Marijuana Business Operations in New York

Agenda / Content Covered

1. How to Remain Compliant: Marijuana Laws, Licensing, and More
   9:00 - 10:00, Robert C. Hertman
   1. The Regulatory Status/Current Challenges of Marijuana
   2. Impacts and Risks of Federal Law
   3. Setting Up and Maintaining Comprehensive Compliance Standards and Practices
   4. What Permitting is Needed for Each Type of Operation?
   5. Hemp vs. Marijuana - Botanical and Regulatory Distinctions
   6. Making Changes to Your License
   7. How to Remain Compliant for Cultivations, Processors, Retailers, Wholesalers, Transports, and Manufacturers
   8. Fighting Regulatory Enforcement Actions
   9. Dealing With Regulators About Cannabis
2. Banking and Financing for Marijuana Businesses
   10:00 - 11:00, Perry Salzhauer
   1. Banking Laws, Regulations, FinCEN Requirements, and Prohibitions
   2. How to Get a Bank Account for the Cannabis Business
   3. Financing the Marijuana Startup
   4. Handling MJ Financing Issues
   5. What to do With the Funds...
   6. Payment Systems: Examining Illegality
   7. Cash Handling and Anti-Money Laundering Policies, Procedures, and Penalties
   8. Managing Growth: Seeking Investment, New Business Partners, Mergers, and IPOs
3. Reviewing Marijuana Business Tax Implications, Recordkeeping, and Accounting Best Practices
   11:15 - 12:15, Jill Scher, Elizabeth Marks
   1. How to Deduct Business Expenses in Light of 280E
   2. Tax Ramifications/Implications - How and Why Taxation Affects Bottom Line and Business Plan
   3. Examining Cannabis Record Keeping Requirements
   4. Reviewing MJ Accounting, Profit, and Loss Best Practices
4. Protecting Marijuana Trademarks and Reviewing Advertising, and Marketing Considerations
   1:15 - 2:15, Jon Purrow
   1. Reviewing Cannabis Trademarks: Federal vs. State Level
   2. What are the Legal Restrictions for Marijuana Labels?
   3. Strategies for Registering a Federal MJ Trademark With the US Patent & Trademark Office
   4. What are the Legal Requirements for Marketing Marijuana?
   5. Cannabis Licensing: How to Build Your Product Lines and Offer Variety
   6. Examining Advertising Restrictions
5. Examining Marijuana Site Security and Zoning Requirements
   2:15 - 3:15, Kelsey M. Barber, Anthony Sango
   1. Reporting Emergencies
   2. Waste and Process for Changing Operating Plan and Premises
   3. Reviewing Site Security Requirements for Different Operations
   4. Examining Local Municipal Zoning Regulations and Requirements
6. Legal Ethics
   3:30 - 4:30, James K. Landau
   1. Marijuana and Rules of Professional Conduct
   2. Duty to Pursue Justice
   3. Attorney Use of Cannabis Products
   4. Attorney Ownership of Cannabis Businesses

Accreditation Details:

Kelsey M. Barber is an associate in Ansell Grimm & Aaron, PC’s Litigation Department located in Ocean, New Jersey. She devotes her practice to general civil litigation, contract law, catastrophic tort, complex business litigation and appellate cases. Ms. Barber earned her B.A. degree from Stockton University and her J.D. degree from Rutgers Law School. During law school, she was an editor of the Rutgers Journal of Public Policy, and spearheaded Youth Court, a pro bono youth organization dedicated to teaching legal and ethical youth adjudication for school disciplinary actions in Camden. Following law school, Ms. Barber served as a law clerk to the Honorable Linda Grasso Jones in the Monmouth County Courthouse, Civil Division. As a judicial clerk, she also acted as a court-appointed mediator. Ms. Barber is a member of Monmouth Bar Association and New Jersey State Bar Association, and is licensed to practice law in New York (pending) and New Jersey.

Robert C. Hertman is an attorney and managing partner of Hertman Law, with offices in New York, White Plains and Middletown, New York. He focuses his practice on regulatory defense, outside general counsel, real estate law, estate and trust planning, as well as consumer protection. Mr. Hertman is a member of the NYC Bar Association Special Committee on Drugs and the Law, American Society for Public Administration, New York State Bar Association and American Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey. Mr. Hertman earned his B.S. degree from the State University of New York, his M.P.A. degree from Marist College and his J.D. degree from Pace University School of Law.

