Top Los Angeles, CA Cannabis Law Lawyers Near You

Why Should I Hire a Cannabis Lawyer?

Complex regulations. Increasing competition. A chance at business success that comes with a risk of harsh penalties for seemingly minor mistakes. These are only a few of the many reasons why every cannabis business owner should seek legal help. To protect yourself and your business, search for a local attorney familiar with the cannabis industry.

How an Attorney Can Help

A lawyer can help you with all legal aspects of running your cannabis business, including:

• Business formation
• Licensing
• Regulatory compliance
• Risk assessment and management
• Tax compliance
• Business transactions
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Real estate and construction
• Intellectual property protection
• Administrative litigation

Your legal needs will depend on your unique situation. Whether you are investigating options to start a marijuana business, grow an existing operation or protect your business from a legal challenge, speak to an experienced lawyer.

If you face cannabis criminal charges, find a lawyer experienced in drug crime defense near you.

How an Attorney Can Help

An attorney can often resolve your particular legal issue faster and better than trying to do it alone. A lawyer can help you navigate the legal system, while avoiding costly mistakes or procedural errors. You should seek out an attorney whose practice focuses on the area of law most relevant to your issue.

Tips on Approaching an Initial Attorney Consultation

• Use the consultation as a means of gaining a better understanding of your legal situation.
• Ask the attorney how many cases similar to yours he/she has handled. An attorney’s experience and knowledge can speak to their expertise (or lack of) in addressing your situation.
• Your attorney should be able to articulate roughly how long a case like yours will take to resolve and what sort of procedures to expect.
• Determine how comfortable you are working with the lawyer and/or law firm.

Types of legal fees:

Bill by the hour: Many attorneys bill by the hour. How much an attorney bills you per hour will vary based on a number of factors. For instance, an attorney’s hourly fee may fluctuate based on whether that hour is spent representing you in court or doing research on your case. Attorneys in one practice area may bill you more than attorneys in a different practice area.

Contingent fee: Some lawyers will accept payment via contingent fee. In this arrangement, the lawyer receives a percentage of the total monetary recovery if you win your lawsuit. In sum, the lawyer only gets paid if you win. Contingent fee agreements are limited to specific practice areas in civil law.

Flat fee: For “routine” legal work where the attorney generally knows the amount of time and resources necessary to complete the task, he/she may be willing to bill you a flat fee for services performed.

Common legal terms explained

Pro se – This Latin term refers to representing yourself in court instead of hiring professional legal counsel. Pro se representation can occur in either criminal or civil cases.

Statute – Refers to a law created by a legislative body. For example, the laws enacted by Congress are statutes.

Subject matter jurisdiction – Requirement that a particular court have authority to hear the claim based on the specific type of issue brought to the court. For example, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court only has subject matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy filings, therefore it does not have the authority to render binding judgment over other types of cases, such as divorce.