Alternative Reality: Dispute Resolution in the Cannabis and Psychedelic Industries
December 12 | noon - 1:15 PM
CBA Offices or Zoom, 1290 Broadway St., Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80203
If you are attending in-person, lunch is provided. Please register for the correct option and include any dietary restrictions. If you have questions, email Emma Baxter.
Program Description:
Lawyers in the cannabis and psychedelic industries should be flocking to private arbitrations. Or should they? Learn from seasoned attorneys in the cannabis and psychedelic industries about the pros and cons of arbitration, key considerations for their clients, and what they’re looking for from mediators and arbitrators.
Speaker Bios:
Cara Thornton is a partner at Fortis Law Partners LLC with a practice focused on complex commercial litigation including intellectual property, business torts, cannabis law, real estate, and other business-related disputes. Cara also serves as outside general counsel for corporate clients, advising on a litany of issues including contract and employment-related matters, formation and dissolution, and risk management.
From 2006 to 2009, Cara was an Assistant Attorney General of Yap State, the Federated States of Micronesia where she advised the Governor on legislative and policy issues and handled the State’s civil litigation. Both before and after working in Yap, Cara with a boutique litigation and transactional firm in downtown Denver for more than a decade.
Sean T. McAllister is an attorney specializing in the intersection of regulatory and corporate law, and also is an experienced commercial litigator. He has litigated dozens of cases in the cannabis space over the past decade. His work in psychedelics has included: Advising doctors, therapists and licensed professional on psychedelic assisted therapy; Advising clients on what is allowed in cities that have decriminalized psychedelics; Advising clients looking to obtain a religious exemption from criminal law for the use of psychedelics under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act; Seeking DEA licensure for companies to manufacture Schedule I drugs lawfully in the United States; Steering committee member on Colorado’s Proposition 122 Natural Medicine Health Act; Executive Officer of the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel;
Co-counsel for Church of the Eagle and the Condor in a lawsuit against DEA to gain recognition as an ayahuasca church; General Counsel for of the non-profit organization Zendo Project Inc.; Board of Directors for the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines; and Board of Directors of the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies. Sean is licensed to practice law in Colorado and California.
Chris Baumgartner is a commercial trial lawyer representing businesses and individual clients in a diverse range of disputes including contract, real estate, business sale, construction, and cannabis business litigation. He practices in the Colorado state and federal courts as well as in arbitration and mediation. Chris works as a trusted adviser in tandem with his clients to find a practical solution to their problems, whether that means winning in court, resolving a case early, or finding a way to avoid a dispute entirely.
After graduating from the University of Colorado Law School in 1999, Chris had the honor of serving as law clerk to Judge John P. Leopold in Colorado’s 18th Judicial District. Chris is a graduate of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s trial skills course and was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers from 2009-2013. Following ten years as a litigator and Shareholder at the law firm of Dufford & Brown, PC, Chris founded Agilis Legal, PC in 2016 to continue his litigation practice. He also serves as special litigation counsel to law firms in cannabis space, and he is currently associated with the The Rodman Law Group, LLC. Chris can be reached at cgb@agilis.legal.
*Applied for 1 general CLE credit