Category Archive for: Corinne Celko

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Next Deep Dive Webinar: Revised OHA Rules and Election Day Opt-Out Results

Two major events relating to the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act are right around the corner.  First, the Oregon Health Authority will be releasing the next version of the proposed rules by November 1, 2022.  The OHA released the initial draft of the rules on September 1, 2022 and hosted a series of Rules Advisory Committee meetings during the month of September.  There have been many suggested revisions to the OHA’s initial draft of the rules and it will be interesting to see how the OHA responds.  Second, Election Day is on November 8, 2022.  Voters in many Oregon jurisdictions will be deciding whether their jurisdiction should prohibit or allow OHA-licensed psilocybin businesses.  The current status of Oregon’s jurisdictional “opt-outs” can be found on our Local Jurisdiction Tracker.  Organized “reject the ban” campaigns are occurring in Deschutes County, Jackson County, and elsewhere, and the Local Jurisdictional Tracker is sure to change after Election Day.

Emerge Law Group is continuing its FREE virtual event series “Deep Dive Into the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act“!

Session 9:  OHA Rules and Election Day Results

Join us on:

Thursday, November 10, 2022
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Pacific Standard Time
via Zoom

 

REGISTRATION LINK HERE.

We will discuss our “Preliminary Major Takeaways” from the next version of the OHA’s draft rules and also the post-Election Day jurisdictional “opt-out” situation in Oregon.  The event will feature Dave Kopilak, Sean Clancy, Kaci Hohmann, Alex Berger, and Corinne Celko from our Psychedelics Industry Group.   As always, we will provide ample time for an extended Q&A session with attendees.

In the meantime, if you have any questions concerning the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act or any other laws involving psilocybin, entheogenic plants, or psychedelics in general, please contact us.

 

Event Recordings

If you couldn’t make it or would like to revisit any prior events, the video recordings are available on Emerge Law Group’s YouTube Channel.

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The Craft Beverage Industry Expands into to the Cannabis Space and Vice Versa

Author: Jake Cormier

As the markets for legal cannabis continue to expand nationwide, companies continue to develop new products to attract new customers in different commercial markets.  Long gone are the days when smoking cannabis was the only way to receive its benefits and options for consumption now include vaping and eating tasty sweets or gourmet foods.  And now the 30+ year-old craft beverage industry is crossing over with the cannabis space.

Beverage companies large and small are betting on continued growth in legal cannabis markets and also betting that the beverage consumer may look to replace (or at least compliment) alcohol consumption with THC and other cannabis-derived substances.  Large beverage companies such as Pabst and Constellation have developed non-alcoholic “beers” and replaced the alcohol with intoxicating cannabis extract.  Likewise, smaller THC-centric brewed beverage companies are also in start-up and growth mode.  New cannabis-derived beverage products range from dealcoholized beer and wine that contain THC, to craft beverages that use terpenes (flavorful botanical compounds found in cannabis and other plants) to flavor alcoholic drinks, to cannabis-infused seltzers flavored like tequila or gin.

So, some beverages taste like alcoholic drinks, but contain only THC and others contain alcohol, but include flavors associated with cannabis.  Notably, none of these beverages contain alcohol and THC due to the regulatory prohibition against mixing the two.  Producing such products can require navigating complex malt or cereal beverage-related regulations and cannabis regulations. Further issues include questions on how the body handles THC in drink form, how beverage manufacturers are formulating THC levels and dosing, and how the consumer will control consumption.  In other words, innovation in alcoholic and cannabis-infused beverages present exciting new consumption options, but also new risks and challenges.

Emerge has several craft beverage and cannabis regulatory attorneys eager to help clients bring new creative products to market in safe and compliant ways.

Don't Miss our Craft Beverage Industry Group (C-BIG) Fall Social Event at Oakshire Beer Hall on October 18th!
Join us and our network of craft beverage business owners, industry advisors and professionals, for a fall social at Oakshire Beer Hall in northeast Portland!
Click here for event details.
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The OHA’s Rules Are Out! Next Deep Dive Webinar Scheduled.

