The NORML Key West Legal Seminar has outstanding speakers from around the country presenting important topics such as issues related to defense of marijuana consumers, legal issues in the cannabis industry, and resources to support each other in the pursuit of justice.
Paul Armentano
Paul Armentano has over two decades experience working professionally in cannabis policy. He is the Deputy Director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and he also serves on the faculty of Oaksterdam University, where he is the Chair of Science.
His writing on cannabis and cannabis policy has appeared in over 1,000 publications, scholarly and/or peer-reviewed journals, as well as in more than two dozen textbooks and anthologies. Mr. Armentano is the co-author of the book Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? (2009, Chelsea Green), which has been licensed and translated internationally. He is also the author of the book The Citizen’s Guide to State-By-State Marijuana Laws (2015), available from Whitman Publishing.
He is the 2013 Freedom Law School Health Freedom Champion of the Year and the 2013 Alfred R. Lindesmith award recipient for achievement in the field of scholarship. He is the 2019 recipient of the Al Horn Award to Advance the Cause of Justice, presented by the NORML Legal Committee.
Joe Bondy
Named one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys and one of the Top 100 Criminal Trial Lawyers by the American College of Trial Lawyers, Joseph Bondy is an internationally-recognized expert in criminal litigation. With over 25 years of superlative trial and federal sentencing experience, Bondy has advised thousands of clients in complex criminal defense, cannabis business and advocacy, and crisis management matters. The New York Times has described him as “eloquent and armed with the serene demeanor of a surgeon,” saying that “his oratorical intensity hovers at the evangelical.” High Times dubbed Bondy “one of the nation’s preeminent cannabis attorneys,” and his outstanding talent for defense strategy has been hailed by such outlets as CNN, Politico, and New York Law Journal, as well as legal analysts from around the world. Bondy’s unique approach to criminal defense and public media strategies were particularly praised on a global level while he represented Lev Parnas, a Giuliani associate connected to the Ukraine scandal leading to Donald Trump’s first impeachment. Bondy and Parnas’ interview on The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC) was its highest audience-drawing episode of all time, earning an Emmy nomination; and a subsequent feature on Anderson Cooper 360 was one of that program’s most-viewed episodes of the year.
Bondy serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for NORML and is a Vice President and Board Member of the Cannabis Cultural Association (CCA). A graduate of Columbia University and Brooklyn Law School, Bondy was a leading member of a team of attorneys on the seminal case Washington v Barr (2019), originally Washington v Sessions (2017), which took action against the Department of Justice with the aim to legalize cannabis federally. He is the founder of In The Know 420, a well-known podcast on cannabis law, policy and industry. Bondy is also a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and serves on the faculty of Cardozo Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP).
Victoria Cvitanovic
Victoria Cvitanovic is a psychedelic medicine and cannabis attorney at Rudick Law Group, PLLC specializing in matters such as commercial transactions, regulatory compliance, state licensing, insurance, supply chain logistics, medical malpractice defense, medical board defense, and corporate law. Victoria leverages her diverse experience across criminal law, healthcare regulatory law, logistics, and litigation portfolio management to act as a strategic partner to her clients, mitigating risk in multiple interdisciplinary aspects of their growing businesses.
Victoria first witnessed the need for sophisticated representation in the cannabis and psychedelic medicine spaces as a prosecutor for the State of Louisiana, Parish of Orleans, where she handled a substantial felony docket, made charging decisions in violent criminal cases, managed and obtained indictments before grand juries, tried numerous cases to verdict, and rose to become the Chief of the Juvenile Division, making her the youngest person to obtain a “Chief” rank in that office at that time. As a prosecutor, Victoria advocated for diversion, addiction treatment options, and hybrid sentencing options. After transitioning out of prosecution, Victoria defended doctors and hospital networks on behalf of both the state of Louisiana and private insurance companies, securing verdicts on behalf of healthcare providers at both the pre-panel and post-panel levels and before various professional regulatory bodies. These successes led Victoria to become a contract drafter, a regulatory advisor, a tactical ally in structuring, securing, and enforcing complex settlement agreements, and a strategic partner to her healthcare clients. During this time, Victoria’s lifelong interest in technology, data privacy, and supply-chain logistics led her to litigate on behalf of several large corporate technology companies. Once again, Victoria’s courtroom success led clients to seek out her strategic advice, leading her to perform litigation portfolio management, contract development, and technological/trade secret discovery management to ensure consistent success across business lines and jurisdictions.
