two corporate attorneys, two law clerks and a legal asst.

Optimize communications to identify and minimize all potential liabilities through the coordination of efforts of the Legal

Department, Human Resources, Customer Service and Quality Control.

Review all company television, newsprint, internet, direct-mail and retail advertising materials, and telephone sales

scripts for, Federal Trade Commission, 50-state Consumer Protection, and Food & Drug Administration compliance.

Ensure cGMP compliant manufacturing, packaging, storage and fulfillment of ingestible product lines.

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Responsible for the successful planning, development and launch of U.S. product lines into the Canadian Marketplace.

Chief Administrative Officer - Canton, Ohio 2006 – Present

Lead the Legal, Human Resources, Customer Service, Quality Assurance, and Media Relations departments by making

daily decisions regarding: legal compliance, overall direction, primary focus, project assignments, address challenges,

strategize, prioritize and set goals.

Preside over weekly meeting of Officers and daily meeting of Vice Presidents to provide legal advice, as well as, review

status of key departments and company financial status, strategy and goals.

Establish corporate SOP’s, Employee Handbook, product quality controls, procedural and legal compliance audits.

Media Relations - Spokesperson for the companies to address questions from the media.

Select coverage and Negotiate rates on all Products Liability, General Liability, Health and Auto Insurance.

Quality Control Management

Manage the efforts of the Quality Control Dept. through the Director and his staff of 30 inspectors.

Designed procedures for evaluating FDA compliance, safety and quality of all Supplement and OTC Manufacturers.

Troubleshoot and address issues with product and packaging quality with interim and permanent solutions.

Oversee the Manager and Dept. of Call Quality to consistently audit 300 Sales Center representatives and ensure legally

approved scripts are being followed and consumers are not mislead by advertising.

Selected Accomplishments

1. Provided expert legal advice on all advertising materials regarding FTC, Consumer Protection Regulations and FDA

compliance with newsprint impression totals of over a Billion annually.

2. Responded effectively to FTC inquiry into a Heat Surge consumer electronics product resulting no further investigation.

3. Prevailed in negotiations with National Football League® in showing PatentLEAN® does not contain a banned steroid.

4. Successfully defended company advertising claims against 3 State Attorney General inquiries, and 2 District Attorney

Inquiries saving companies over $300 thousand dollars.

5. Recovered over $220 thousand dollars from contract manufacturer contract breaches without litigation.

6. Saved $189 thousand dollars in negotiated settlements with retail stores on expired ingestible product returns.

7. Designed internal legal communications network to identify and minimize all potential liabilities through issue-spotting

training between the Legal Department, Human Resources, Customer Service and Quality Control.

8. Established System for maintaining consistent Ingestible product safety and quality resulting in 0 injuries or claims filed

over 7 years.

9. Negotiated a 17% reduction in Health Insurance costs despite a regional business average increase of 6%.

World Reserve Monetary Exchange, Inc. (“WRME”) Mayfair Ave, N. Canton, Ohio & PatentHEALTH, LLC (See below).

W RME is the largest private and direct distributor of collectable U.S. coins and currency in the U.S. and employs 530 people

between two locations.

Vice President, General Counsel - Canton, Ohio 2003 – 2006

Legal Department

Conduct legal research and provide critical legal advice on business decisions to Owner, Officers, Vice Presidents and

Directors involving Operations, Business Development and Expansion, Advertising and Employment issues.

Draft, review and negotiate all contracts including, but not limited to: Vendor Manufacturing and Supply Contracts,

Confidentiality Agreements, Non-competition Agreements, Employment Contracts, and Royalty Agreements.

Developed internal legal procedures to ensure company prevails in the event of contract manufacturing breach.

Lead and manage a department comprised of one corporate attorney and two law clerks.

Designed system which successfully identifies and minimizes potential liabilities through the coordination of the Legal

Department, Human Resources, Customer Service and Quality Control.

Developed successful, detailed and systematic process for effectively responding to State and Federal regulator

advertising inquiries and requests for claim substantiation.

Responsible for all product claims substantiation, claims accuracy and claims defense for all product advertising.

Thorough inspection of all company television, newsprint, internet, retail and direct-mail ads, and telephone sales scripts

for FDA, FTC Regulations and 50-state Consumer Protection Law compliance, especially claims accuracy and clarity.