James K. Landau is a partner and a member of the firm's business litigation and cannabis practice groups. He represents clients in litigation before federal, New York state and local courts and other tribunals, including arbitration and mediation, before the American Arbitration Association. Mr. Landau's practice also focuses on providing day-to-day business counseling to cannabis and other businesses with an eye toward avoiding problems before they arise. He has become a thought leader in the New York cannabis legal community. Mr. Landau frequently writes and speaks on such topics as attorney ethics, cannabis banking and licensing of cannabis businesses. He is chair of the ethics committee of the Cannabis Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, and co-chair of the Cannabis and CBD Litigation Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Landau is also a founder and immediate past co-chair of the Westchester County Bar Association's Cannabis Law Committee. He is a director and chairs the Regulatory Committee of the Hudson Valley Cannabis Industry Association. Mr. Landau is a past president of the White Plains Bar Association and is a vice president of the Westchester County Bar Association. Mr. Landau has been recognized as a  New York Metro Super Lawyer® in the area of commercial litigation every year since 2012. In addition, he has received a peer review rating of AV^® Preeminent on Martindale-Hubbell.

Elizabeth Marks is a partner in Marcum's New York City Assurance Services division and is a member of the Capital Markets Group. She has experience providing assurance services to both publicly traded and privately held companies of varying sizes in a wide variety of industries, including cannabis, life sciences and biotechnology, manufacturing and distribution, and professional services. She has assisted clients with transactions such as initial public offerings (IPOs) and mergers and acquisitions, as well as with technical accounting issues including complex debt and equity financings and equity-based compensation. Ms. Marks provides her publicly traded clients with all aspects of SEC reporting, compliance services and filings. She joined Marcum in 2019. She previously worked for another full-service national accounting and professional services firm, primarily providing assurance services to publicly traded and privately held clients. Ms. Marks earned her Bachelor of Science, Business Administration with concentrations in Management Information Systems and Leadership & Consulting from State University of New York at Binghamton and her Bachelor of Science, Accounting from Centenary College.

Jon Purrow is a partner in the cannabis law and intellectual property practice groups at Greenspoon Marder LLP, specializing in general intellectual property litigation and transactions, as well as cannabis regulatory, intellectual property and transactional matters. From start-ups to publicly traded multinational companies, Mr. Purow works with a broad array of clients to establish, protect, license and enforce their intellectual property. He assists clients in acquiring, clearing, filing and maintaining favorable intellectual property rights on the state, federal and international levels as appropriate. While Mr. Purrow prides himself on finding strategic and creative manners to cost-effectively resolve unavoidable disputes, he vigorously advocates and litigates for his clients when circumstances dictate. With respect to cannabis work, Mr. Purow navigates the idiosyncrasies and regulations of the constantly evolving industry to obtain optimal protection and efficient expansion of his client’s brands, as well as shepherd clients through the state license application process and subsequent regulatory compliance. He hosted the podcast “Cannabis Last Week”, which featured interviews with industry luminaries, as well as biweekly updates featuring news and analysis covering all developments in the cannabis and psychedelics industries on the state, federal and international levels. Mr. Purrow leverages this knowledge and network to help his clients strategize as if he was an active member of their teams. In addition, he co-founded two cannabis networking groups, the virtual Coastal Cannect and the in-person New Jersey-based 420Cannect. Mr. Purrow frequently speaks and moderates panels at industry events and conferences such as NY Cannabis Insider, Cannavest, and Benzinga’s Cannabis Capital Conference. He earned his B.A. degree from Brown University and his J.D. degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Anthony Sango is an associate attorney with Ansel Grimm & Aaron, PC in the litigation, and controlled substances & regulatory law departments. His practice comprises a range of business and civil litigation matters. Before joining Ansell Grimm & Aaron, Mr. Sango was an attorney at an AmLaw 200 firm dedicated to civil defense litigation. While there, he handled cases related to personal injury, professional liability, sports and entertainment, product liability, and premises liability. In law school, Mr. Sango interned for the Government and Health Fraud Section in New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General, and worked as a graduate assistant to Amy Matey, J.D. at the Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law and Policy. He also participated in Seton Hall Law School’s Health Justice Clinic, where he assisted military veterans in receiving VA benefits and appealing VA decisions, as well as researching and writing on topics such as disability rights and the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Sango was also a judicial intern for The Honorable Nora Grimbergen. Following law school, he served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable Stephen L. Petrillo in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division.

Jill Scher is a partner in the tax & business services division of Marcum LLP's Melville office. With more than 25 years of public and private experience, she has an outstanding reputation for developing strong relationships and uses her diverse experience, technical proficiency and problem-solving skills to consult with a wide range of businesses and industries. Ms. Scher advises on tax minimization and deferral strategies for companies and their owners, and is adept at recognizing tax and credit incentive opportunities, including research and development, work opportunity tax credits, and investment tax credits to name a few. She advises clients about tax ramifications prior to potential transactions and has helped clients with the successful abatement of IRS and state penalties. Ms. Scher has developed a specialty in the cannabis space, assisting companies with technology solutions and tax planning, and helping to forge relationships within the industry. She shares this knowledge through frequent speaking engagements, appearing at professional and industry events on a variety of business and tax topics. Ms. Scher also teaches tax, technical, and professional ethics classes for an outside organization, CPE, Inc., providing continuing education to CPAs within the tri-state area on individual and business tax planning and other specialty areas of taxation.