Longstanding Success

Since 2004, Oakland-based Wendel Rosen has helped clients navigate California’s cannabis laws, including advising the largest contract manufacturer of extracted products in the state.  More recently, the firm has represented clients in the newly-legalized hemp industry.  In 2018, California kicked-off cannabis legalization and the federal government decriminalized hemp. The laws governing both industries are still a work in progress, however, and Wendel Rosen’s experience remains invaluable.

An Expanding Need for Wendel Rosen’s Expertise

By 2020, California cannabis and hemp are expected to be multi-billion dollar industries. This rapid expansion has generated the need for legal services not only related to regulatory compliance and entity formation, but also to business transactions, intellectual property protections and financing – all areas in which Wendel Rosen excels.

Complete Services for Unique Industries

Wendel Rosen’s breadth of business law expertise ideally positions the firm to advise cannabis and hemp clients during this pivotal time. As a full-service business law firm, Wendel Rosen is equipped to handle the needs of established and new enterprises. The firm’s attorneys provide all the legal services that every business needs, but they also understand unique challenges faced by cannabis and hemp clients in areas that include:

  • Real Estate
  • Investment and Financing
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Litigation
  • Insurance
  • Intellectual Property
  • Tax

 

Real Estate Transactions

  • Representing numerous landlords across California in lease transactions with cannabis operators
  • Advising multiple cannabis business tenants across California in lease transactions with landlords, including a master-tenant developer renovating a 140,000 square-foot circa-1944 publicly-owned warehouse

 Corporate Formation/Financing/Mergers and Acquisition

  • Advising a California cannabis company licensed for cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and retail in its $10 million Series A Preferred Stock offering
  • Advising a Canadian public company on due diligence and licensing matters in its $30 million acquisition of a California cannabis manufacturing and distribution company
  • Counseled manufacturer of grow containers on entity structure, capitalization, and transfer of intellectual property
  • Advised multiple startup cannabis companies on entity selection and structure, taking into consideration 280E tax issues and tax liability

Commercial Transactions and Matters

  • Advised operators in creating distribution agreements, purchase agreements, strategic partnership agreements, and other commercial transactions
  • Assisting manufacturer of electric pipes on employment matters, creating an equity incentive plan, and general corporate matters

Litigation

  • Obtained full dismissal with award of costs for cultivator sued for unfair business practices by competitor
  • Defending landowner who terminated purchase agreement with manufacturer buyer
  • Defending landlord sued for unfair business practices relating to tenant’s illegal cultivation
  • Negotiated restoration of utilities service to landlord whose tenant left considerable unpaid utilities balance

 

Publications

What Are Landlords Thinking?

What Are Landlords Thinking?

07/18/2019 | National Retail Tenants Association

[This article was originally published in the National Retail Tenants Association publication “Tenants In-Common” in July 2019.] Ever wonder just what landlords are thinking? I know I have. Probably most…

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Planning Commission Meeting to Discuss Draft Downtown Oakland Specific Plan

Planning Commission Meeting to Discuss Draft Downtown Oakland Specific Plan

01/23/2019 | Client Update

The City of Oakland recently published a Preliminary Draft Plan, which is the first step in an effort to develop a specific plan for Downtown Oakland, defined as the area…

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What Lies Ahead for Legal and Legislative Developments in 2019

What Lies Ahead for Legal and Legislative Developments in 2019

01/09/2019 | mg Magazine

On January 9, 2019, mg Magazine published an article written by Wendel Rosen Cannabis attorneys. Their article contemplates changes happening at the federal level, as well as a short analysis…

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Date Category Publication Title
07/06/2017 Publication Marijuana Venture Gold Rush for Cannabis Trademarks
04/20/2017 Publication Josh Cohen Ethics Committee Blocks Judges From Joining California Cannabis Gold Rush
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03/28/2017 Publication Cannabis Practice Cannabis Insurance Presents Tough Choices
01/20/2017 Publication William C. Acevedo Cannabis Banking _ (Perhaps) There Is An App For That
05/19/2016 Publication Robert Selna Oakland’s New Medical Cannabis Regulations

Events

Hemp: State and Federal Regulation after the 2018 Farm Bill

Hemp: State and Federal Regulation after the 2018 Farm Bill

02/20/2020 | National Cannabis Industry Association’s Northeast Cannabis Business Conference

Join Cannabis Practice Group Chair and Attorney Rob Selna who will present, “Hemp: State and Federal Regulation after the 2018 Farm Bill” at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Northeast Cannabis Business Conference…

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Current Topics in Planning Law – from Cannabis to the Fast Track