[Newsprint/periodical circulation totals over 800 Million impressions annually.]

Member of American Corporate Counsel Association, and Ohio State Bar Association Litigation Board of Governors.

Employment & Labor Law

Oversee, direct and manage the efforts of the Human Resource Manager and Benefits Administrator

Steadfast compliance with employment laws: proficient in Title VII, ADA, FMLA, ERISA, sexual harassment, etc.

Successfully represent company in Unemployment, Worker’s Compensation, and NLRB Administrative Hearings.

Investigate with human resources to legally uncover and resolve and document all serious employee disciplinary issues.

Evaluated cost-benefit of multiple Health Insurance providers, 401K, annually and selected best all-around options.

Contracts

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Responsible for the review, negotiate and/or drafting of all contracts including, but not limited to: Proprietary Ingredient

Licenses, Manufacturing and Supply Contracts, Confidentiality Agreements, Non-competition Agreements, Employment

Contracts, Royalty Agreements, Settlement Agreements, and Real Estate Purchase Agreements.

Negotiated terms of two successful company acquisitions.

Litigation

Direct and assist outside counsel to pursue civil litigation on behalf of the company, including legal research, discovery,

depositions, pleadings preparation and drafting, and strategy.

Developed internal systems to thoroughly document and track every new and enduring business relationship to ensure

proper company positioning in the event of any future breach of contract or litigation.

Selected Accomplishments

1. Defended World Reserve against advertising claims inquires made by 5 State Attorneys General and 2 District Attorneys

over 3 years resulting in no Assurance of Discontinuance/Voluntary Compliance and no money paid to the States.

2. Litigated against the breach of several “Business-to-Business” vendor contracts resulting in the recovery of $120

thousand dollars to the company.

3. Successfully defended PatentHEALTH’s interests against accusations of unfair competition by two major industry

competitors with nominal expenditure, limited concessions, and defense of primary claims.

4. Negotiate profitable supply and transport contract terms and conditions for the World Reserve with U.S. Treasury’s

Bureau of Engraving and Printing, U.S. Mint, and proprietary product manufacturers in both China and U.S.

5. Responded rapidly and effectively to FTC inquiry into a PatentHEALTH dietary supplement resulting no further

investigation.

6. Successfully resolved ingredient patent infringement claim against DispersaCream® Analgesic without cost to Company.

7. Identified non-safety-related caplet coating quality issue with MP3 joint health supplement, replaced product at retail

without recall and recovered $120,000 in losses from Pharmaceutical manufacturer without litigation.

8. Worked with marketing, purchasing, and quality to independently develop formulation, packaging and advertising of joint

health product carried by CVS and Rite Aid Pharmacies which achieved top 10 status in category.

9. Guest lectured Ashland University students regarding business legal matters and issues developing from rapid growth.

PatentHEALTH, LLC. 5080 Aultman, Ave. N.W, North Canton, Ohio

PatentHEALTH is a marketer, contract manufacturer, & retail distributor of food, drugs & dietary Supplements for up to 38,000

retail outlets including: Walmart, Kmart, Target, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Long’s Drugstores.

PatentHEALTH employs 42 associates at its headquarters in North Canton.

Corporate Counsel and Corporate Administrator - North Canton, OH 2000 – 2003

Managed Legal Department and advise President, Corporate Officers, management and staff on all legal matters.

Directed and assisted outside counsel to defend company in civil litigation matters, including discovery, depositions,

pleadings preparation and drafting, legal research and strategy.

Provided oversight, management, direction of the Human Resources Department.

Regulatory Compliance

Thorough development and review of all product boxes and labels for FDA and FTC regulations compliance, including

multi-million dollar, U.S. top-selling weight loss and joint care supplements and drugs:PatentLEAN® and FLUIDjoint®,

respectively.

Thorough development and review of all food product boxes and labels for FDA and FTC regulations compliance,

Including Halo® high protein, low fat, low carb, low sugar, low sodium cookies.

Thorough review of all company television, newsprint, periodical and direct mail ads, and telemarketing scripts for

Federal Trade Commission Regulations compliance, especially claims accuracy and clinical support.

Newsprint/periodical circulation totals 184,075,000 annually.

Complete all federal and state filings to maintain FDA regulatory compliance.

