Largest law firm yet establishes cannabis litigation practice
There's nothing mellow about the country's biggest litigation firm getting into the cannabis business.
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan jumped headfirst into the marijuana economy last week, becoming the biggest law firm yet to boast a dedicated cannabis practice, and the first major firm to launch one devoted exclusively to litigation.
The 830-lawyer, litigation-only firm said its cannabis litigation practice group will be headed by Los Angles partner Robert Becher and will include over a dozen partners in six different offices. The firm’s website currently lists 15 partners in the practice, including Boston office leader Harvey Wolkoff, intellectual property practice co-chairman Claude Stern in Silicon Valley, white-collar and investigations practice co-chairman Alex Spiro in New York and insurance recovery practice chairwoman Danielle Gilmore in Los Angeles.
Aside from advertising the firm’s eagerness to take part in the multibillion-dollar sector, can the new practice offer cannabis clients a real competitive advantage in the courtroom?
Becher believes so.
“There are a lot of nuances to state and local cannabis law,” he said. “It’s critical that a firm be familiar with those issues.”
Becher said Quinn Emanuel has already been handling commercial litigation matters related to cannabis, but that recently there had been an uptick in business that helped prompt the firm to publicly market its capabilities.
The firm said in a press release that its current cannabis clients, which it did not identify by name, include retailers, private equity firms, CEOs, corporate board members and a pharmaceutical company. Court records show that the firm has represented at least one cannabis retailer in a business dispute. MedMen, a cannabis retailer with a presence in 12 states operating 37 retail locations, was able to secure a dismissal of a mismanagement suit brought against it by early investors.
Becher said he expects the practice to grow, if for no other reason than that the amount of money flowing through the cannabis industry is growing annually.
“The clients in the cannabis industry are becoming more valuable,” Becher said. “That tends to result in more litigation.”
In its press release touting the practice, the firm cited the forecasted growth of the sector — over $10 billion in revenue last year, with $16 billion in investment expected this year in North America — and the increased number of U.S. states that allow for recreational use.
“We are the world’s top litigation firm, and we have always been at the forefront of disputes involving emerging and innovative industries,” Quinn Emanuel founder John Quinn said in a statement. “It is only natural for the firm to establish itself as the preeminent expert in this field.”
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