Two of the country's leading cannabis law firms, Burns & Levinson and Vicente Sederberg LLP, are joining forces to offer the most comprehensive, best-in-class legal services to the cannabis industry. The first-of-its-kind nationwide collaboration will provide businesses, individuals and other clients with access to the specialized knowledge of each firm, as well as decades of combined cannabis industry experience.
“We are very excited about this joint venture and the opportunity to work more closely with Vicente Sederberg,” said Burns & Levinson partner Frank A. Segall, who co-chairs the firm’s Cannabis Business & Law Advisory Group with partner Scott Moskol. “Through this collaboration, clients will have access to two powerhouse cannabis law firms that can serve all of their legal and business needs.”
“Vicente Sederberg is the most knowledgeable firm in the country on cannabis regulatory and licensing issues, and we are the most experienced in cannabis-related corporate, M&A and financing issues. Combining our strengths makes us even more powerful advocates for our clients,” added Moskol.
Burns & Levinson and Vicente Sederberg have previously worked together informally. Recent projects include obtaining a $20 million financing for one of Vicente Sederberg’s clients; developing a cannabis industry franchise model for one of Burns & Levinson’s clients; and handling the pending acquisitions of three cannabis license holders (two in California and one in Oregon) for a Burns & Levinson client that is a Nevada-based holding company. The deals were all structured separately and are conditioned on the state regulatory authorities approving the change in ownership on the license (currently awaiting regulatory approval).
“We established this formal strategic alliance with Burns & Levinson because our firms’ core competencies complement each other perfectly,” said Adam Fine, managing partner of Vicente Sederberg’s Boston office. “This collaboration creates a unique opportunity for cannabis businesses to work with two firms at the forefront of cannabis law and commerce. We have been working with the cannabis industry since its inception — long before most law firms developed an interest.”
Charles Alovisetti, chair of Vicente Sederberg's Corporate group, added: “While it is rare for two law firms to join forces in such a strategic way, we highly value each other’s experience and are proud to offer cannabis and hemp clients the broadest suite of services available in the marketplace.”
Vicente Sederberg is a national cannabis law firm that has been on the leading edge of marijuana and hemp law and policy for nearly a decade. It has approximately 100 employees, including more than 40 attorneys, working out of offices in Denver, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Jacksonville. VS offers a full suite of corporate, legal, policy, regulatory, and research services for all types of cannabis businesses, ancillary businesses, trade associations, nonprofits, and governmental bodies. Since its founding in 2010, VS has helped shape marijuana and hemp policies across the nation and around the globe. Chambers and Partners USA ranked VS a Band 1 law firm in its inaugural "Cannabis Law" practice category, and it has been recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as “the country’s first powerhouse marijuana law firm.”
Burns & Levinson was the first major Boston corporate law firm and one of the first national law firms to develop a national cannabis business law and advisory practice in 2013, and is considered among the top law firms in the country with expertise handling high-level corporate and financing deals in the private and public markets in the cannabis market. The firm has unrivaled experience in cannabis and hemp/CBD business formation and corporate structuring, private placements, venture capital, M&A, securities, banking issues, fund formation, debt and equity financing, real estate acquisitions and leasing, intellectual property protection, 280E taxation issues, and cannabis litigation. Segall and Moskol, who lead the firm’s cannabis practice, have both been named “Cannabis Trailblazers” by the National Law Journal. Burns & Levinson is a full-service law firm with over 125 lawyers in Boston and Providence.
