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Oregon Measure 109 Passes!!!

Emerge Law Group celebrates the passage of Oregon Measure 109, also known as the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act (“M109”).  M109, the first of its kind in the nation, will create a legal, regulated market for psilocybin-assisted therapy under Oregon law.

“Emerge Law Group is both thankful and proud to have contributed to the success of Measure 109,” said Dave Kopilak, Co-Chair of the firm’s Psychedelic Practice Group.  Kopilak, a veteran cannabis industry attorney, was the primary drafter of M109, with support from M109’s chief petitioners Tom and Sheri Eckert and Emerge Law Group attorneys Kaci Hohmann, Kaitlyn Dent, and Sean Clancy.  “This is great news for terminally ill Oregonians,” said Kathryn Tucker, Co-Chair of the firm’s Psychedelic Practice Group, who assisted the M109 campaign by bringing her years of experience in advocacy on behalf of terminally ill patients to educate the end of life care community, encouraging leaders in hospice and palliative care to understand and support M109.  “Opening access to psilocybin therapy will offer relief to dying patients suffering from anxiety and depression, providing an important new tool to the palliative care toolbox.”

The primary purposes of M109 are to:  (i) educate Oregonians about the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treating a variety of mental health conditions, including addiction, depression, anxiety disorders, and  end-of-life psychological distress, (ii) reduce the prevalence of mental illness in Oregon; and (iii) improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of all Oregonians.  These purposes should be pursued with the utmost vigor, so that psilocybin services can become a safe, accessible, and affordable therapeutic option for individuals 21 years of age and older for whom psilocybin may be appropriate.

There is much work to do during M109’s two-year development period and that work will begin very soon.

Emerge Law Group will be closely following the actions of the Oregon Health Authority, the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board created by M109 (the “Advisory Board”), the Governor (who in early 2021 will appoint 15-16 members of the Advisory Board), the Oregon State Legislature, and yes, the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Emerge Law Group is uniquely situated to assist clients who are interested in M109, and to advise advocates seeking to open legal access to psilocybin in other jurisdictions.  Please contact attorneys Dave Kopilak, Kathryn Tucker, Kaitlyn Dent, Kaci Hohmann, or Sean Clancy if you have any questions concerning M109 or any other laws (or ideas for any new laws) involving psilocybin, entheogenic plants, or psychedelics in general.

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Oregon Psilocybin Services Act: Measure 109’S Regulatory and Licensing Structure

This blog is the second in a series of substantive explanations of Oregon Measure 109 that we will publish before Election Day.  The complete text of Measure 109 can be found here.

This blog will discuss Measure 109’s regulatory and licensing structure.

The Oregon Health Authority (the “OHA”) is the agency that will implement and carry out Measure 109.  The OHA was an obvious choice to regulate psilocybin services given the purposes of both the OHA and Measure 109.  By statute, the OHA has direct supervision of all matters relating to the preservation of life and health of Oregonians.  The purposes of Measure 109 include:  (i) educating Oregonians about the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treating mental health conditions; (ii) reducing the prevalence of mental illness in Oregon; and (iii) improving the physical, mental, and social well-being of Oregonians.

The OHA’s powers and duties relating to Measure 109 are broad and will include:

• Publishing and distributing to the public available medical, psychological, and scientific studies and research relating to the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treating addiction, depression, anxiety disorders, end-of-life psychological distress, and other mental health conditions;
• Regulating the manufacturing, delivery, and sale of psilocybin products and the provision of psilocybin services;
• Issuing, renewing, suspending, and revoking licenses;
• Adopting, amending, and repealing rules to carry out Measure 109; and
• Imposing civil penalties for violations.

During Measure 109’s two-year development period, a newly-created Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board will be established within the OHA to advise and make recommendations to the OHA.

Measure 109 provides for four different types of licenses:

1. Manufacturer;
2. Service Center Operator;
3. Facilitator; and
4. Laboratory.

A manufacturer license will be required to manufacture psilocybin products.  The term “manufacturing” includes planting, cultivation, growing, harvesting, production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion, processing, packaging, and labeling.  Unlike the Adult and Medical Use of Cannabis Act (ORS Chapter 475B), there will be no separate processor license.  Rather, the OHA will designate different types of manufacturing activities, each of which will require a particular endorsement.  A manufacturer may only engage in a type of manufacturing activity if the manufacturer is issued an endorsement for that type of manufacturing.  A single manufacturer license may include multiple endorsements.  A manufacturer license will be valid for only one specific location.