On September 1, 2022, the Oregon Health Authority released the second installment of draft rules implementing the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act.  The rules can be found here:  RULES LINK.  This long-awaited event marks a major milestone in the Act’s development period because it brings the anticipated regulations into sharper focus.

As noted in an earlier blog, we postponed our August 2022 “Deep Dive” webinar in anticipation of the draft rules.  And so, without further ado:

Emerge Law Group presents the next installment in its FREE virtual event series “Deep Dive Into the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act“!

Session 8:  OHA Rules (Part 2)

Join us on:

Thursday, September 8, 2022
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time
via Zoom

REGISTRATION LINK HERE.

We will discuss our “Preliminary Major Takeaways” from the draft rules, and we will be eager to hear everyone else’s feedback on them.  The event will feature Dave Kopilak, Sean Clancy, Kaci Hohmann, Alex Berger, and Corinne Celko from our Psychedelics Industry Group.   As always, we will provide ample time for Q&A with attendees.

In the meantime, if you have any questions concerning the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act or any psilocybin or psychedelics law in general, please contact our Psychedelics Industry Group.

Event Recordings

If you couldn’t make, or would like to revisit, any prior events the video recordings are available on Emerge Law Group’s YouTube Channel.

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Local Governments Get a Second Bite at the Apple (or, in this case, Mushroom)

by: Corinne Celko

In 2020 Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin, a psychoactive compound found in certain mushrooms.  Measure 109, known as the Psilocybin Services Act, established a regulated program for adults over the age of 21 to purchase and consume psilocybin at service centers licensed by the Oregon Health Authority and under the supervision of licensed facilitators.  However, though Measure 109 was passed by a majority of Oregon voters, psilocybin services may never be available in certain Oregon cities and counties.  That’s because some cities and counties may place psilocybin business prohibitions on their local ballots for this year’s November 8 election.

Doing so would allow the electors in such jurisdictions to vote on whether or not to opt out of the legalized Psilocybin Services Act program.  As of the date of this post, at least Deschutes, Jackson, Linn, Klamath, Josephine, Crook, Coos, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla counties have already indicated that they may refer such “opt-out” ordinances to their electors for voting in November’s election.  A county or city has until August 19 to refer an opt-out ordinance to its local elections official to ensure the ordinance can go on the November 8 ballot.

Local governments may see this option as the only way to protect their constituents from the perceived dangers of psychedelic substances in their communities.  But Measure 109 provides cities and counties with other powers to regulate psilocybin services in their jurisdictions and local governments who refer this matter to their electors are simply seeking a second bite at the apple, to opt entirely out of psilocybin just as they could or did with adult-use marijuana.

Cities and counties are entitled to regulate the use of lands within their jurisdiction.  And Measure 109 expressly allows cities and counties to adopt reasonable “time, place, and manner” restrictions for psilocybin-related businesses.  This means that local governments can allow participation in the Psilocybin Services Act program, while still regulating aspects of such uses, such as to ensure the safety of minors and the quiet enjoyment of their communities.  For example, cities and counties can limit the size of production and processing facilities to limit production; they can restrict hours of operation; and they can require buffer distances between psilocybin-related businesses and sensitive uses like playgrounds and parks.  Cities and counties use these types of time, place, and manner restrictions to regulate many uses within their jurisdictions.  These same tools are available now.

Notably, Measure 109, itself, contains restrictions on where licensed psylocibin facilities may locate and how they may operate.  For example, a Psilocybin Service Center (“PSC”) may not be located in an exclusively residential zone within city limits, and it may not be located within 1,000 feet of a school.  Moreover, a consumer must attend a preparation session and must consume the psilocybin under the supervision of a trained and certified facilitator while remaining on the PSC licensed premises.  Further, the Oregon Health Authority (“OHA”), the agency implementing the Psilocybin Services Act program, is preparing rules ranging from product testing standards to training standards for certified facilitators.  OHA will use its expertise in public health and safety to develop safety and efficacy standards for the Psilocybin Services Act program, in addition to local jurisdictions’ time, place, manner restrictions.

