Global Top 200
Cannabis Lawyers Directory 2026/27
Welcome to the 7th edition of the Global Top 200 cannabis lawyers 2026-2027 published by Cannabis Law Report & Cannabis Law Journal.
We have compiled the lawyers and law firms we believe to be the top 200 cannabis practitioners and practices around the world via our annual survey of clients and lawyers in the cannabis legal services sector, this research is combined with our personal editorial decisions based on our daily reporting for the past decade. Read More
Thank you, Sean Hocking – Editor: The Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers
Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers – Plus Profiles 2026/2027
Chelsie Spencer – Ritter Spencer Cheng, PLLC
Forbes Magazine dubbed Chelsie Spencer the “rare friendly face in the midst of a cutthroat CBD hurricane, the person you want on speed dial when things turn sour” for her work in the cannabidiol (CBD) industry. As head of the cannabis practice at Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC, Chelsie represents clients in every facet of the cannabis and hemp industries, including dispensaries, growers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, and more for their business ...
Judith Heimbürger – gunnercooke GmbH
Judith Heimbürger is an experienced lawyer specializing in providing comprehensive advice to clients in the life sciences sector. She advises domestic and international companies and investors in the fields of pharmaceuticals, medical cannabis, medical devices, biotechnology, and diagnostics, supporting them throughout the entire product and business development cycle. Clients particularly value her expertise in drafting and negotiating complex contracts—including cross-border supply and licensing agreements (specifically regarding patents and know-how), research ...
Amber E. Littlejohn – Holon Law Partners
Amber Littlejohn is a lawyer and advocate with decades of experience helping entrepreneurs, innovators, and disruptors create and navigate new and evolving consumer product markets. She leverages extensive experience at the intersection of regulations, politics, and advocacy to manage risk, expand market access, and grow and protect market share in complex regulatory environments ...
Daniel Haymann – MME
Daniel Haymann specialises in corporate and commercial law. Thanks to his extensive business experience, he has a good sense for new markets and understands the requirements for market launch and scale-up strategies. As an interdisciplinary and hands-on advisor, his focus is on investments, venture capital and financing transactions as well as regulatory issues in the healthcare and consumer goods sectors. He has been advising investors, start-ups, and vertically integrated companies ...
Sean Maloney – Indicated Legal
As Special Counsel at Indicated Legal, Sean helps clients in the cannabis, hemp and psychedelics industries navigate complex legal landscapes with clear, practical, and commercially focused advice. Drawing on in-depth industry knowledge, Sean provides tailored, end-to-end legal solutions that reflect the unique regulatory and commercial challenges faced by these sectors. With experience as a former senior regulator at the ASX, Sean brings deep insight into the ASX Listing Rules, the ...
Susan Burns – S Burns Legal PLLC
With more than 30 years of experience, Susan Burns has forged a career as a no-nonsense business lawyer and global development consultant helping businesses in growth mode tactically use legal strategies to meet their needs. Serving a broad range of industries, Susan has been a partner to businesses tackling the burgeoning cannabis industry since the outset, supporting processors, manufacturers and retailers. She has also worked extensively with psychotherapy and health-related ...
Courtney Barnes, Esq – Feldman Legal Advisors
Courtney Barnes is a Partner at Feldman Legal Advisors PLLC and adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Courtney specializes in advising clients on regulatory compliance, risk management, and strategic operational matters relating to the production and distribution of highly regulated compounds in emerging industries. Her legal expertise includes providing bespoke regulatory compliance guidance, including licensing, distribution, and advertising strategy to consumer-packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers, retailers, and ...
Neil M. Kaufman – Kaufman McGowan PLLC
Neil M. Kaufman, is the managing member of Kaufman McGowan PLLC, Corporate & Securities Counsel to the Cannabis Industry™ and one of the leading corporate cannabis law firms in New York and the USA. He combines over 40 years of practicing corporate and securities law at the highest levels with 10 years of extensive cannabis industry experience. Mr. Kaufman represents a wide variety of cannabis companies and investors in their ...
Lauren Rudick – Rudick Law Group
Lauren Rudick is a prominent figure 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, and Latin America. With extensive experience in cannabis and hemp law and regulations, Rudick has played a pivotal role in advising and representing clients nationwide within the rapidly evolving cannabis industry and ancillary industries, including agriculture ...