A service center operator license will be required to operate a psilocybin service center.  A service center is the establishment at which a client will purchase, consume, and experience the effects of a psilocybin product under the supervision of a facilitator.  Like manufacturers, a service center operator license will be valid for only one specific location.

A facilitator license will be required to facilitate psilocybin services.  Psilocybin services are the services provided to a client before, during, and after the client’s consumption of psilocybin, including a pre-consumption preparation session, an administration session (which must occur at a service center and at which the client consumes and experiences the effect of a psilocybin product), and a post-consumption integration session.  Unlike manufacturers and service center operators, a facilitator license may only be issued to an individual (as opposed to a legal entity, such as a corporation or limited liability company).  In that sense, a facilitator license will be a personal professional license, not unlike the licenses of many health care and other professionals.  Facilitators will have to complete education and training courses, will have to pass an examination approved and administered by the OHA, and will be subject to a professional code of conduct.  A facilitator license will not be limited to any one location.

A laboratory license will be required to test psilocybin products.  Psilocybin products must be tested at a licensed laboratory before they are transferred by a manufacturer to a service center.  Laboratories must be accredited by the OHA before they are licensed.  Like manufacturers and service center operators, a laboratory license will be valid only for one specific location.  However, it is possible for a person to hold both a manufacturer license and a service center operator license at the same location.

Measure 109 places the following restrictions on the ownership of manufacturer businesses and service center operator businesses:

• An individual may not have a financial interest in more than one manufacturer;
• An individual may not have a financial interest in more than five service center operators;
• If a legal entity holds a manufacturer or a service center operator license, more than 50% of the shares, membership interests, or other ownership interests of the legal entity must be held, directly or indirectly, by one or more individuals who have been Oregon residents for two or more years; and
• If an individual holds a manufacture or a service center operator license as a sole proprietor (which would be inadvisable but possible), the individual must have been an Oregon resident for two or more years.

To be a facilitator, an individual must have been an Oregon resident for two or more years.

The residency requirements for manufacturers, service center operators, and facilitators apply only for the first two years following the two-year development period and expire on January 1, 2025.

Finally, the OHA will have the right to:  (i) require that a licensee or applicant submit to the OHA the name and address of each person that has a financial interest in the business operating or to be operated under the license; and (ii) require that each individual listed on the license or application submit fingerprints to the OHA for a criminal records check.

More blogs about Measure 109 will follow in October as Election Day approaches.

If you have questions concerning Measure 109 or any other laws involving psilocybin, entheogenic plants, or psychedelics in general, please contact attorneys Dave Kopilak, Kathryn Tucker, Sean Clancy, Kaci Hohmann, or Kaitlyn Dent from our Psychedelics Practice Group.

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Oregon Psilocybin Services Act: Measure 109’s Two-Year Development Period

The initiative petition formerly known as Oregon Initiative Petition 2020-034 has been rebranded as Oregon Measure 109.  And with seven weeks to go until Election Day, things are beginning to ramp up.  The Yes on 109 organization released an animated video that provides a general overview of Measure 109, and various campaign ads are on the way.  Yes on 109 also has compiled an impressive number of endorsements.  Additionally, the Oregonian recently published a rather lengthy and interesting article focusing on psilocybin, Measure 109, and Navy SEAL Chad Kuske’s experiences with psilocybin therapy.

An Explanatory Statement Committee (which included me, Yes on 109’s campaign manager Sam Chapman, Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, Kevin Walruff, and Judy Hall) certified an official Explanatory Statement for Measure 109 that will appear in the Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet, which is scheduled to be posted the week of October 5.

This blog is the first in a series of substantive explanations of Measure 109 that we will publish before Election Day.  As mentioned in a previous blog, Measure 109 is a long measure totaling 71 pages and containing 134 sections.  The complete text can be found here.

This blog will discuss Measure 109’s two-year development period.  The two-year development period is a significant enough feature of Measure 109 that the Oregon Department of Justice included a reference to it in the 15-word limit caption that will appear in the Voters’ Pamphlet.

