NYSBA write
As the new practice area of cannabis law grows, Jeffrey Schultz wants the New York State Bar Association’s Cannabis Law Section to flourish as well.
Schultz, the new chair of the Cannabis Law Section, said the association has a role to play in keeping attorneys in this expanding and dynamic field informed.
“The legal and regulatory landscape is very fluid,” he said. “Not all 50 states have legalized, and those that have – some have legalized medical cannabis, some have legalized adult use – and then we have a federal overlay of full illegality. It remains a Schedule 1 drug, the possession of which is a crime. To put it simply, it complicates everything that we do. And not only is the regulatory landscape complex, it’s changing all of the time.”
“In the last six years, I’ve been practicing almost exclusively within the cannabis industry as a corporate and regulatory attorney,” said Schultz, a partner at Foley Hoag in New York City. “Doing everything from advising startups to venture capital funds, private equity funds, debt funds, high net worth individuals, family offices on their investments and operations in the cannabis industry in states, from New York to Hawaii and everywhere in between.”
Like most cannabis attorneys, Shultz did not start his career in the cannabis field. He spent the first decade of his legal career as an in-house attorney for various businesses.
“In 2017, I was in Colorado for the first time since they had legalized adult use cannabis,” he said. “I walked into a dispensary that looked like an Apple Store, and my mind was blown. I was intrigued by the brand-new industry, the medical power of the plant, and the intellectual and legal maze of legalization… I became singularly obsessed with getting involved in this industry.”
The next year, Schultz started to work for Navy Capital, a cannabis-based hedge fund, as its general counsel. His search for resources and other cannabis attorneys led him to join what was then NYSBA’s Committee on Cannabis Law, which became the Cannabis Law Section in 2022.
“The goal is to make sure that this section is a unified resource for everyone who is working in this industry,” said Schultz. “Whether they’re corporate lawyers, regulatory lawyers, real estate, litigation, whatever it may be… We went from a committee to a section for a reason.”
In fact, he noted that just as the cannabis industry in New York State has rapidly expanded with decriminalization and commercial sales, the need for legal services in the industry has increased as well. And as such, more attorneys are tuning into the Cannabis Law Section.
“I’ve seen it year after year,” Schultz said. “The monthly zooms grow. It used to be like eight of us on a Zoom, and now there’s like 100. So, there’s a lot of people that are curious. There are some people poking around. There are a lot more attorneys that are practicing in the space, and it’s going to continue to grow.”
Schultz also said that the Cannabis Law Section has a role to play in keeping attorneys informed and in contact with regulators and stakeholders throughout the industry. So he aims to make sure that attorneys can come to the Cannabis Law Section for news, information, and connections.
“It’s to make sure that we continue to build off the success that we’ve had,” he said. “Bringing legitimacy to the industry and making sure that we are the primary resource for attorneys in New York practicing within the industry to stay on top of developments, and to learn from one another. And that will grow the membership naturally. There’s going to be more people practicing in this area. We need to keep up with it.”