Victoria’s personal experiences drive strategic growth for her clients. After a life-altering injury, Victoria experienced the transformative power of psychedelic medicine and cannabis therapy as a patient. Chronic pain drove her to set a goal of bringing together her litigation, healthcare, and strategic business experience to ensure patients and others in need of access to these modalities. Now, Victoria provides high quality legal services to a variety of psychedelic medicine and cannabis businesses and healthcare providers, with an emphasis on Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAT/KAP) providers, Cannabis medical markets, Cannabis recreational markets, emerging Psilocybin medical and therapeutic programs, Cannabis supply chain logistics, and Psychedelic supply chain logistics.
Victoria is a frequent speaker and guest on psychedelics podcasts. She is a prolific psychedelic policy commentator on LinkedIn, where she provides updates on breaking news, litigation, and legislation affecting the Louisiana and New Mexico markets. She is also a dedicated Zen Buddhist and meditation and yoga instructor, focusing on making these practices accessible to other chronic pain patients.
Stephen Dillon
Stephen W. Dillon is a 74 year-old attorney who has practiced criminal defense and constitutional law throughout the state of Indiana and U.S.A. in both federal and state courts for almost 50 years.
Steve lives in Monroe County with his wife, Jessie A. Cook. She is also a criminal defense attorney and is an adjunct professor of law at Indiana University in Bloomington. Steve has one child and four grandchildren. Born in Sterling, Illinois on December 5, 1949, Steve grew up and lived in Lafayette, Indiana. He graduated from Culver Summer Naval Academy in 1966. He graduated from Jefferson High School in 1968 and graduated from Purdue University in 1972 (cum laude) with a major in Communications and a minor in Psychology. He was a varsity debater and a member of Phi Kappa Psi social fraternity, Phi Kappa Phi academic honorary, and Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha debate honorary. Steve was employed at Dillon Hardware Company in Lafayette during high school and college. Steve was on the Board of Directors of Dillon Hardware Company (Indiana) and Dillon Travel Agency (Florida) for many years.
Steve moved to Indianapolis in 1972 to attend Indiana University Law School at Indianapolis. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence in May 1975 and was admitted to the Indiana Bar in October of 1975. Steve served the State as a Deputy Public Defender of Indiana from 1975 until 1977. From 1978 until 1988 he practiced with other private Indianapolis attorneys. In 1988 Steve opened Dillon Law Office which is located at 3601 North Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46205.
Steve was an active member of the National and Indiana Libertarian Party for many years. He is a member of F.I.J.A., the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Indiana Bar Association. Steve was a founding member and continues to remain active on the NORML Legal Committee. He helped start Indiana NORML in 1974 and was State Director for over 30 years. He continues to be active on the Indiana NORML Board of Directors. Steve has served as a member of the NORML Board of Directors since 1991 and was Chairman of the Board from 1999-2011. In 1993, Steve was ordained as a minister by the Indiana Association of Spiritualists, Inc.. Steve served seven years on the Board of Trustees of the Association. In 1994, Steve became an active member of the Criminal Justice Section of the Indiana State Bar Association and served as chair 2013-2014. Steve served for years as an active member of the Indiana Supreme Court Committee to Study Evidence-based Pre-trial Release. He served four terms on the Judicial Committee of the National Libertarian Party. Steve served six years on the Board of Directors and was President of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington for two years. Steve has served for over twenty years as President of the Lake Lemon Homeowner’s Association, Inc.. Steve has authored two books: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems (2017) and More Short Stories and Poems (2019).
Steve entered the political arena in 1986 when he ran for Prosecutor of Marion County on the Libertarian ticket. In 1987 Steve put his name in the running for City-County Council at Large as an unslated Republican. In 1988 Steve was nominated for U.S. Senator as a Libertarian. The Libertarian Party was unable to collect the required 35,000 signatures on petitions to put his name on the ballot. In 1990, primarily through the efforts of Steve and Dillon Law Office, the Libertarian party won their federal lawsuit against Indiana’s ban on write-in voting. Therefore, Steve once again was on the campaign trail for the Libertarian Party of Indiana running for the United States Senate as a write-in candidate in the fall election of 1990. In 1992, Steve was on the ballot for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian receiving over 30,000 votes.
