Author: Duane Morris

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Duane Morris Cannabis Industry Group Recognized by Business Insider

Duane Morris has been named a top law firm for cannabis law by Business Insider. The publication reached out to 29 players in the cannabis industry, from VCs to startups to multistate operators, to get their take on the best law firms in the industry.

Firm Profile from the Publication

Founded: 1904

Involved in cannabis: 2015

Recommended by: Panther Opportunity Fund, Salveo Capital

About: Duane Morris’ cannabis industry group, which has been around since 2015, is led by Seth A. Goldberg (Philadelphia), Tracy Gallegos (San Francisco/Las Vegas) and Paul P. Josephson (Cherry Hill, NJ).

Their clients range from those directly cultivating and selling cannabis products to investors in the industry. A spokesperson for the firm said that the group advises clients in a variety of areas, including regulatory, intellectual property, and litigation law.

For more information, please visit the Business Insider website (subscription required).

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Judicial Decisions Reflect Need for CBD Regulations and Legal Counsel

Consumer class actions regarding CBD marketing are on the rise. In recent months, a number of federal judges have placed lawsuits concerning the marketing of CBD-infused products on hold because the U.S. Food & Drug Administration—tasked with regulating those products under the 2018 Farm Bill—still has not issued regulations governing how they can be marketed. This further complicates the already confusing federal-state regulatory structure concerning the treatment of CBD products.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

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Performance Under Cannabis Contracts During a Pandemic: Do the Contracting Parties Stay Best Buds or Does One Party End Up Feeling Burnt?

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on nearly every industry in the global economy. The nascent and volatile cannabis industry was not exempt and, in some jurisdictions, has been impacted significantly due to local or state shelter or stay-at home orders. In most states where adult-use cannabis is legal, local and state governments have deemed cannabis businesses as essential and, thus, are permitted to continue operating notwithstanding local or state shelter orders. However, despite their characterization as essential businesses, many limitations imposed by local or state shelter orders have greatly affected the way cannabis businesses operate. As a result, cannabis businesses have experienced steep declines in their revenues and, in some instances, have left cannabis businesses unable to perform contractual obligations that they entered into pre-pandemic.

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris partner Tracy Gallegos, please visit the Cannabis Business Executive website.

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Coping With a Pandemic: Thoughts from Duane Morris’ Seth Goldberg

Seth Goldberg, partner and team lead of Duane Morris’ Cannabis Industry Group, discusses with Law360 how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the industry and shares how he and his family have been adapting.

Below are highlights from the article:

What challenges has the pandemic created in your specific area of work?

From a pure business standpoint, the pandemic has been bittersweet for the cannabis industry. Many of our clients have fared well because state-licensed medical marijuana businesses have been deemed “essential” in all states that have legalized medical marijuana. However, as in every industry, the pandemic has created workforce issues and has also impacted performance. […]

How are you and your family adapting at home?

It’s fun, especially if you like practicing law while teaching fourth-grade math, negotiating screen time for two 13-year-olds, and keeping a college-bound senior interested in completing high school remotely. A breakthrough was convincing the four kids that the internet on their laptops would be faster if they turned the wifi on their cellphones off!

What is the most creative or productive response to the crisis you’ve witnessed so far?

My daughters insisting that buying three “fancy mice” would be a good substitute for friends and classmates.

Duane Morris has developed a tremendously responsive and informative COVID-19 task force that is, on a daily basis, providing incredibly insightful information about all aspects of the legal issues and implications of the pandemic, including contractual, employment, insurance and health care issues. […]

Read the full article.
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Duane Morris Cannabis Industry Group Ranked as a National Leader by Chambers and Partners

Duane Morris congratulates our Cannabis Industry Group on being ranked as a National Leader in Cannabis Law by Chambers and Partners.

Seth Goldberg, partner and team lead of the Cannabis Industry Group, is also ranked as a national leading attorney in Cannabis Law.