Hopefully, cities and counties take time to educate themselves about the Psilocybin Services Act program and opt to regulate psilocybin-related businesses the same way they regulate other land uses – with reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions – without choosing instead to reflexively opt out of psilocybin services altogether.  Opting out would deprive the electors who voted for Measure 109 from the benefit of its services.

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Oregon Land Use: The Meanings of Words Matter (and so do dictionaries)

With so many ambiguous and seemingly indecipherable laws, rules, and regulations on the books, how are we supposed to know what they all mean and how to interpret them?  Even in the era of social media, the metaverse, and reddit, courts still turn to the old-school dictionary for help assessing the plain and ordinary meaning of a statutory word or phrase.

Emerge attorneys Corinne Celko and Alex Berger successfully defended a recent appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (“LUBA”) with the help of the dictionary.  Emerge’s client sought to develop an RV Park on land zoned Exclusive Farm Use, with each campsite having its own water and electrical service hookup.  A neighbor opposed the development and claimed that our client violated a rule prohibiting the provision of “[s]eparate sewer, water or electric service hook-ups . . . to individual campsites . . . .”  Emerge devised a plan to have a shared utility hook-up between every two campsites, and Josephine County approved the proposal.  The neighbor appealed the decision to LUBA.

At LUBA, Emerge cited the following dictionary definitions: “separate” means “not shared with another;” “individual” means “intended for one person;” and “hookup” means “a linking of two or more items into an interacting whole.”  Emerge argued that such definitions support their proposition that shared water and electric hookups between more than one campsite complied with the rule.  In its decision favoring Emerge’s client, LUBA agreed that such dictionary definitions support interpreting the rule to mean that individual campsites may not have hookups which are limited to serving the individual campsite, but that shared service hookups are allowed.  Therefore, since a water and electric service hookup would be shared between more than one campsite, LUBA affirmed the county’s decision approving the RV Park.

For more details explaining how courts interpret statutes and rules, you can find LUBA’s full Opinion and Order in this matter here.”

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FREE Virtual Event Series – Deep Dive Into the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act: Land Use and Local Jurisdictions (Session 3)

Emerge Law Group is continuing its FREE virtual event series “Deep Dive Into the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act“!

Session 3:  Land Use and Local Jurisdictions

Join us on:

Thursday, March 31, 2022
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Pacific Standard Time
via Zoom

REGISTRATION LINK HERE.

We will take a deep dive into the land use issues that psilocybin manufacturers and service center operators will face when attempting to secure real property for their businesses.  The event will feature Emerge Law Group land use attorney Corinne Celko and include special guest speaker Rob Bovett, Senior Assistant County Counsel, Washington County, Oregon.  Dave Kopilak, primary drafter of Oregon Measure 109, will also participate.  As always, we will provide ample time for an extended Q&A session with attendees.

Virtual Event Series

Mark your calendars because the virtual event series will recur on the last Thursday of every month in 2022 and will cover a variety of interesting topics related to the implementation of the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act in real time.

The series is FREE and open to anyone interested in learning more about the Act.  We look forward to seeing you there!

In the meantime, if you have questions concerning the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act or any other laws involving psilocybin, entheogenic plants, or psychedelics in general, please contact attorneys Dave Kopilak, Kathryn Tucker, Sean Clancy, Kaci Hohmann, Alex Berger, or Corinne Celko  from our Psychedelics Industry Group.

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Emerge Law Group Names Corinne Celko Managing Shareholder

Emerge Law Group announces Corinne Celko as the firm’s managing shareholder.  Corinne is the first woman to lead Emerge and one of the only handful of women of Asian decent to lead a U.S. law firm.