In 1994, Steve ran as a Libertarian for Secretary of State of Indiana and received over 32,000 votes statewide, which represented 2.2% of the total vote count and secured ballot status for the Libertarian Party of Indiana. In 1995, Steve ran on the Libertarian ticket for Mayor of Indianapolis and received 6.5% of the total vote. In 1996 Steve was the Libertarian candidate for Governor and received about 2% of the total vote. In 1998 Steve was on the ballot again as the Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State of Indiana and received over 3% of the total vote. In 2000, Steve ran as a Libertarian candidate for Monroe Circuit Court Judge and received 28% of the vote in a two-way race.
Steve was honored with several professional awards. In 1999, Steve received the “Dr. Barbara Bourland Light of Liberty Award” from the Libertarian Party of Indiana. In 2009, Steve received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the NORML Board of Directors in recognition of “a lifetime of activism reforming marijuana laws and advancing the cause of personal freedom.” In 2011, Steve received the “Attorney of the Year Award” from the Indiana Cannabis Action Network and Relegalize Indiana. In 2014, Steve received an award for leadership and dedication as Chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the Indiana State Bar Association. Also in 2014, Steve received the Al Horn Award for “a lifetime of ceaseless work to advance the cause of justice and extraordinary support for NORML” from the NORML Legal Committee.
In 2016, Steve received the, “Steve Dasbach Chairman Award for Extraordinary Service” from the Libertarian Party of Indiana for helping to grow the party in extraordinary ways over many years. In 2024, Steve was honored by the State of Indiana with a Proclamation for 50 years of work to reform the marijuana laws with Indiana NORML. Steve also received a Founder and 50 Year Service Award from the Indiana NORML Board of Directors.
Morgan Fox
Morgan Fox is the Political Director at NORML, focusing on congressional lobbying and changing federal cannabis laws. As a professional cannabis policy reform advocate since 2008, Morgan has been directly involved in dozens of successful state ballot initiative campaigns to establish medical and adult use cannabis programs, as well as legislative victories at the local, state, and federal levels. He has been featured in hundreds of print, radio, television, and online publications. Morgan was most recently the Media Relations Director and chief spokesperson for the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) before joining NORML, and spent nearly a decade at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) prior to that. He lives in Washington, DC, and when he’s not working to end prohibition and repair the damage it has caused, he can usually be found exploring the numerous parks and playgrounds of our nation’s capital with his children.
Nikki Fried
Nikki Fried, Florida’s 12th Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is a lifelong Floridian, attorney and passionate activist. Born and raised in Miami, Commissioner Fried graduated from the University of Florida, where she received her bachelor’s, master’s in political campaigning and juris doctor degrees. While at the University of Florida, she served as student body president – the first woman to hold the position in nearly two decades.
When Nikki won her election, she became Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, first democrat elected to the Cabinet in nearly 2 decades, and the first female ever elected to serve as Commissioner. Since taking office as Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner, she has helped build the state hemp industry, stood up for LGBTQ+ equality, and fought for clean water, improved the gun licensing process, and much more.
Prior to being elected, Fried was the head of the Felony Division at the Alachua County Public Defender’s Office and worked in private practice in South Florida, defending homeowners against foreclosure during the 2007-2008 housing crisis. She also worked at law firms as a government consultant, advocating on behalf of clients before the Florida Legislature. In 2017, she formed her own firm to advocate in Tallahassee for at-risk children, the Broward County School Board, and for the expansion of patient access to medical marijuana.
Throughout her career she has served with numerous organizations including the Young Lawyers Board of Governors, Chair of the Broward Days Board of Directors, Legal Needs of Children Bar Committee, LeRoy Collins Institute, Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, University of Florida Governmental Relations Advisory Committee, University of Florida Board of Trustees, Florida’s Children First, and others.
Gerald “Gerry” Harris Goldstein
Gerry Goldstein is a nationally known and respected defense lawyer at Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley in San Antonio, Texas. He is a past president of both the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He has served as amicus curiae for NACDL in many high-profile cases, including CNN v. Manuel Noriega and Joe Does v. United States, arguing lawyers should not be required to disclose the identity of cash-paying clients on IRS forms.
His forceful Congressional testimony during the 1996 House Waco hearings is credited with helping to turn the tide against further suppression of citizens’ rights in America. More recently, he represented Dr. Al-Badr Al Hazmi, a fifth-year radiology resident in San Antonio who was arrested on Sept. 12, 2001. Subsequently, Goldstein testified before Congress on his client’s request to speak with counsel.
