Having an expert cannabis attorney on your side is crucial if you are beginning a cannabis business since you will likely encounter a wide range of legal concerns. Hiring a lawyer who claims to have worked in the cannabis industry or approached you about representation is a bad idea. Your cannabis business will benefit greatly from having experienced, and capable Cannabis law solutions representing its interests and seeing those daily operations go off without a hitch, no matter what legal challenges may arise.
There are a few things to remember while searching for an attorney to represent your cannabis firm, whether you need outside corporate counsel or want to keep your legal affairs handled in-house.
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Find a Lawyer With Representation Experience in the Cannabis Industry
It is imperative that any attorney you retain, whether for in-house or external counsel, has prior expertise working with clients in the cannabis industry. In spite of the fact that there are a great number of different business lawyers who offer outside organizational counsel and in-house assistance to a wide variety of firms and across the country, it is vital to have a lawyer who has enough expertise to address a wide range of business and regulatory concerns for cannabis enterprises in your area.
Due to the complexity of cannabis legislation, a lawyer will not be as helpful to a cannabis company as a lawyer who has worked extensively with cannabis businesses.
They deploy the right team
Land use research is standard for any cannabis project (growing, processing, or selling). If you want to improve your chances of success and ensure that success comes quickly, hire a lawyer who either has a land use team on staff or solid contacts with outside planners. A land use planner has knowledge and experience in several fields, including policymaking, law, permitting, entitlements, and environmental assessment. The planning process is highly jurisdiction-specific.
In addition to working in tandem with attorneys, planners often operate as intermediaries between a wide range of parties, such as clients, government employees, consultants, and the general public. Having a planner and Cannabis law solutions who get along well can help you save time and money by integrating the planner’s work with your attorney’s.
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Cannabis attorneys should stay current
Even in jurisdictions where recreational weed is legal, cannabis laws and regulations are subject to constant modification. As a result, finding a lawyer who makes it a priority to keep up with developments in the law is crucial. Your cannabis business attorney must be up-to-date on business and cannabis law for maximum efficiency. You should look into lawyers who are law students and attend conferences and committees devoted to cannabis and business law.
Find a lawyer who has worked for the government or a regulator
Since many cannabis concerns will involve work with government departments or regulatory agencies, it is crucial to look for a lawyer with expertise and studying lawyers with experience managing cannabis company difficulties specifically. Collaborating with tax agencies at the state level and the Internal Revenue Service is useful. Furthermore, due to the code-based nature of Cannabis law, the Cannabis law solutions with experience in code-based legal topics may be better equipped to handle the complexities and frequent changes in the legislation.