“I’m honored to lead this extraordinary firm, full of passionate and experienced professionals who care deeply about our clients’ success and the emerging industries taking shape in our communities. I will strive to provide compassionate and inclusive leadership as Emerge continues to blaze trails and break new ground,” said Celko.

Emerge is most well known for handling high profile matters that have shaped the law in the cutting edge industries of cannabis and psychedelics.  While many firms claim expertise in these areas, few have Emerge’s depth and experience in shaping the laws and successfully representing clients through the dynamic and uncertain stages of new industry.  Emerge is also committed to advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the communities it serves, through actively engaging in impact litigation and pro bono services.

“As advocates for our clients, and in particular in the cannabis industry, diversity is a necessity.  The cannabis industry was built on the backs of those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), who represent multiple cultures and communities across the United States, ” said Celko.

Since its inception in 2014, Emerge has quickly grown from a small Oregon-based firm and expanded into bicoastal firm with locations in California, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. Corinne will now lead the firm’s strategic initiatives and oversee its day-to-day operations, while maintaining her active real estate and land use law practice.

Celko commented, “Emerge excels at creative solutions to business problems and thrives at the cutting edge of emerging industries.  We are a dynamic and innovative firm committed to opening doors for our clients and helping them to achieve new heights in their businesses.”

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As More States Embrace Cannabis, One Oregon County Rejects It. Again.

States across the country have embraced cannabis law reform.  The 2020 election brought the total number of states to legalize recreational marijuana from 11 to 15, and the total to legalize medical marijuana from 33 to 35.  One in three Americans now lives in a state that legalized marijuana in some form.  But not everyone wants to live near cannabis.  A surprising exception to this green wave sweeping the nation is in our home state of Oregon.  The voters in Deschutes County, whose county seat is Bend, passed a measure to prohibit additional OLCC-licensed recreational marijuana production and processing businesses and additional OHA-registered medical marijuana processing sites outside city limits, effectively allowing Deschutes County to opt-out of cannabis legalization.

Since Oregon legalized cannabis in 2014, Deschutes County is the first county in Oregon to have initially opted out of the state’s recreational marijuana program at its inception, then opt in to the program in 2016, only to reverse course and opt out of the program again.  However, Deschutes County’s recent opt-out does not mean that it has completely rid itself of all cannabis.  Existing cannabis businesses are not impacted by the opt-out, and new recreational cannabis retail and wholesale businesses are still allowed.  Additionally, while the newly passed measure prevents the establishment of any new recreational cannabis producers and processors, as well as new medical cannabis processing sites, the County has provided some cover for producer and processor applicants who are caught in the middle, i.e., those who have already begun establishing their businesses in the County.

County Ordinance No. 2019-014, which became effective on August 19, 2019, established the opt-out measure that was referred to voters in last month’s election.  County Ordinance No. 2019-015, which became effective October 16, 2019, provides that the ordinance establishing the opt-out remains adopted, but also clarifies that the opt-out does not apply to:

“an applicant who as of the date this Ordinance is in effect has a pending production or processing license application before the OLCC and who applied for County land use approval/LUCS allowing marijuana production and/or processing prior to August 19, 2019.”

The effect of the clarification in Ordinance No. 2019-015 is to “grandfather” producer and processor applicants who had not yet received an OLCC license or County land use approval, but had a pending OLCC application in the queue and applied for County land use approval before August 19, 2019.

Given that cannabis sales in Oregon reached over $1 billion this year, Deschutes County’s decision to preclude additional recreational cannabis producer and processor businesses in its jurisdiction may also preclude a good opportunity for future economic development in the County.  But who knows, the County could decide to change its mind once again.

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Emerge Wins Inaugural Dope Industry Award for Best Law Firm in Oregon

Emerge Law Group is honored to have been voted the Dope Industry Award for Best Law Firm in Oregon by the cannabis industry.