The two-year development period is tantamount to a significant “delayed effective date.”  The two-year development period technically begins on January 1, 2021 and ends on December 31, 2022.  As a result, Measure 109’s licensing and regulatory program will not be implemented until 2023.  Further, Measure 109 will not change any criminal or other laws regarding the actual manufacture, delivery, or possession of psilocybin until 2023.

There were several purposes behind the two-year development period.  First, as a practical matter, a longer period between passage and implementation will provide the Oregon Health Authority (“OHA”) with more time to adopt rules implementing Measure 109.  Oregon Measure 91, which was passed by Oregon voters in 2014 and which legalized the adult use of marijuana, contained a roughly one-year deadline for its implementation.  This was a relatively short time frame, given that both the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (the “OLCC”) and the Oregon State Legislature (the “Legislature”) had a significant “learning curve” with respect to regulating the adult use of marijuana.  The result was that the implementation of Measure 91 probably did not go as smoothly as it could have.  The idea behind the two-year development period is to better ensure that the OHA is not rushed into rulemaking and that the implementation of the regulatory program under Measure 109 will take place in a more methodical manner.

A second and related purpose is to simply give everyone (the public, the OHA, and the Legislature) more time to become better educated about psilocybin.  Two important educational undertakings will occur during the two-year development period:  (i) the OHA will publish and make available to the public medical, psychological, and scientific studies, research, and other information relating to the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treating mental health conditions; and (ii) a newly-created Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”), which will be comprised of a broad cross-section of health experts, regulatory experts, and other Oregonians, will develop best practices and make recommendations to the OHA.

A third purpose is to give both the Legislature and the federal government the opportunity to take a “wait and see approach” and to do nothing, at least for a while.  As a result of Measure 91’s relatively short deadlines, the 2015 Legislature felt compelled to make a number of changes to Measure 91 before it was even implemented.  Those legislative changes, in turn, caused the OLCC to delay its rulemaking hearings, making for an even more rushed adoption of rules by the OLCC.  Hopefully, the 2021 Legislature will not feel the need to make any substantive changes to Measure 109 before the OHA and the Advisory Bard have a chance to develop best practices.

From the federal government’s standpoint, there is no precedent for a state adopting a licensing and regulatory program for psilocybin services.  Measure 109 will be the first of its kind in the United States.  A subsequent blog will discuss potential reactions by the federal government, but the hope is that the two-year development period will give the federal government some time to learn about psilocybin and Measure 109 before it feels compelled to issue a policy statement or take any other action.

Assuming that the Legislature and the federal government do not intervene, most of the work during the two-year development period will be undertaken by the OHA and the Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board will be established within the OHA.  Measure 109 does not provide for the termination or expiration of the Advisory Board, and it is contemplated that the Advisory Board will exist on a continuing basis.

The Advisory Board will be comprised of 18 or 19 members during the two-year development period.  The Governor will appoint 15 or 16 members as follows:

• Any four of the following: (i) a state employee with expertise in public health; (ii) a local health officer; (iii) a representative of an Indian tribe; (iv) a representative of the Addictions and Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council within the OHA; (v) a representative of the Health Equity Policy Committee within the OHA; (vi) a representative of the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Advisory Council within the OHA; and (vii) a representative of individuals who provide public health services to the public;

• A licensed psychologist;

• A licensed naturopathic physician;

• An expert in the field of public health who has a background in academia;

• Any three of the following: (i) a person with experience conducting scientific research regarding the use of psychedelic compounds in clinical therapy; (ii) a mycologist; (iii) an ethnobotanist; and (iv) a person with experience in psychopharmacology; and (v) a person with experience in psilocybin harm reduction;

• A person representing the OLCC who has experience with the OLCC’s Cannabis Tracking System;

• A person representing the Oregon Department of Justice;

• One of Measure 109’s chief petitioners; and

• One or two at-large members.

There will be three additional members that are not appointed by the Governor:  (i) Oregon’s Public Health Director or a designee; (ii) either:  (A) Oregon’s State Health Officer or a designee; or (B) a representative of the OHA; and (iii) a designee of the Oregon Health Policy Board.

Members of the Advisory Board will serve four-year terms.  Only members appointed by the Governor will have voting rights.  Members that are not appointed by the Governor will be nonvoting ex officio members.

