Legal Services
Law firms with a dedicated cannabis practice page, from cannabis-first boutiques to national and Canadian firms. Tax returns and 280E accounting sit in Accounting, Tax & CFO; licensing consultants who are not law firms sit in Licensing & Compliance Consulting.
Cannabis lawyers handle the work a general business attorney rarely sees: state license applications and renewals, regulator approval of ownership changes, local siting and host-community agreements, social equity applications, and transactions that must fit both state cannabis rules and federal law. Federal law is moving. A DEA final rule effective April 28, 2026 (91 FR 22714) moved marijuana under a state medical marijuana license to Schedule III while adult-use marijuana stays in Schedule I, and Greenspoon Marder reports that the proceeding on rescheduling cannabis generally, including adult-use, was stayed on September 29, 2026, so banking, tax and trademark advice now depends on dates and details. When choosing counsel, weigh depth in your state's current licensing round over general cannabis experience, ask which attorneys handle licensing, deals and disputes, and ask about conflicts if the firm also represents competitors or lenders.
Cannabis-first firms and boutiques make up the first group. Vicente LLP was founded in Colorado in 2010 by attorneys involved in Amendment 64 and lists 12 offices. Harris Sliwoski has represented cannabis clients since 2010 across Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Feuerstein Kulick, a New York and Oakland boutique, pairs licensing and fundraising with restructuring work for noteholders and lenders. Zuber Lawler focuses on patents, trademarks, FDA compliance and assignments for the benefit of creditors. Regional and national practices follow: Prince Lobel Tye in Boston, which says it was the first law firm to file a change-of-control application with the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, and Greenspoon Marder, with more than 25 cannabis attorneys and a practice dating to 2016.
Large full-service firms round out the US list. Duane Morris, founded in Philadelphia in 1904 and reporting more than 900 lawyers, covers licensing through securities and litigation; Fox Rothschild lists DEA registration among its regulatory work and publishes the In the Weeds blog; and Dickinson Wright lists services from equipment licensing to Section 280E planning. In Canada, Cassels Brock & Blackwell acts for licensed producers and public cannabis companies from Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, and Aird & Berlis adds patent agents to its Toronto and Vancouver Cannabis Group. No firm here publishes hourly rates. Every fact here comes from the company's own site on the date shown on its listing.
Aird & Berlis
UnclaimedToronto business law firm whose Cannabis Group, including patent agents, advises licensed producers, distributors, investors and lenders on corporate, securities, regulatory, IP, tax, litigation and insolvency matters.
Cassels Brock & Blackwell
UnclaimedCanadian business law firm with offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary whose cannabis group acts for licensed producers, late-stage applicants and public cannabis companies on licensing, financings, M&A and go-public deals.
Dickinson Wright (Cannabis Practice)
UnclaimedCannabis, hemp and psychedelics practice of Dickinson Wright, a full-service firm with offices across the US and in Toronto and Windsor, covering license applications, transactions, Section 280E planning, disputes and IP.
Duane Morris (Cannabis Practice)
UnclaimedCannabis practice of Duane Morris, a firm founded in Philadelphia in 1904 with more than 900 lawyers in the US, UK and Asia, covering licensing, transactions, litigation, tax, IP and employment for operators, investors and vendors.
Feuerstein Kulick
UnclaimedNew York boutique of former Wall Street attorneys, with a second office in Oakland, whose cannabis practice covers licensing, regulatory compliance, fundraising, IP, governance, restructuring and litigation for operators, brands and investors.
Fox Rothschild (Cannabis Practice)
UnclaimedNational cannabis practice inside Fox Rothschild advising growers, processors, distributors and investors on litigation, employment, regulatory work including DEA registration, and transactions; publishes the In the Weeds blog.
Cannabis practice of national firm Greenspoon Marder, anchored in Fort Lauderdale, with more than 25 attorneys advising cultivators, retailers, manufacturers, distributors, testing labs and investors since 2016.
Harris Sliwoski
UnclaimedBusiness law firm with US offices in Los Angeles, Portland, Phoenix, Denver and Seattle that has represented cannabis businesses since 2010 on formation, M&A, IP, licensing, real estate and tax, and publishes the Canna Law Blog.
Prince Lobel Tye
UnclaimedBoston firm whose cannabis group, co-chaired by Michael P. Ross and Max Riffin, handles licensing and local siting, M&A, financing, receiverships and social equity applications for dispensaries, cultivators, lenders and investors.
Vicente LLP
UnclaimedCannabis, hemp and psychedelics law firm founded in Colorado in 2010 by attorneys involved in Amendment 64, offering licensing, compliance, corporate, litigation and policy work from 12 US offices.