Gerry Goldstein is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Texas Lawyer’s Legal Legends. He also has been profiled in numerous publications, served as an adjunct professor of law at University of Texas School of Law in Austin and at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
He also is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In his role as an adjunct professor, Gerry teaches a course titled Advanced Criminal Law (Defense of a Complex Federal Prosecution). Other lectures and presentations include U.S. Supreme Court updates, Crawford & the Current State of the Hearsay Rule, Crossing the Double Crosser and Federal Appeals.
His published works include: Grand Jury Practice; Pretrial Release; Indictment [Joinder/Severance/Transfer]; Pretrial Motions; Suppression of Evidence; Jury Selection; Trial [Evidence]; Examination of Witnesses; Jury Instructions; Closing Arguments; Creative Trial Techniques; Criminal Issues – Civil Cases; Jury Arguments [Closings to Remember]; Search and Seizure; Life and Hearsay – Post Crawford Era; Federal Appeals; and Supreme Court Review.
Gerry earned his juris doctor at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas, in 1968. He also graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1965, with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Gerry received a certification in Criminal Law in 1975 from the State Bar of Texas. He holds the following bar admissions: Texas (1968), Colorado (1989), U.S. District Court Western District of Texas (1970), U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit (1982), U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit (1970), U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit (1983), U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit (1979), U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit (1983), U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit (1981) and the U.S. Supreme Court (1975).
Gerry Goldstein received NORML’s Al Horn Award in 1999, which commemorated a lifetime of advocacy and support for responsible marijuana law reform. He has also received the following honors and awards: Best Lawyers in America, 1987 — Present; Texas Monthly – Texas Super Lawyers; Top 100 Texas Super Lawyers; Top 50 Central and West Texas Region Super Lawyers, Criminal Defense: White Collar, 2003 — 2007; Scene in SA Monthly – San Antonio’s Best Attorneys, San Antonio Law, Top Ten Lawyers, 2004 — present; Texas Lawyer Legal Legends, 100 Best Lawyers over Last 100 years (100 Year Anniversary of State Bar of Texas), 2000; Fellow, State Bar Foundation, 1976 — Present; Recipient, Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award [Outstanding Criminal Defense Attorney in the United States] from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1991; Recipient, Outstanding Criminal Defense Lawyer in Texas from the State Bar of Texas, 1991; Justice Albert Tate, Jr. Award [Outstanding Contribution to Criminal Advocacy] from the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1993; Recipient, John Henry Faulk Civil Libertarian of the Year Award from the American Civil Liberties Union; Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Hall of Fame, 2002; Marquis Who’s Who, Who’s Who in American Law, 14th Edition, 2006 — 2008; First Annual Michael J. Kennedy Social Justice Award, George Washington University, (May, 2016); William S. Sessions American Inns of Court First Annual Goldstein Award of Excellence (2015); San Antonio Bar Association, Joe Frazier Brown, Jr., Award of Excellence for Outstanding Leadership and Service to the Legal Community & Citizens of Texas, 2016.
He is a member of the following professional associations: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Past President (1994 — 1995); Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Past President; International Academy of Trial Lawyers; American College of Trial Lawyers; American Board of Criminal Lawyers; American Board of Trial Advocates, President; Dean’s Round Table, University of Texas School of Law; Texas Civil Liberties Union; San Antonio Bar Association; American Bar Association; and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
Michael Griffith
Michael Griffith, international criminal defense lawyer, received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from John Marshall Law School. He is admitted to practice law in the State and Federal Courts in New York among other jurisdictions. For over 20 years he has been a member and or officer of the Criminal Law Committee of the International Bar Association.
He was a founding member of the International Legal Defense Counsel with offices in New York dedicated to representing Americans arrested abroad. He is an experienced international criminal defense lawyer and has counseled clients in prisons in over 25 countries. He has a network of international criminal lawyers in foreign countries who together with him coordinate in the defense of Americans arrested abroad. In the event of a conviction he can also assist with their transfer back to the United States.
Mr. Griffith testified before the United States Senate as an expert witness concerning the promulgation of prisoner transfer treaties between the United States, Mexico and Canada and as the representative for the International Bar Association on this topic at the United Nations Conference on “Crime Prevention and the Treatment of Offenders in Cairo, Egypt. ” He has also testified as an expert before the House Foreign Relations Committee regarding the treatment of American prisoners abroad. He has previously lectured before the International Bar Association on “Legal Problems of Traveling Abroad” and on the representation of Americans incarcerated overseas among other topics.