Expert review of all advertising and packaging for compliance with federal trademark and copyright regulations

and compliance with Lanham Act Fair Competition guidelines.

Inspected manufacturers and warehouses for federal Good Manufacturing Practices compliance.

Evaluated so-called safe pesticide against EPA regulations.

Human Resources/Employment Law

Maintained compliance with employment laws and successfully represented company in state administrative legal

proceedings.

Proficient in ADA, FMLA, ERISA, Title VII, sexual harassment, and other related statutes.

Conduct internal investigations with human resources to uncover and resolve serious employee disciplinary issues.

Research and negotiate Health, Products and General Liability, as well as, Directors and Officers Liability Insurances.

Contracts

Negotiate and draft exclusive license & supply contracts with patented ingredient suppliers.

Negotiated relationship with Cardinal Health for the research and development of new topical analgesic applicator.

Draft supply and quality assurance contracts with domestic dietary supplement and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Review, negotiate, and revise contracts for sale of drug and dietary supplement products with partnering pharmacies.

Draft contracts with clinical labs, like Remington Davis, Columbus, OH, to conduct competent and reliable clinicals.

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Responsible for the review and/or drafting of all contracts including, but not limited to: Vendor Manufacturing and Supply

Contracts, Confidentiality Agreements, Non-competition Agreements, Employment Contracts, and Royalty Agreements.

Corporate Records and Intellectual Property

Administer corporate record books and prepare and file corporate documents.

Register trademarks, copyrights, and trade names with federal and state agencies.

Member of Food and Drug Law Institute, Ohio State Bar Association and Stark County Bar Association Member.

Selected Accomplishments

1. Successfully defended PatentHEALTH’s FLUIDjoint® against a competitor’s unfair competition claims through

the BBB/NAD with nominal expense.

2. Successfully defended company against Federal Trade Commission Investigation into PatentLEAN®

supplement, the top seller in U.S. for six months according to IRI data, with no CID, no penalty or change to

advertising claims.

3. Successfully Responded to 2 State Attorneys General and 2 California District Attorney inquiries regarding

advertising claims resulting in no further inquiry and no money paid by the company.

4. Litigated against the breach of business-to-business contracts resulting $35 thousand dollars in favorable

settlements.

5. Successfully achieved “No probable cause” findings with 4 Ohio Civil Rights Commission/EEOC inquiries.

6. Spotted quality issue with FLUIDjoint® chewable tablet, diagnosed and directed manufacturer how to correct problem.

Lake County Common Pleas Court, The Honorable Paul H. Mitrovich,

Judicial Staff Attorney -- Painesville, OH 1998 - 2000

Researched and wrote court rulings for 180+ civil and criminal motions, addressing issues of: insurance policies,

business contracts, torts, employment law and contract violations, foreclosure, and criminal issues.

Prepared for and conducted civil pre-trials and waiver-of-arraignment proceedings.

Researched and wrote legal memoranda on various civil, employment and criminal issues.

Observed hundreds of court proceedings, including civil and criminal trials.

Assisted Judge in writing of final opinions.

Arbitrator in 17+ arbitrations for Lake County Common Pleas Courts.

Geauga County Prosecutor, Assistant Prosecutor -- Chardon, OH 1997- 1998

Researched and wrote civil legal opinions for county and township government entities.

Wrote pleadings, briefs, motions and memoranda on criminal legal and procedural issues.

Represented the Child Support Enforcement Division in pre-trials and contempt hearings.

Svete, McGee & Carrabine Co., L.P.A., Litigation -- Chardon, OH 1996 - 1997

Wrote and filed court briefs, pleadings, motions and leaves in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga Counties.

Researched, wrote brief, and examined claimant in successful SSI Administrative Hearing.

Researched and wrote memoranda summarizing the law on numerous, procedural, commercial contracts,

insurance defense, employment agreements, real estate, domestic relations, and personal injury issues.

Selected witnesses, arranged interviews, conducted depositions, and collected trial evidence.

EDUCATION

Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law -- Cleveland, Ohio 1998

Juris Doctorate -- Admitted to the Ohio Bar

The Ohio State University, School of Journalism -- Columbus, Ohio 1992

B.A., Journalism, Public Relations Major/ Marketing & Biology Minors

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