The Advisory Board will have the following duties:

• Provide advice to the OHA on all matters related to Measure 109;

• Make recommendations to the OHA on: (i) the medical, psychological, and scientific studies, research, and other information that the OHA should publish and make available to the public; (ii) the requirements, specifications, and guidelines for providing psilocybin services to a client; (iii) public health and safety standards and industry best practices; (iv) a code of professional conduct for psilocybin service facilitators; (v) the education and training that psilocybin service facilitators must complete; and (vi) the examinations that psilocybin service facilitators must pass;

• Develop a long-term strategic plan for ensuring that psilocybin services become and remain a safe, accessible, and affordable therapeutic option in Oregon;

• Monitor federal laws, regulations, and policies regarding psilocybin; and

• Attempt to the meet with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon to discuss Measure 109.

The Advisory Board will meet at least once every two calendar months during the two-year development period.

Measure 109’s timelines during the two-year development period are as follows:

• February 28, 2021 – The Governor appoints members of the Advisory Board.

• March 31, 2021 – The Advisory Board holds its first meeting.

• June 30, 2021 – The Advisory Board makes recommendations to the OHA on studies, research, and educational information.

• July 31, 2021 – The OHA first publishes studies, research, and educational information.

• June 30, 2022 – The Advisory Board makes recommendations to the OHA regarding: (i) rules and regulations; (ii) a long-term strategic plan; and (iii) federal laws and policies.

• December 31, 2022 – The OHA adopts rules and regulations and prescribes license application and other forms.

And then, finally, on January 2, 2023, the OHA will begin receiving the first license applications.  Presumably, the first psilocybin licenses will be issued sometime during the first half of 2023.

More blogs about Measure 109 will follow in the coming weeks as Election Day approaches.

If you have questions concerning Measure 109 or any other laws involving psilocybin, entheogenic plants, or psychedelics in general, please contact attorneys Dave Kopilak, Kathryn Tucker, Sean Clancy, Kaci Hohmann, or Kaitlyn Dent from our Psychedelics Practice Group.

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Emerge Expands its Psychedelics Practice Group

Emerge Law Group is pleased to announce that Kathryn L. Tucker is joining our firm as Special Counsel, to co-lead our Psychedelics Practice Group with Dave Kopilak.

Kathryn is well known for her decades of advocacy to protect and expand the rights of terminally ill patients, which she has done in leadership positions at a number of nonprofit organizations, after beginning her career with Perkins Coie, in Seattle.  While at Perkins Coie, she served as campaign counsel for the nation’s first initiative campaign for Death with Dignity in Washington in 1991.  She then helped lead the nonprofit corporation Compassion in Dying of Washington, and its successor national organization Compassion & Choices, serving two decades as Director of Advocacy and Legal Affairs.

Kathryn developed a national multidimensional advocacy agenda to galvanize changes in law and policy to expand the rights of terminally ill patients.  She brought a number of cases to the Supreme Court of the United States, establishing and protecting important patient rights.  From 2014-2016, Kathryn served as Executive Director of the Disability Rights Legal Center (“DRLC”) in Los Angeles, the nation’s oldest cross disability advocacy organization.  During her tenure at DRLC, she founded the End of Life Liberty Project (“ELLP”) to continue her advocacy on behalf of terminally ill patients.

Kathryn has held faculty appointments at Loyola, the University of Washington, Seattle University, and Lewis & Clark Schools of Law, teaching in the areas of law, medicine, and ethics, and has published dozens of articles in journals of law, medicine, and health policy.  She is a Fulbright Specialist at the University of Auckland, the University of Canterbury, and the University of Otago, in New Zealand.  She is a frequent speaker at national conferences for legal, medical, and health policy professionals.

In 2017 Kathryn was a co-convener, in collaboration with Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and Drug Policy Alliance, of a national symposium held at the University of Washington exploring advocacy avenues to expand access to psychedelic medicine.  She is author of “Psychedelic Medicine: Galvanizing Changes in Law and Policy to Allow Access for Patients Suffering Anxiety Associated with Terminal Illness”, 21 Quinnipiac Health L. J.  239 (2018) and “Oregon’s Pioneering Effort to Enact State Law to Allow Access to Psilocybin, a New Palliative Care Tool,” which will soon be published by the Willamette Law Review.

Kathryn has also been assisting the Yes on 109 campaign to support Oregon Ballot Measure 109 (formerly Oregon Initiative Petition 2020-034).