The DOPE Industry Awards, more commonly referred to as the DIAs, was held at Portland’s Pure Space. With the biggest names in the Oregon cannabis industry dressed to the nines in honor of an industry that is still federally illegal, the evening was nothing short of a page out of a new age fairy tale.

Full list of winners can be found here and a video recap here.

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FRANCHISE LAW

Franchisors

Franchise law is a heavily regulated area of law.  We help clients expand their businesses through franchising and other distribution methods. We have experience in many industries including, restaurants, health, and beauty, alcohol, and cannabis among others. Our representative services include the following:

Franchisees

We also help potential franchisees interested in buying a franchise. We are able to assist with evaluation of franchise opportunities with respect to:

Alternative Structures

However, not all businesses are suited to franchise. We are also experienced with helping clients structure alternative distribution methods to prevent classification as a franchise.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Our M&A attorneys are highly experienced in counseling clients who are considering acquisitions or exit strategies.  We have many years of experience handling deals of various types and sizes, ranging from sales of small closely-held business, private companies, and publicly-traded corporations.  We have represented business owners, private equity firms and investment banks in a wide range of industries. 

We have a deep business bench, and Emerge attorneys have handled transactions of all shapes and sizes.  Whether your deal is valued at $100,000 or $100,000,000, our experienced attorneys will guide you through the deal process.

We understand the intensity, technical skill and judgment needed to get deals done, and we provide our clients with timely, practical and cost-effective legal advice.  We are highly capable in all aspects of M&A, including the following:

CANNABIS INDUSTRY

Emerge Law Group is highly experienced in the cannabis industry.  We have helped many clients obtain state licenses and local permits to operate cannabis businesses throughout California, Oregon, and Washington.

Emerge attorneys were instrumental in the drafting and passage of Oregon Measure 91, legalizing marijuana in the State of Oregon, and have represented cannabis businesses well before many law firms were willing to enter the cannabis industry. As a firm that has provided legal services in the cannabis space for many years, we are familiar with the unique and complex issues businesses and individuals face in an emerging and highly regulated industry.

We regularly help clients with:

Cannabis laws and rules are also regularly changing.  Members of our team are dedicated to attending legislative hearings, state agency and local city and county meetings to stay up-to-date on any new changes and how to adjust to any new changes.

See our Cannabis Industry page for more information.

PSYCHEDELICS

There is tremendous excitement about the potential for psychedelic drugs to benefit a wide variety of populations, including terminally ill patients suffering with anxiety and depression. Until recently, psychedelic substances have been accessible only in the illicit market and are illegal under federal and state to manufacture, distribute, or possess. These substances have, since 1970, been treated as having no legitimate medical use, and no commercial application. As such, no one invested in this area or required legal services, outside of the criminal context.

Today, researchers in a multitude of clinical studies are proving the medical safety and efficacy of these medicines, with the objective of changing the treatment of these substances under the Controlled Substances Act. Companies are now actively raising money to develop intellectual property and seize market opportunities associated with psychedelic drugs.

In addition, advocates at the state and local levels are not waiting for the rescheduling of these substances and are active in undertaking efforts to decriminalize these substances and/or make them affirmatively legal under state and/or municipal law. Decriminalization already has occurred in cities including Denver, Oakland, Santa Cruz, and Ann Arbor. Oregon is poised to be the first state to make psilocybin therapy affirmatively legal. Emerge Law Group is working with a wide array of clients pushing forward in this emerging area.

See our Psychedelics Practice Group page for more information.

TAXATION

CORPORATE AND PARTNERSHIP TAX

Businesses of all kinds benefit from a customized but systematic approach to structuring legal relationships. Emerge Law Group helps businesses and business owners with a variety of tax planning matters.

Representative client services include:

ESTATE PLANNING

Estate planning encompasses everything from a will and power of attorney to combined estate and business succession planning. In almost all cases, the purpose of the plan is to help the client protect those they care about most in the event they can no longer be there for them.

