We got a lot of good follow-up questions last week after our webinar covering cannabis litigation in the current down market. One of them related to the recovery of attorneys’ fees and how likely that is to happen. Potential recovery of attorneys’ fees is an important consideration at the outset of any case, but can
ChatGPT is all the rage. The GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer”. Translation: this is a next level, nearly omnipotent chatbot that’s incredibly articulate and conversant. Per Wikipedia: “while the core function of a chatbot is to mimic a human conversationalist, ChatGPT is versatile, including the ability to write and debug computer programs; to compose
We’ve written plenty about cannabis arbitrations before, and why these proceedings may make more sense for your situation (see links at the bottom of this post!). But when you need fast, injunctive relief, a prior agreement to arbitrate can potentially be disastrous. Arbitration is much slower than other litigation to get started — even though
Most people who are (luckily) not familiar with litigation believe alternative dispute resolution (or “ADR”) clauses in their contracts are essentially boilerplate language that’s recycled again and again in every contract. However, well-drafted ADR clauses can not only give you a huge advantage if an issue comes up, they may also cause your counterparty to
When issues arise, many people think filing a lawsuit is the answer. That will initiate the litigation process, which will most likely involve an exchange of information and documents, the process of taking depositions, and probably some motion practice along the way. While in some cases it certainly is, we typically counsel new clients (and
Legal representation in disputes with insurers has become paramount for cannabis companies in an ever-expanding operational environment. Cannabis companies may seek to insure against risk of loss as a result of challenges such as unexpected fires, crop protection, business interruption, or adverse consumer reactions to products. In many instances, cannabis companies are even required to
For the past few years, I have been engaged as an expert witness on a series of cannabis litigation matters here in Oregon. The way litigants use experts varies across jurisdictions due to local rules of evidence and other factors, but in any jurisdiction, compelling expert testimony can make or break a case. In this
Over the last few weeks we have seen a number of articles about New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) written by attorneys based outside of New York or (worse yet) attorneys who are not licensed to practice law in New York. We have been pretty “vocal” about the importance of selecting the right
California’s cannabis regime is set up to separate every point in the supply chain into different license types: cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, testing, and retail sales, to name a few. Except for a few vertically integrated companies, virtually all cannabis businesses must rely on other companies in the supply chain to get products from farm to
This post discusses the use of the federal “illegality defense” in connection with third-party subpoenas in litigation. Let’s start with a review of the illegality defense. Cannabis litigators, investors, and companies who decide to file a lawsuit arising out of a business transaction likely are familiar with the “illegality defense.” An initial question is choosing
