When we first represented cannabis and hemp businesses in a regulatory compliance a/k/a “licensing” context, very few civil attorneys considered it a viable practice area. In fact, one major institutional client fired us after discovering that we were doing this work. In addition, it was less clear early on that lawyers would not jeopardize their law licenses by representing clients in these emerging industries.

Six years later, serving as legal counsel for cannabis and hemp businesses has become the hot law firm practice area and there are many more options for clients. Then and now, we provide our clients with responsive, definitive, insightful and reliable regulatory solutions when they need it most. Together, our attorneys have worked with hundreds of cannabis and hemp businesses and have had a ringside view of the almost constant evolution of the compliance framework, both on the state and federal level, including most recently, the legalization of industrial hemp and the first stirrings of eventual federal regulation or oversight of the hemp industry.

We assist cannabis and hemp industry clients with every aspect of their interactions with agencies like the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (“OLCC”), Oregon Department of Agriculture (“ODA”) and the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board (“LCB”), to name a few. We not only draft necessary agency submissions and work closely with agency staff, but we also, when necessary, bring our considerable litigation experience to bear. When a client receives, for example, an OLCC notice of proposed license cancellation, we are uniquely positioned to represent that client against the agency in front of an Administrative Law Judge, which brings comfort to clients who are relieved to learn they will not need yet another new lawyer if things go sideways in their settlement negotiations with the agency.

We also represent clients in the alcohol industry, not surprisingly, since the same agencies mentioned above are the regulators and the same administrative procedures apply. We have worked with clients in the hospitality and food and beverage space as well, including representing hotels, restaurants and juice makers, to name just a few.