Zuber Lawler's Assessment and Advice on Consolidation at Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Zuber Lawler has been representing leading cannabis companies for 14 years handling initial public offerings (IPOs), M&As, finance, intellectual property, FDA and other regulatory work and litigation, in addition to representing a long list of iconic Fortune 500 companies, global funds and governmental entities in their international transactions. 

Despite the country's change in administration and widespread talk of federal legalization, the cannabis industry is complex. However, Zuber Lawler provides trusted and reliable legal representation to mitigate the complexity. 

Well Decorated

Zuber Lawler's accomplishments are many. The firm was recently named "Cannabis Law Firm of the Year" by Marijuana Venture Magazine and it obtained the second-ever-issued U.S. plant patent for a cannabis strain — as well as U.S. utility patents on cannabis processes, machines and formulations. In addition, the firm obtained the first-ever issued "Generally Recognized as Safe" designation from the FDA for hemp seeds in foods. 

Zuber Lawler's attorneys also work in languages covering 90% of the world's population, employing contract attorneys throughout the world, including cannabis attorneys who work under its banner Zuber Lawler Global.

Looking Forward

Partner Josh Lawler spoke on a panel about consolidation at Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference on February 25-26. During the conference the conversation focused heavily on big pharma, as just last month two unique deals in cannabis were announced — the acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals by Jazz Pharmaceuticals and the combination of the multi-state operator (MSO) Parallel with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Ceres Acquisition Corp. 

Many are wondering how this will impact the industry moving forward. Lawler provided the insight, "Companies that are building discovery platforms are going to be at an advantage."

With regard to how companies can be prepared for further M&A deals, Lawler advised, "People will really show up on your doorstep. If you're sitting there with between 5 and 20 dispensary locations, people know about you. Eliminate any deal killers, taxes being the No. 1 item." 

He concluded, "If you're looking to sell, definitely get an advisor, along with a strongly experienced cannabis lawyer. The valuations in the market have a lot of variance, even more so than some other industries." 

The Perfect Partner

Partner and high-stakes litigator Jeff Zuber also spoke on the second day of the conference for the panel Engineering Cannabis Deals that are Built to Last: How to Avoid Common Contract Pitfalls that Lead to Painful Litigation. The discussion was moderated by Partner Janet Jackim, a veteran leader in cannabis business transactions, including M&As. 

Jackim steered the conversation toward the maturation of the cannabis industry over the past 15 years and how investors and businesses can better improve future transactions. "Even the most successful companies have experienced difficulties to growth and profitability," Jackim mentioned to kick off the discussion. 

When Jackim posed the question, "What typical cannabis disputes do you encounter?" fellow partner Zuber responded by including ownership disputes and then launched into the importance of finding an exceptional deal attorney. 

"It is crucial to pick the proper dance partner but it's not sufficient to only do so. You have to get a very good — very competent — deal attorney," commented Zuber. He pointed out, "Sometimes [cannabis businesses] make that initial investment, which is hard to do for companies, and it's not that they're reckless; there are just limited resources." 

Zuber concluded with, "Nothing is going to help you sleep at night like finding a good deal attorney — one that knows how to put these things together and knows when to pull in a regulatory expert. This is an emerging practice with a lot of new laws and regulations that we'll be dealing with for the first time... and that litigators will be reviewing for the first time. So it's that much more important to make that connection." 

Visit https://zuberlawler.com/ for more info.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.