As an international criminal defense legal expert, he has appeared as a commentator, on a regular basis for Nancy Grace, Court TV, and CNN among other networks.
John Wesley Hall
John Wesley Hall, Little Rock criminal defense attorney, is a Past President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Hall received the organization’s prestigious Robert C. Heeney Award in 2002 for service to the criminal defense bar. He was chair of the NACDL Ethics Advisory Committee from 1990-2005, and on the International Criminal Court’s Disciplinary Appeals Tribunal. He has tried 250+ jury trials and handled 250+ appeals, including three in the U.S. Supreme Court. He is the author of Search and Seizure (3d ed., 4th ed. forthcoming), Professional Responsibility in Criminal Defense Practice (3d ed.), Trial Handbook for Arkansas Lawyers (4th ed.), and numerous articles. He has done CLEs in 38 states, 3 provinces, and The Hague.
Stephen Komie
A highly acclaimed criminal defense attorney, Stephen M. Komie is the principal attorney at Chicago, Illinois-based Komie and Associates. Mr. Komie and his team of lawyers appear for clients in federal courts throughout the United States and Illinois. He handles both state and federal charges at the trial and appellate levels, including Driving Under the Influence, White Collar Crimes such as Tax Fraud, Civil or Criminal Forfeiture and Money Laundering; Drug Possession and Distribution; Murder and Manslaughter; Domestic Violence, Internet Crimes; Child Pornography and Sex Offenses. Mr. Komie has been able to obtain very favorable results for his clients in thousands of cases during his 40 plus years at the Bar. As a result, he is held in high esteem by his colleagues, as evidenced by his AV Preeminent peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, elected 20 years as an Illinois Super Lawyer, and his being named by his peers to: The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Criminal Defense Executive Committee: The Chicago Law Bulletin: Illinois Leading Lawyers, Chicago Magazine: Top Chicago Lawyers, Chicago’s Top 10, Super Lawyers, and 2015 Illinois Bar Delegate to Rededication of Magna Carta 800 Years at Runnymede, England.
Mr. Komie received a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Arizona, and he then earned a Master of Arts in European history from the same institution. After spending three years as an officer with the Tucson Police Department, he enrolled at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago and was awarded his Juris Doctor in 1976. Mr. Komie is admitted to practice in Illinois. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 6th, 7th and 8th Circuits, U.S. Tax Court, and the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Komie has served on the Board of Governors of the Illinois State Bar Association for over 25 years. He was affectionately called “Dean of the Board.” He is also an active participant in that organization’s Criminal Justice & Civil Practice sections, and he has been a member of its Standing Committee on Judicial Evaluations – Cook County. Mr. Komie is also a Pillar of the Bar fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation.
Gregory Morse
Gregory J. Morse is an attorney at the law firm of Morse Legal in Palm Beach County, FL where he has practiced criminal defense in state and federal court for more than twenty years. Greg began his career at the West Palm Beach Public Defender’s Office in 2000 and he is currently on the CJA panel for the United States Southern District of Florida. He is a member of the NORML Legal Committee, The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and The American Inns of Court (CSB).
Greg has had cases featured on: Vengeance: Millionaire Murderers, 48 hours, Inside Edition, American Monster, and In Ice Cold Blood. He is considered a Top 100 trial lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers and a 10 Best Attorney in FL by the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys. He has been published in the New York Law School Law Review, “Techno-Jury: Techniques in Verbal and Visual Persuasion.” He graduated from New York Law School, cum laude; SUNY Buffalo; and University of North London, England. Greg has presented on topics covering all aspects of trial from Jury selection to sentencing. Greg is also an author. His debut novel, The Untested was released in 2022.
Billy Murphy
William H. “Billy” Murphy, Jr. has practiced law for 35 years, including three years as a judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, the highest level Maryland trial court. Mr. Murphy has tried numerous high-profile criminal and civil cases, including some of the most celebrated cases in Maryland history and in the country. In 2004, Mr. Murphy received the Charles Hamilton Houston Award for Lifetime Achievement in Litigation from the University of Baltimore School of Law in “recognition of his career of excellence, innovation and achievement in courtroom advocacy.”
