Our Cannabis Legal Services attorneys are knowledgeable about the latest regulatory and legal developments related to lawful cannabis-related activities at both the state and federal levels and are fully prepared to assist clients in meeting their business objectives by providing strategic guidance and legal services on the following legal matters in New Jersey:
Corporate Business
Stark & Stark can assist clients in accomplishing a wide range of business transactions, understanding that clients looking to enter into and stay competitive in the cannabis industry must operate in a rapidly changing business environment impacted by evolving laws and regulations. Our knowledgeable attorneys can assist you with all facets of transactional work, including corporate and business entity formation, negotiating and drafting contracts, preparing partnership and operating agreements, structuring of licensing deals, and state license application review.
- Corporate Formation
- Partnership & Operating Agreements
- Contract Negotiation & Drafting
- Hemp & Marijuana Licensing Applications
- Employment Contracts and Policies
- NDAs, MOUs, and LOIs
Real Estate
Our Commercial Real Estate attorneys, together with our Zoning and Land Use Group and Environmental Regulation Group, seamlessly represent clients through all aspects of a real estate transaction. For our clients in the cannabis industry, this includes preparing and negotiating leases to protect both the landlord and tenant, drafting contingent purchase agreements, representing clients before zoning and planning boards, evaluating potential real estate acquisitions for growers, cultivators, and dispensaries, and providing guidance on waste management and disposal.
- Zoning & Land Use
- Strategic Planning
- Commercial Leasing
- Landlord/Tenant Issues
- Real Estate Acquisitions
- Local Approvals & Resolutions
- Waste Management
Litigation
Litigation is sometimes necessary and unavoidable. Stark & Stark’s acclaimed trial lawyers have the skills, tact, and experience to vigorously and effectively represent clients in a wide variety of legal actions, including appealing adverse state agency decisions and determinations, bringing and defending product liability, personal injury, and property damage claims, litigating with insurance carriers over coverage, enforcing intellectual property rights, and defending against complex RICO claims. As seasoned mediators and arbitrators, our trial lawyers employ winning strategies to secure favorable results considering the client’s goals, potential exposure, risk temperament, and budget.
- State Agency Appeals
- Business & Shareholder Disputes
- Real Estate Disputes
- Breach of Contract
- Product Liability
- Insurance Coverage Disputes
- Defending RICO and other complex commercial claims
- Intellectual Property Infringement
Intellectual Property
With federal trademark registration currently unavailable for cannabis-touching businesses, companies looking to develop formidable brands and protect their intellectual property rights in a disparate, unpredictable industry need to seek guidance from creative attorneys who understand the cannabis space and the strategies available for developing and guarding valuable intellectual property. From registration to enforcement to infringement disputes, the IP attorneys at Stark & Stark can handle all of your intellectual property needs.
- Copyright and Trademark Registrations
- Enforcement, Infringement & Disputes
- Licensing Agreements
- Strategic Branding
- Trade Secrets
Regulatory Compliance
Businesses looking to break into the cannabis industry and remain competitive must be very mindful of changing federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Our priority is to provide our clients with up to date regulatory compliance services concerning state licensing requirements, FDA regulations and enforcement, FDCA requirements and prohibitions, Industrial Hemp Farm Bill protections, and product labeling and advertising.
- Compliance with State Licensing Regulations
- FDA, FDCA, & Industrial Hemp Farm Bill Compliance
- Product Labeling and Advertising
Criminal
As New Jersey embarks on marijuana legalization, questions remain with what to do with the multitude of people who have been convicted of marijuana crimes in the state. Stark & Stark’s Criminal Defense practice works tirelessly with our clients to pursue expungement petitions to remove and purge a client’s prior contact with the Criminal Justice System in the State of New Jersey.
- Record Expungement
- Criminal Defense
Leading the Way
The legalization of cannabis for medical purposes and recreational use has been expanding rapidly across the United States, creating a variety of opportunities and risks in its wake. While the consumption of marijuana remains prohibited at the federal level, businesses in this emerging industry face unique issues and challenges requiring legal and strategic guidance.
As a new adult-use market takes shape in New Jersey, Stark & Stark’s Cannabis Legal Services group stands ready to meet the needs of individuals, professionals, businesses, and partnerships seeking to find their place in the highly regulated cannabis industries in New Jersey.
Contact a Cannabis Business Lawyer in New Jersey
As a full-service law firm specializing in providing Big Law work product at small firm rates, our New Jersey marijuana business attorneys can provide the flexibility, efficiency, and timely results cannabis clients need in this dynamic legal landscape. With its extensive network of business, municipal, and government leadership connections throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania and its experience helping highly regulated businesses succeed and overcome legal challenges, Stark & Stark can help you obtain local government approval for your business, secure promising real estate and leaseholds, identify and prevent potential legal hurdles, apply for a hemp or marijuana state license, navigate the complicated web of state compliance regulations, protect your intellectual property, and strategically maneuver around tax, banking, investment, and insurance pitfalls.
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Disclaimer:
The possession, sale, manufacture, use or distribution of marijuana is illegal under federal law, which could result in severe financial and criminal penalties. The legalization of marijuana under any state or local law does not override the federal law. No legal advice we give is intended to provide any guidance or assistance in violating federal law. Any legal work or advice the firm may provide related to contracts, financing, leasing, the formation of business entities, dispute resolution or any other legal work that a business may require shall not be construed as advising or encouraging a client to engage in a business or activity that violates any federal or state law.