Emerge Law Group has experience with a wide range of tools used in estate planning, including wills, trusts, and family business entity planning.

TAX CONTROVERSIES

Emerge Law Group can assist with the resolution of difficult tax controversies. Our areas of emphasis and experience include:

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

Emerge Law Group assists clients with a wide range of real estate transactional matters.  We regularly help clients with:

LAND USE

Emerge Law Group also assists clients with all aspects of local government land use and development processes, ranging from preliminary property analyses and building permit issues to complex land use reviews and hearings. Our attorneys are experienced in obtaining land use entitlements and development permits for a wide range of uses.

We regularly help clients with:

Above all, we understand the value of working with cities and counties to enhance communities while developing the land to its potential. We strive to create solutions to land use issues that serve to better our clients and the communities in which they live and work.

LITIGATION AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The attorneys in Emerge Law Group’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution practice group litigate commercial, intellectual property, and public interest matters in state and federal courts, as well as private mediation and arbitration proceedings.  Our lawyers have represented national and regional financial institutions, major media, entertainment and technology companies, and other Fortune 500 companies in a broad array of high-stakes disputes.  Our team of litigators has handled leading cases that have shaped the law in cutting-edge business, technology, free speech, and public interest impact lawsuits in trial and the courts of appeal.

We have particular expertise in handling civil litigation and regulatory enforcement matters in the cannabis and psychedelic industries.  While many firms claim expertise in the these industries, few have our depth of experience successfully litigating contract, trademark, partnership, shareholder, land use, and real estate disputes in court and arbitration.  Even fewer firms have our level of experience handling writ of mandate proceedings against the government regulators.

Our litigators practice in California, Oregon, and Washington, but have appeared in state and federal courts nationwide.  Our knowledge of our clients’ businesses, goals and concerns, and our experience litigating at the highest levels, give us unique insight into possible outcomes and pitfalls as we continuously confront issues of new impression.

No matter what the industry, we pride ourselves in achieving our clients’ objectives through efficient and creative solutions primarily designed to avoid disputes in the first place—which is always the best litigation strategy.  Many times, our clients obtain excellent outcomes before or at the earliest stages of litigation because our adversaries quickly recognize the challenges they will face in litigating against us.  When litigation is unavoidable, however, we work hard to provide our clients with both cost-efficient and “big firm” quality representation.

 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Your intellectual property (or “IP”) strategy can harness your most valuable information and intangible assets including your name, your brand, your designs, your content, your services, and your products — what makes your business stand apart in a competitive world.  We can help you evaluate and build your IP portfolio, then secure it, monetize it, and protect it.

IP encompasses multiple areas of law and different types of information or material.

Our Intellectual Property practice focuses on:

TRADEMARK

Trademarks include names, signs, logos, designs, phrases, slogans, expressions, and sometimes even colors, sounds, or smells that identify or distinguish one business compared to others.  Trademark protection is fundamental in securing your “brand.”

COPYRIGHT

Copyright covers original works of creative authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.  This includes literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, designs, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.  Depending upon the type of work, “moral rights” (such as the right of attribution) may be implicated as well.

TRADE SECRET

Trade secret laws can vary somewhat between states, but generally trade secrets cover information, including drawings, cost data, customer lists, formulas, recipes, patterns, compilations, programs, devices, methods, techniques or processes that derive economic value from not being generally known and are the subject of efforts that are “reasonable under the circumstances” to maintain secrecy.

PRIVACY

Depending upon where you live or operate, there is a special patchwork of laws and regulations that protect and regulate personal information.  If you are handling or giving out personal or potentially sensitive information, you may be implicating privacy laws.

PUBLICITY

Publicity rights address the commercial use of an individual’s face, name, image, or likeness.  These rights vary state-to-state.  Marilyn Monroe, for example, lived in multiple states which created complex questions about her publicity rights.