Current Topics in Planning Law – from Cannabis to the Fast Track

11/15/2019 | American Planning Association California Chapter Northern

Join attorneys Robert Selna and Amara Morrison who will present the webinar, “Current Topics in Planning Law – from Cannabis to the Fast Track,” on Friday, November 15, 2019 from…

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California Hemp Expo

California Hemp Expo

11/05/2019 | California Hemp Expo

Join Cannabis Practice Group Chair and Attorney Rob Selna, who’s firm is a proud sponsor at the California Hemp Expo on Tuesday, November 5, 2019 in Fresno, CA. The Expo will be…

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Date Category Host Title
09/18/2019 Event Alameda County Bar Association Cannabis Section Movie Night: Weed the People
04/25/2019 Event O'Cannabiz Conference & Expo Running a Successful Company From Seed-to-Sale: Challenges & Solutions for Effectively Operating a Vertically Integrated Cannabis Business
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02/23/2019 Seminar American Planning Association California Chapter Northern 2019 Legal Updates; to Cannabis SB 35
01/15/2019 Seminar National Business Institute Marijuana Business Law in California
06/28/2018 Seminar Alameda County Bar Association The Business of Cannabis: Regulation, Permitting and Environmental Compliance
05/04/2018 Community Oakland Small Business Week Curious About Cannabis Business?
04/20/2018 Seminar PGIM Real Estate California Cannabis and Real Estate Investments
04/04/2018 Seminar Newmark Cornish & Carey Brokerage California Cannabis Impacts on Industrial Real Estate
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02/22/2018 Sponsorship Visit Oakland The Future of Cannabis Tourism in Oakland
01/26/2018 Seminar Commercial Brokers Association Cannabis Business
01/23/2018 Seminar National Business Institute Recreational Cannabis Business Law in California
01/17/2018 Seminar National Business Institute Recreational Marijuana Business Law in California
11/17/2017 Seminar Contra Costa County Bar Association Developments in California Cannabis Law
10/13/2017 Webinar Law Seminars International Cannabis as a Business in California
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09/27/2017 Seminar Wendel Rosen Client Seminar Countdown to California Cannabis Licensing
06/12/2017 Sponsorship National Cannabis Industry Association NCIA Cannabis Business Summit 2017
04/11/2017 Seminar Wendel Rosen Client Seminar Exploring Cannabis Industry Real Estate Impacts & Issues

News

The Business of Cannabis – Zachary Wasserman Provides Industry Insight

The Business of Cannabis – Zachary Wasserman Provides Industry Insight

08/18/2021 | Los Angeles Times

The rise and demand of cannabis has substantially increased as a result of COVID-19 for businesses, consumers and investors. In a recent Los Angeles Times virtual panel, Partner Zachary Wasserman…

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Karen Balderama Explores What the Cannabis Industry Can Learn from the DotCom Bubble

Karen Balderama Explores What the Cannabis Industry Can Learn from the DotCom Bubble

10/29/2019 | Cannabis Business Executive

In her byline article for Cannabis Business Executive titled “Lessons for the Cannabis Industry from the Dot-Com Bubble,” Wendel Rosen Attorney Karen Balderama takes a glimpse back at the tech…

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The Rising Tides of Consolidation and M&A

The Rising Tides of Consolidation and M&A

10/18/2019 | Marijuana Venture

In a byline article for Marijuana Venture titled “The Rising Tides of Consolidation and M&A,” Business partner Karen Balderama discusses how 2019 has brought in a massive amount of merger…

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Date Category Publication Title
05/21/2019 News CNBC  California Senate Passes Legislation to Create State-Chartered Cannabis Banks
10/01/2018 News National Law Journal  Cannabis Trailblazers 2018
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08/09/2018 News San Francisco Chronicle  Cannabis Entrepreneur’s Green Business has Oakland Bureaucracy Blues
02/16/2018 News Joshua Cohen  Register Your California Cannabis Trademarks Now
12/15/2017 News San Francisco Business Times  How Will the Feds Respond?
12/14/2017 News San Francisco Business Times  How Will the Federal Government Respond to Legal Retail Marijuana in California?
09/08/2017 News San Francisco Business Times  Cannabiz Hits New Roadblock
08/28/2017 News San Francisco Business Times  Bay Area Cannabis Businesses, Expecting a Boom, Struggle to Lease Retail Space
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08/02/2017 News Daily Journal  Catch Up with Byzantine Cannabis Regulations
07/16/2017 News San Francisco Chronicle  Oakland Begins Foray Into Equalizing Cannabis Industry
03/31/2017 News San Francisco Business Times  Oakland’s Cannabis Rules Go Up in Smoke
03/14/2017 News San Francisco Chronicle  Oakland’s Misguided Marijuana Rules
01/29/2017 News San Francisco Chronicle  Oakland Race and Equity Official Reviews Cannabis Industry