Lauren Rudick
Lauren Rudick is a prominent dealmaker in the cannabis legal landscape, known for her leadership as the Founder and Managing Principal of the Rudick Law Group, with offices in New York City, Jersey City, Santa Fe, New Orleans, and Latin America. With extensive experience in cannabis and hemp law and regulations, Lauren has played a pivotal role in advising and representing clients within the rapidly evolving cannabis industry and ancillary industries, including agriculture technology, biotech, and psychedelics. Her expertise encompasses various legal aspects, including investment support, start-up and formation matters, team building, competitive and technical business licensing, regulatory compliance, real estate transactions, M&A, financing and secured transactions, intellectual property protection, and governmental affairs, providing invaluable support to businesses navigating the complex legal terrain of emerging, newly regulated sectors, through multiple stages of growth.
Rudick has participated in dozens of competitive and non-competitive cannabis business licensing processes nationwide, securing top scores in among the most robust merit-based medical cannabis licensing competitions, including in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, New Jersey, Connecticut, and first-to-market business licenses in newly regulated adult-use markets, including in Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. She also works on various intellectual property licensing and manufacturing deals involving mushroom and cannabis formulations and processes intended for pharmaceutical and over-the-counter markets on a global scale, including in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, and Israel.
Investors and business owners seeking opportunities in newly regulated markets can find confidence in Rudick’s legal acumen, robust depth of network, and the Rudick Law Group’s commitment to facilitating compliant and successful ventures in burgeoning industries. Rudick’s reputation as a seasoned attorney positions the Rudick Law Group as a strategic partner for investors and start-ups looking to efficiently navigate legal intricacies and capitalize on opportunities in the dynamic new markets. And having practiced commercial litigation in New York State and federal courts for over ten years prior to her practice in regulatory and transactional matters, Rudick is well-positioned to see her clients through pre-litigation and alternative dispute resolution matters, including mediation and arbitration. In 2018, Rudick spearheaded the legal team which brought a massive lawsuit against former Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Justice, and the United States Government, in an effort to deschedule cannabis on a variety of constitutional grounds.
A consistent thought leader in the cannabis industry, Rudick is regularly quoted in trade and national media publications regarding market insights, prioritization, and strategy (including in the NY Times, Crain’s, New York Law Journal, New York Business Journal, AMNY, Forbes, Green Market Report, New Jersey Insider, New York Insider, etc.), and frequently speaks and educates on cannabis law and policies at the industry’s most impactful conferences and events, offering legal continuing education (International Cannabis Bar Association, Practicing Law Institute, Federal Bar Association, etc.) and general entrepreneurship coaching (including at MJBizCon, The Emerald Cup, NCIA, BevNet, International Esthetician & Spa Conference, National Cannabis Festival, Women Grow, etc.)
Rudick was the longest standing Member of the Board of Directors for the International Cannabis Bar Association, a not-for-profit organization, where she served as the organization’s Treasurer for six years; and since 2021, she has been serving as a Vice-Chair of the Committee for Cannabis Law & Policy of the American Bar Association and as a member of the Board of Directors for Breeder’s Best Inc., a B-Corp., record-label style producer of unique cannabis genetics.
Robert Scremin
Robert Scremin is a former SWAT/Undercover Narcotics Detective who has been practicing law for over 25 years and has litigated over 1,000 major felony cases including murder, narcotics trafficking, child molest, and domestic violence. He is frequently contacted by CBS WANE TV as a legal analyst and has served as an adjunct professor teaching courses in evidence, juvenile justice, community corrections, constitutional law and serial killers.
Few lawyers have ever tried a murder case, much less obtained multiple not guilty verdicts. Mr. Scremin has tried over 20 murder cases in addition to multiple Attempted Murder, Aggravated Battery and Child Molest cases. He is frequently appointed by the public defender’s office to represent indigent African American males facing murder charges and often, an all-white jury.
Mr. Scremin is a former deputy prosecutor with the Indianapolis Drugs, Guns & Gangs Unit and a former deputy prosecutor with the Allen County Domestic Violence Unit. He also spent a year living in Key West on a federal grant, working for the FCADV as the Monroe County Domestic Violence Injunction for Protection Attorney. He is a graduate of the coveted National Criminal Defense College at Mercer Law School and a member of the NORML Legal Committee.
Mr. Scremin began his legal career working for criminal defense lawyer Michael Stepanian in San Francisco and later practiced in Chicago before relocating to Indiana. He has worked in the criminal justice system for over 35 years.
