Top Portland, OR 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.

Top Questions to Ask When Hiring an Attorney

• How many years have you been practicing law? How long have you practiced law in the local area?
• How many cases similar to mine have you handled in the past?
• What is the likely outcome for my case?

In legal practice, experience matters. An experienced attorney will likely have handled issues similar to yours many, many times. Therefore, after listening to your situation, the attorney should have a reasonable idea of the time line for a case like yours and the likely resolution.

What to Expect from an Initial Consultation

• Seek to determine whether the attorney can represent you. There is no one-size-fits-all legal solution and it may turn out your needs are better served by an attorney in a different specialization.
• It's important to find a legal ally who is both competent in the law and someone you can trust to protect your interests.
• Discuss how the practice's billing works and discuss possible additional charges or fees that may arise during or after the resolution of your case.

An attorney consultation should provide you with enough information so that you can make an informed decision on whether to proceed with legal help.

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.