Our Intellectual Property services include:

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

In states where new cannabis banking opportunities exist, Emerge Law Group has the proven expertise in creating canna-banking programs to efficiently capitalize on those opportunities. Our Banking Practice Group specializes in working with banks and credit unions to develop regulatory compliant programs and operational best practices. We also train banking staff to become experts in canna-banking so they can effective understand and manage the risk affiliated with canna-banking.

We regularly help clients with:

EMPLOYMENT LAW

At Emerge Law Group, we recognize that employees are the heart and soul of any successful business.  Our Employment Law Practice Group works with employers to help them effectively manage their workforce, navigate the complex web of federal, state and local employment laws and, if necessary, defend against claims before administrative agencies and in court.

We regularly help clients with:

CORPORATE FINANCE AND SECURITIES

Our corporate finance and securities lawyers are experienced attorneys who have practiced at large law firms, worked as in-house counsel for public companies and investment banks, and owned and operated start-up companies. We work with clients to help achieve their financing goals while safely navigating the highly technical securities law landscape. 

In addition to representing issuers, we also routinely represent institutional and individual investors, including in connection with fund formation and investments.

Our expertise includes:

We have a deep understanding of the financing options available to businesses, including simple unsecured loans, asset-backed financing, convertible debt, common and preferred equity, crowdfunding and various other structures.  We work closely with our clients to understand their business and financing needs, ensure they are prepared to approach investors and choose the right partners, structure and negotiate terms, navigate the due diligence process and successfully close the deal.

COMPLIANCE AND LICENSING

ALCOHOL AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

Emerge attorneys have represented businesses in the alcohol and beverage industry, including wineries, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, golf courses, and gas stations.  We can help you vet new locations, acquire existing locations, and apply for the appropriate liquor license.  We also provide training to comply with applicable rules and regulations, prepare operating procedures, submit renewals, and keep clients protected in the event of any potential violations or administrative hearings.

CANNABIS INDUSTRY

Emerge Law Group is highly experienced in the cannabis industry.  We have helped many clients obtain state licenses and local permits to operate cannabis businesses throughout California, Oregon, and Washington.  We regularly help clients with:

Cannabis laws and rules are also regularly changing.  Members of our team are dedicated to attending legislative hearings, state agency and local city and county meetings to stay up-to-date on any new changes and how to adjust to any new changes.

See our Cannabis Industry page for more information.

PSYCHEDELICS INDUSTRY

Emerge Law Group is a leader in the psychedelics industry.  There is tremendous excitement about the potential for psychedelic drugs to benefit a wide variety of populations, including veterans struggling with PTSD and terminally ill patients suffering with anxiety and depression.  Until recently, psychedelic substances have been accessible only in the underground; they are illegal under state and federal law to manufacture, distribute, or possess.  These substances have, since 1970, been treated as having no legitimate medical use, and no commercial application.  As such, businesses have not invested in this area or required legal services, outside of the criminal context.

Today, psychedelics are proceeding toward legalization on multiple paths.  Researchers in a multitude of clinical studies are proving the medical safety and efficacy of these medicines, with the objective of changing the treatment of these substances under the federal Controlled Substances Act, opening legal access to them.  Private and public companies are now actively raising money to develop intellectual property and capitalize on the market opportunities associated with psychedelic drugs.  Opportunities to be early actors in this new arena are tremendous.

See our Psychedelics Practice Group page for more information.

BUSINESS AND CORPORATE

Our business transactions team is made up of highly experienced transactional attorneys who have practiced at large law and accounting firms, worked as in-house counsel for public companies and investment banks, and owned and operated start-up companies. We understand complex legal matters and provide high quality legal services in a cost-effective manner.  Our clients value our experience, knowledge and judgment.

ENTITY FORMATION

Our team routinely advises clients regarding:

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Emerge attorneys also advise on-going concerns with: