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?
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…
Full Article
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…
Full Article
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…
Full Article| 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 |
| 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
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…
Full Article
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
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…
Full Article| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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
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
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
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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