Chambers writes:

What the team is known for Utilizes cannabis expertise on a nationwide basis and across a broad spectrum of practice areas, with practitioners specializing in IP, corporate transactions and regulatory advice within the sector. Offers expanded capabilities in the wake of the 2018 Farm Bill for clients trading in hemp and hemp-derived CBD products. Also boasts litigators able to handle contentious issues for producers and distributors across the industry.

Strengths “Outstanding is the first word I’d choose to describe their service,” says one client, who notes that the team is “creative and always very informative in an industry changing on an almost daily basis.“

Another client says: “The group is very polished, professional and experienced.”

Work highlights Represented iAnthus Capital Holdings as US counsel in connection with its all-stock merger with MPX Bioceutical.

Notable practitioners Seth Goldberg boasts high-level experience advising cannabis businesses throughout their life-cycle. Clients say: “Seth is a great businessman – not only does he understand the law, but also the business realities of things, which makes him a great adviser from that perspective.”

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Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here?

Duane Morris is sponsoring an Advance 360 Cannabis Insider Live Online webinar, “Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here?” to be held on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time and 10:00 a.m. Pacific time.

REGISTER

About the Program

Advance 360 Cannabis Insider Live Online presented by Duane Morris LLP and hosted by NJ Cannabis Insider editor Justin Zaremba, is a highly focused, information-driven talk designed to engage audiences about the most pressing concerns and challenges communities face as the state and federal government navigate the Covid-19 crisis.

News remains fluid day by day in these uncertain times. That said, there has been some progress in the cannabis space out of sheer necessity: curbside pickup and home delivery in some markets to aid medical marijuana patients. A renewed call to allow patients to grow their own weed and telemedicine are also at the forefront of possible changes, especially as the country remains in lockdown. Research for medical cannabis applications, lab testing for reliable and quality medicine and CBD and a resurgent hemp industry are also making strides, despite a stalled economy.​

Can a federally legal cannabis industry help rescue the economy as we enter into what might be one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression? Some analysts believe it will be similar to the way the end of alcohol prohibition boosted the country’s economy at the end of the Great Depression.​

Featured Speaker

  • Earl Blumenauer, United States Congressman

Speakers

  • Karen O’Keefe, Director of State Policies for Marijuana Policy Project
  • Chris Melillo, Senior Vice President of Retail Operations for Curaleaf
  • Katie Neer, Director of Government Affairs for Acreage Holdings and an Associate at Greenberg Traurig
  • Paul P. Josephson, Partner, Duane Morris
  • Joy Beckerman, Hemp Ace International
  • Imani Dawson, Minorities for Medical Marijuana
  • Steve Hoffman, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission
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Webinar: Civil Litigation and COVID-19 Implications for the Cannabis Industry

On Tuesday, April 21, 2020,  Seth A. Goldberg, partner and team lead of the Duane Morris Cannabis Industry Group, and Justin M. L. Stern, Duane Morris associate, will present at the webinar, “Cannabis 303: Civil Litigation and COVID-19 Implications for the Cannabis Industry: An Unavoidable Consequence of a Maturing U.S. Cannabis Market.”

Please join the attorneys to review the recent landscape of cannabis-related commercial litigation, discuss the potential impact of COVID-19 on marijuana- and hemp-related civil litigation, and learn best practices for businesses with respect to preparing for, and possibly preventing, potentially resource-draining and almost always disruptive civil litigation matters.

REGISTER

 

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Webinar on the Impact of COVID-19 on the California Cannabis Market

On Friday, April 10, 2020, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Pacific time), Duane Morris will be hosting the webinar, “Cannabis 302: The Impact of COVID-19 on the California Cannabis Market.”

Join Tracy Gallegos and Justin A. Santarosa from our Cannabis Industry Group for a discussion on how California cannabis companies are adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic by way of operational changes, such as increasing curbside and home delivery and seeking alternative sources of revenue, while responding to lease issues in relation to various eviction moratoriums and other matters.

REGISTER 

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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