Alan Silber
Alan Silber has litigated cases in numerous federal and state courts across the United States. He has also tried a variety of major white-collar cases involving RICO, bank, securities, telemarketing, health care, and wire and mail fraud as well as defended clients in money laundering cases of significant size and scope, kidnapping (representing a police officer), and murder. Alan is also experienced as counsel for claimants in civil and criminal forfeiture actions. He concentrates his practice on federal and state complex criminal litigation, as well as representing lawyers in disciplinary cases. Alan has appeared in complex civil litigation in state and federal courts as diverse as the Northern and Central Districts of California, the Northern and Southern Districts of Florida, the Western and Eastern Districts of Virginia, and the District of Hawaii.
Alan is a member of the state bars in New Jersey, New York, California, and Virginia, and is a New Jersey Certified Criminal Trial Attorney, a status granted by the Supreme Court of New Jersey’s Board on Trial Attorney Certification. Fewer than 3 percent of New Jersey attorneys achieve this certification. In addition, Alan is admitted to practice in nine United States district courts and has litigated pro hac vice in more than a dozen other federal district courts. An experienced appellate advocate, Alan has appeared and litigated cases in the United States Supreme Court, five United States Courts of Appeals, the state appellate courts of New York and New Jersey, and in the Supreme Court of Oregon.
Outside of the courtroom, Alan has earned a reputation as a lecturer and author and as a drug law reformer for his work through a multitude of criminal defense bar associations. He was a three-term member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), having been elected in 2001, 2004, and 2016. He previously served on its Executive Committee as well as the Nominating Committee. He is currently a Third Circuit co-chair of the Lawyers’ Assistance Committee (Strike Force representing other NACDL lawyers) and Third Circuit co-chair for the NACDL Amicus Committee. He is a member of the White Collar Committee. Alan previously served as chairman of the Drug Law Reform Committee, and of the Electronic Discovery Committee.
Alan was a founding member of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey and served as its eighth president. He was also a founding member of the board of directors of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and is a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Trial Attorneys. In 1995, he was appointed as the state bar representative on the Legislature’s Sentencing Policy Study Commission.
When he lived in Virginia, from 2002 to 2005, Alan was the Fourth Circuit coordinator for the Lawyers Assistance Committee and the Fourth Circuit vice-chair of the Amicus Committee of NACDL.
Alan has appeared as a speaker in criminal defense seminars across the country and internationally, including in Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Louisiana, Washington, D.C., Oregon, Colorado, and England. His articles have appeared in The Champion (magazine of NACDL), Rutgers Law Review, The New Jersey Law Journal, and The Vindicator (magazine of Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers). He has lectured in New Jersey on forfeiture and across the country on ethics and trial strategy.
Alan has received recognition from a number of New Jersey and national organizations for his advocacy. In 2011, he received the Al Horn Award at the NORML Legal Seminar. The award is presented annually to one lawyer “in recognition and appreciation of a lifetime of ceaseless work to advance the cause of justice and for extraordinary support for NORML.”
Alan is a graduate of Duke University (and has written a blog on Duke basketball for the last decade) and Columbia Law School.
Jamie Strawbridge
Jamie Strawbridge (he/him) is a partner at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, where he represents companies in high-stakes commercial litigation, including ownership disputes and breach-of-contract claims. Mr. Strawbridge also represents individuals in cases involving civil rights, disability rights, police misconduct, and housing discrimination.
Since joining Brown, Goldstein & Levy in 2020, Mr. Strawbridge has litigated cases in state and federal court and in arbitrations. His commercial experience includes representing Maryland-based companies in multi-million-dollar disputes in state court and in arbitration proceedings. He has successfully resolved cases involving discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the healthcare sector, voting, and the criminal justice system.
Mr. Strawbridge also has significant appellate experience, including drafting appeals in federal and state court, briefs in opposition to petitions for certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court, and arguing before the Appellate Court of Maryland. Reflecting that experience, he has been appointed an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law to teach a semester-long seminar on appellate litigation. Mr. Strawbridge is consistently recognized as a top lawyer by leading publications like The Best Lawyers in America, Lawdragon, and Super Lawyers.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Strawbridge worked for Covington & Burling in Washington, DC and clerked for the Honorable Diana Gribbon Motz on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for the Honorable Catherine C. Blake on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Before law school, Mr. Strawbridge worked for seven years as an investigative reporter in Washington, D.C. He traveled the world and wrote extensively on topics related to international trade, public health, labor, and environmental rights.
Keith Stroup
Keith Stroup is a Washington, DC public-interest attorney who founded NORML in 1970. Stroup obtained his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Illinois in 1965, and in 1968 he graduated from Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC. Following two years as staff counsel for the National Commission on Product Safety, Mr. Stroup founded NORML and ran the organization through 1979, during which 11 states decriminalized minor marijuana offenses.