Zuber Lawler
UnclaimedBusiness law firm whose cannabis practice, with Los Angeles managing partner Tom Zuber as its listed contact, focuses on patents, trademarks, FDA compliance, M&A, restructuring and assignments for the benefit of creditors, and litigation.
Events & dates for legal services
See all on the calendar →Questions about legal services
- What does a cannabis lawyer do that a general business lawyer doesn't?
- Mostly regulatory work layered on ordinary business law. Cannabis counsel prepare state license applications, manage renewals and changes of ownership that need regulator approval, secure local siting approvals and host-community letters, and structure deals around federal limits on banking and bankruptcy. Prince Lobel lists local municipal approvals and social equity applications; Duane Morris lists Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering advice and challenges to state licensing programs; Vicente lists enforcement-action response and on-site compliance services. A general business lawyer can still handle routine contracts, but licensing and ownership changes call for someone who files with your state regulator regularly.
- Do cannabis lawyers handle Section 280E?
- They handle the legal side, but tax filing belongs with an accountant. Section 280E limits deductions for businesses trafficking in Schedule I or II controlled substances. The IRS's cannabis industry page, last updated in February 2026, still says businesses that traffic marijuana are subject to it, but a DEA final rule effective April 28, 2026 (91 FR 22714) moved marijuana under a state medical marijuana license to Schedule III and says those licensees will no longer be subject to 280E; adult-use marijuana remains in Schedule I. Duane Morris, Fox Rothschild and Dickinson Wright list 280E planning, usually entity structure and how costs are allocated. Return preparation and cost-of-goods-sold accounting belong with a cannabis CPA; see the Accounting, Tax & CFO category. The rule says it is not a determination of federal tax liability, so ask your CPA how the change applies to your license type and tax years.
- Can a cannabis brand get a federal trademark?
- Only for some goods. Under the USPTO's Examination Guide 1-19 (May 2019), which predates the 2026 rescheduling rule and is still listed on the USPTO's trademark examination guides page, the office refuses marks for goods and services that clearly violate federal law, including marijuana and CBD derived from it, whatever state law says. Goods derived from hemp, which the guide defines as no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC (a federal definition that switches to a total-THC test on December 11, 2026 under Public Law 119-37 as delayed by H.R. 6500), may be registrable if they also meet other federal rules such as the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Firms here with trademark practices include Zuber Lawler, Harris Sliwoski, Duane Morris and Aird & Berlis, which has patent agents and a Canadian trademark opposition on its matter list. Ask whether 2026 rescheduling changes your filing strategy.
- How does regulatory approval affect a cannabis acquisition?
- In most states a change in ownership or control needs regulator sign-off before closing, which adds time and closing conditions. Dickinson Wright lists navigating regulatory approvals for cannabis M&A alongside due diligence; Prince Lobel lists ownership and control transfers and says it was the first law firm to file a change-of-control application with the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. On the capital-markets side, Cassels and Aird & Berlis list financings, go-public transactions and public-company acquisitions. Ask counsel for a realistic approval timeline in each state involved and how the purchase agreement handles a delayed or denied approval.
- What options does a distressed cannabis company have?
- Firms on this page describe tools outside ordinary bankruptcy. Prince Lobel lists receiverships, insolvency proceedings, workouts and restructurings; Zuber Lawler lists restructurings, bankruptcies and assignments for the benefit of creditors; Feuerstein Kulick lists out-of-court workouts and reports advising noteholder committees in The Cannabist Company and Ayr Wellness matters; Duane Morris runs a webinar on bankruptcy, receiverships and reorganization. Licenses usually cannot be transferred without regulator approval, so lenders and buyers need counsel who know the receivership rules in that state.
- Should I hire a cannabis boutique or a large full-service firm?
- It depends on the matter. Boutiques and cannabis-first firms such as Vicente, Harris Sliwoski and Feuerstein Kulick put most of their attention on the industry, and Harris Sliwoski says it bills about 90 percent of its work on flat fees. Large firms such as Duane Morris, Fox Rothschild, Dickinson Wright and Greenspoon Marder can add securities, employment, real estate and litigation teams to a cannabis matter. For a multistate deal or public offering, depth across practices helps; for a single license application, local regulatory experience usually matters more.
- Do these firms publish their fees?
- None publishes hourly rates. Harris Sliwoski says it offers flat-fee billing on roughly 90 percent of its work, and Dickinson Wright says it builds a pricing plan with each client for predictability. Ask for the fee structure in writing: flat fee or hourly, who staffs the matter, and how filing fees and outside consultants are billed. Zuber Lawler's site notes that no attorney-client relationship exists until a conflicts check is done and both sides sign an engagement letter, which is standard practice.
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