Commercial Real Estate / Land Use / Zoning

• Advise on acquisition, leasing, leaseback, financing and/or development of real estate
• Navigate and secure local and state permits and/or land use approvals, including rezoning, special permit, site plan, subdivision and variance approvals
• Navigate complex state environmental review processes including the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and New York City Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)
• Coordinate and manage due diligence of commercial real estate transactions including title review, zoning and land use research, survey analysis and review of environmental and engineering reports

Corporate and Governance

• Advise on corporate, LLC or partnership formation and structuring, assist in preparing shareholder, LLC or partnership agreements and assist in restructurings, buyouts and similar reorganizations
• Advise on drafting and negotiating supplier, customer, licensing, intellectual property and other contractual matters
• Advise on mergers and asset or equity acquisitions or dispositions
• Advise on private placements, convertible note offerings and senior or mezzanine financings
• Advise on the creation of corporate boards, develop guidance for directors and develop charters, bylaws, and compliance policies

Cybersecurity 

• Provide guidance on privacy, data protection and compliance issues
• Assess risk and build compliance with regulations such as New York State Department of Financial Services, GDPR, HIPAA and CCPA

Economic Development/Government Incentives

• Identify applicable tax credits, exemptions and government incentives
• Counsel on state and local sales and use tax exemptions and real property tax abatement (or Payments in Lieu of Taxes)

Financial Institutions

• Advise cannabis companies on federal and state regulations impacting access to financial institutions
• Guide financial institutions and cannabis companies through compliance requirements, including anti-money laundering laws and customer due diligence requirements

Food and Beverage

• Counsel clients in development and distribution of food, beverage, dietary supplement and cosmetic products containing hemp, hemp oil and CBD
• Advise on endorsement and influencer agreements; as well as social media best practices and policies
• Counsel clients in connection with consumer class action and unfair competition complaints

Immigration

• Advise on potential immigration consequences of involvement in the cannabis industry and of personal use of marijuana
• Assist foreign nationals to obtain waivers following cannabis-related inadmissibility determinations

Intellectual Property

• Assist with patent, trademark and copyright applications for cannabis products and cannabis derivatives such as CBD
• Help clients navigate rejections from the USPTO for hemp/CBD-related trademark applications based on the FDCA
• Advise on protection of corporate brand reputation
• Enforce trademark and copyright claims against infringers, including drafting cease and desists and trademark and copyright litigation

Labor and Employment

• Advise on workforce policies related to cannabis screening and use
• Negotiate labor peace agreements
• Draft, review and negotiate workplace policies and employment contracts
• Advise on employment issues including hiring best practices, development of legally compliant employee manuals/policies and employee training including state-mandated anti-harassment training
• Advise on matters of statutory compliance including ADA, FMLA, wage and hour and ERISA, NYSHRL and NYLL

Licensing and Regulatory

• Navigate high-stakes license procurement processes and regulatory matters before New York State Department of Health, Department of Agriculture & Markets, and other state and local agencies
• Advise on pre-operational and operational regulatory matters, including licensing, inspections, enforcement, and growth strategy
• Advise on compliance with state and local lobbying laws, including the vetting and selection of state and local lobbyists
• Appear before state and local agencies regarding regulatory compliance and enforcement proceedings

Litigation

• Manage contract disputes, business conflicts and litigation pertaining to environmental concerns, land use and intellectual property
• Handle all aspects of the litigation process, from pleadings to discovery to motion practice to trial
• Engage in all manners of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including arbitration and mediation

Medical Use and Medical Marijuana

• Advise medical marijuana registered organizations in day-to-day operations and regulatory compliance
• Advise health care providers on compliance with the Office of Cannabis Management regulations
• Address application of HIPAA and privacy regulations

Project Development

• Assess project feasibility given local and state regulations
• Manage project applications to secure approvals
• Handle contract and bidding negotiations
• Coordinate with owners, developers, municipalities, construction teams and other constituencies to advance projects
• Retail Real Estate

Tax

• Advise on federal tax and state and local tax (SALT) issues, including economic development incentives, grants, tax credits, tax exemptions and financing