Stroup has also practiced criminal law, lobbied on Capitol Hill for family farmers and artists, and for several years served as executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). In 1994 Stroup resumed his work with NORML, rejoining the board of directors and serving again as Executive Director through 2004. He is currently serving as Legal Counsel with NORML.
In 1992 Stroup was the recipient of the Richard J. Dennis Drugpeace Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Drug Policy Reform presented by the Drug Policy Foundation, Washington, DC. In 2010 he received the Al Horn Award for Advancing the Cause of Justice from the NORML Legal Committee. And in 2012 Stroup received the High Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2013 Stroup published the history of NORML entitled It’s NORML To Smoke Pot: the 40 Year Fight for Marijuana Smokers’ Rights.
Brian Vicente
Vicente LLP Founding Partner Brian Vicente has been helping marijuana businesses obtain state and local licenses since the inception of the regulated cannabis industry — an industry he has played a significant role in shaping. He has also advised national, state, and local government officials in the development of regulated cannabis markets across the country and around the world, including in Uruguay, the first country in the world to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use. In late 2018, newly elected Colorado Gov. Jared Polis selected Brian to serve as a member of his gubernatorial transition team, where he sat on the Economic Development and Labor Committee.
Brian was a lead drafter of Colorado’s historic legalization initiative, Amendment 64, and he co-directed the successful campaign in support of it. He also served as chair of the Committee for Responsible Regulation, which coordinated the successful campaign to implement statewide excise and sales taxes on adult-use marijuana in Colorado. Previously, Brian served as executive director of Sensible Colorado, a leading nonprofit organization advocating for medical marijuana patients and providers in Colorado. During this time, he played an integral role in litigation that opened the door for medical cannabis dispensaries to open in the state, as well as the legislative process that resulted in Colorado becoming the first state to establish a regulated system of medical cannabis production and distribution.
Since 2020, Chambers and Partners USA has ranked Brian as one of the top cannabis attorneys in the nation. Additionally, he was recognized by Best Lawyers© from 2021-2025, named a “Cannabis Law Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal in 2018, and has been included in 5280 magazine’s list of “Denver’s Top Lawyers” every year since 2015. Adding to his impressive list of recognitions, in 2022 he was listed as one of High Times’ “Top 100 Influential People in Cannabis” and was recognized as one of Law360’s Cannabis MVPs of 2022. Brian has conducted more than 1,000 interviews regarding marijuana policy for national, state, and local media outlets, and he was recognized by The Guardian as “the (cannabis) industry’s de facto spokesman.”
Brian currently serves as treasurer of the Marijuana Policy Project and president of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council, a purpose-driven nonprofit organization he helped found in 2021. In 2010, Brian was elected as the first board chair of the National Cannabis Industry Association, which now represents nearly 2,000 member businesses and tens of thousands of cannabis professionals. He is also a member of the DanceSafe Advisory Council, and previously served on the boards of Sensible Colorado, the Harm Reduction Action Center, and the SAFER Voter Education Fund.
Kelly Whyman
Kelly H. Whyman is a cannabis industry veteran and senior consultant at RLG. Since entering this dynamic space in 2010, Whyman has cultivated a reputation for strategic acumen, licensing expertise, and her unwavering focus on driving operational excellence. Her deep understanding of the complexities surrounding medical and adult-use cannabis has been instrumental in securing over 200 licenses spanning 20+ states – an unparalleled achievement in this rapidly evolving market.
Whyman’s influence extends far beyond licensing. She is a sought-after expert in guiding businesses through the entire cannabis lifecycle, from meticulous seed-to-sale tracking to sales optimization and inventory management. Her ability to effectively navigate compliance protocols across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring both regulatory adherence and operational success, makes her indispensable to clients.
Her detailed, tailored methodologies are the foundation of her successful track record in cultivating start-ups and propelling established enterprises to new levels of profitability and sustainable growth. Investors and publicly traded entities within the cannabis sector actively seek Whyman’s expertise for her strategic insights, due diligence capabilities, and proven ability to build high-performing teams.
At RLG, Kelly Whyman is an agent of transformation. Her commitment to fostering innovation, coupled with her deep regulatory knowledge, allows clients to transcend mere compliance and achieve long-term success in the cannabis market. Whyman’s expertise exemplifies RLG’s mission to cultivate progress and optimize profitability within the cannabis industry.
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