Emerge Law Group is thrilled to have Kathryn bring her incredible experience and leadership to us as we grow our Psychedelics Practice Group at this pivotal moment in time.

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Oregon Psilocybin Services Act (IP 34) Qualifies for the November Ballot

On July 8, 2020, Oregon Initiative Petition 2020-034 (“IP 34”) officially qualified for the November 3, 2020 General Election ballot.

The sponsors of IP 34 submitted over 160,000 signatures, 132,465 of which were determined to be valid by the Elections Division of the Oregon Secretary of State.  The number of signatures required to qualify for the ballot was 112,020, and so the sponsors gathered significantly more signatures than they needed, which is quite an accomplishment given that the COVID-19 pandemic substantially interfered with the signature gathering process.

The Elections Division will soon rebrand IP 34 with a new “Measure XXX” title.  The measure number has not yet been announced, but will be at some point, probably before Labor Day.

The complete text of IP 34 can be found here.  The certified ballot title, which will appear in the Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet, can be found here.  The ballot title includes the following caption and “Yes” and “No” vote result statements:

• Caption: Allows manufacture, delivery, administration of psilocybin at supervised, licensed facilities; imposes two-year development period
• Result of “Yes” Vote: Allows manufacture, delivery, administration of psilocybin (psychoactive mushroom) at supervised, licensed facilities; imposes two-year development period.  Creates enforcement/taxation system, advisory board, administration fund.
• Result of “No” Vote: “No” vote retains current law, which prohibits manufacture, delivery, and possession of psilocybin and imposes misdemeanor or felony criminal penalties.

IP 34 is the brainchild of IP 34’s two chief petitioners, Tom and Sheri Eckert.  The Eckerts envisioned a therapy-based regulatory system that is unlike any cannabis, psilocybin, or entheogenic plant ballot measure, or law that has come before it, at least in the United States.

The most prominent and distinguishing feature of IP 34 is that the administration and consumption of psilocybin will be permitted:  (i) only at a licensed “psilocybin service center;” and (ii) only under the supervision of a licensed “psilocybin service facilitator.”  This means that the consumption of psilocybin, together with the entire hours-long process of experiencing its effects, will take place only in a controlled environment and only under the supervision of licensed and trained personnel.

This method of purchasing and consuming “psilocybin products” is the starkest difference between IP 34 and Ballot Measure 91 (2014), which legalized the adult use of cannabis in Oregon.

IP 34 is also significantly different than several local psilocybin and entheogenic plant ballot measures and laws that have passed in the last year or so.  Those local measures and laws, which have been adopted in Denver, Oakland, and Santa Cruz, do not “legalize” psilocybin or entheogenic plants.  Rather, they generally prohibit or discourage the use of local resources to investigate or prosecute the adult use or possession of such plants.  They also have no effect on State criminal laws or penalties, and as such, are essentially local law enforcement policy statements.

Also, it appears that Oregon will be the only State that will vote on a psilocybin or entheogenic plant ballot measure on Election Day 2020.  Sponsors in California filed a statewide initiative to decriminalize psilocybin, but failed to gather sufficient signatures to qualify for the 2020 ballot.  And so, when it comes to psilocybin, all eyes will be on Oregon in November.

IP 34, also known as the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act (the “OPSA”), is a long ballot measure, totaling 71 pages and containing 134 sections.  Many of the provisions are taken nearly verbatim from the Adult and Medical Use of Cannabis Act (ORS Chapter 475B).  Many other provisions are completely unique and differ significantly from Oregon’s cannabis laws.

In a series of blogs to follow over the next several weeks and months, we will take a deep dive into the OPSA.  Among other topics, we will discuss:  (i) the OPSA’s two-year development period; (ii) the OPSA’s regulatory and licensing structure; (iii) the nature of psilocybin services, and the process of administering and consuming psilocybin under the OPSA; (iv) restrictions on ownership, including residency requirements; (v) confidentiality issues; (vi) tax issues; (vii) “opt out” procedures for local jurisdictions; (viii) potential reactions from the federal government, including the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon; (ix) potential business opportunities; and (x) legal issues for attorneys.

If you have any questions concerning the OPSA or psilocybin, entheogenic plants, or psychedelics in general, please contact Dave Kopilak, Sean Clancy, Kaci Hohmann, or Kaitlyn Dent from our psychedelics practice group.

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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: