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Chicago, March 4, 2020

Drumke Quoted in Business Insider on Law Firm Cannabis Clients

Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP partner Michael W. Drumke was quoted in Business Insider regarding law firm efforts to represent cannabis clients. 

In the article titled, "Major law firms are ramping up efforts to win cannabis clients as they stake claims to an industry that could be worth $85 billion," law firms have had cannabis clients for years. However, complex legal questions have increased as the cannabis industry has ballooned into a $56 billion market. 

According to the article:  

The lack of clarity surrounding federal versus state regulations in the sector has previously kept law firms from being too open about their involvement in the cannabis sector.

Lawyers also aren't allowed to help clients who are doing something illegal, creating a grey area for attorneys working in cannabis, according to the American Bar Association. The ABA has called for Congress to clarify the situation so that lawyers don't get in trouble.

"We want the federal government, Congress, in particular, to step up and say, 'Look in states where it's legal, attorneys assisting in those businesses are not guilty of committing a federal crime," Michael W. Drumke, chair of ABA's TIPS Cannabis Committee and partner at Swanson, Martin & Bell, told Business Insider.

In addition to his ABA role, Drumke chairs Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP's Cannabis Law Practice Group and has spoken on cannabis law at numerous conferences.

To read the full article, please visit Business Insider's website.

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