Daniel Rathner – Indicated Legal
Daniel Rathner is the founder and Director of Indicated Legal based in Melbourne, Australia. Daniel works with many businesses across the supply chain, including sponsors, cultivators, manufacturers, importers, distributors, medical practitioners and clinics, pharmacists and testing laboratories. Offering practical and strategic advice, Daniel assists his clients throughout the life of their enterprises, from corporate structuring and establishment, licensing, commercial contracts and deal flow through to corporate governance, regulatory compliance and ...
Courtney N. Moran – EARTH Law, LLC
Courtney N. Moran, LL.M., Founding Principal of EARTH Law, LLC, and Chief Legislative Strategist for Agricultural Hemp Solutions, LLC, has a passion for policy reform and precedent-setting. She liaised with the offices of Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in drafting and negotiating the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, the language in the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalizing hemp in the United States. Courtney is a highly accomplished ...
Sean J. McGowan – Kaufman McGowan PLLC
Sean J. McGowan represents emerging growth, middle market and public companies and investment firms in their corporate, securities, financing, borrowing, merger & acquisition and other legal matters. Mr. McGowan is: President of the Columbian Lawyers’ Association of Suffolk County. Secretary of the Confederation of Columbian Lawyers of New York State. Member of the Columbian Lawyers’ Association of Nassau County. Member of the New York State Bar Association and its Cannabis ...
Shay Aaron Gilmore – The Law Office of Shay Aaron Gilmore
Shay Aaron Gilmore is a leading cannabis business attorney in California and a recognized expert in corporate and commercial transactions throughout the cannabis supply chain. Shay works exclusively with cannabis and hemp operators and investors on regulatory, administrative law, real estate, land use, corporate, labor & employment, and intellectual property matters, providing advice and counsel honed to protect and expand cannabis access. Ranked by Chambers and Partners for Cannabis Law, ...
Rod Kight – Kight on Cannabis
Rod Kight is a cannabis business law attorney. Based in North Carolina and Mexico, Rod represents legal cannabis businesses throughout the world and is editor and chief writer of the Kight On Cannabis law blog (www.kightoncannabis.com). Rod is the author of “Cannabis Business Law-What You Need to Know”, published by Aspatore Books in August 2015. He has served on the advisory board and written a legal column for the American ...
Jeffrey Hoffman
Jeffrey Hoffman is a cannabis attorney and legalization activist with over 25 years of experience starting, operating, advising, and selling businesses. His legal practice focuses entirely on cannabis, including licensees in the adult-use cannabis market, patients and practitioners in the medical cannabis space, and cannabis adjacent product and service providers. He has a particular interest in justice involved individuals as well as social and economic equity cannabis license applicants. In ...
David Feldman – Feldman Legal Advisors
David Feldman concentrates his law practice on corporate and securities law and mergers and acquisitions, as well as general representation of public and private companies, entrepreneurs, investors, and private equity and venture capital firms. David has represented a wide range of clients in the legal cannabis and psychedelics industries since 2013. He provides guidance on private placements, public offerings, loan structuring and fund formation for cannabis companies, as well as ...
Richard Y. Cheng – Ritter Spencer Cheng, PLLC
Richard Y. Cheng, a managing member at Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC and brings a wealth of experience and expertise in corporate transactions, regulatory, compliance matters, specifically to the cannabis and healthcare industries. Through his traditional healthcare practice, Richard ventured into the cannabis industry in 2013. His contributions to the cannabis industry have been significant, representing a variety of clients (e.g. cultivators, investors, manufacturers, retailers, healthcare providers, third-party business) and earning ...
Marie Sanchez – Nooa Avocats
Marie Sanchez advises clients in the life sciences sector (including clients in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, food supplements and veterinary drugs sectors) by offering bespoke guidance on regulatory issues, litigation and contractual matters. She also has an extensive practice in the cannabis sector, advising clients on regulatory and strategic issues related to both the medical cannabis and wellness hemp markets in France and representing them in commercial litigations ...
Aaron Pelley – Gleam Law
Aaron Pelley is a pioneering attorney and Partner at Gleam Law, widely recognized as a trailblazer in cannabis and psychedelic law. With nearly 20 years of experience, he has been instrumental in drafting key legislation and establishing legal frameworks for emerging markets and high-risk industries. A Top 100 Trial Lawyer and multi-year "Super Lawyer," Aaron is a sought-after speaker whose legal insights have been featured in The New York Times, Vice News, and Newsweek. He currently serves ...
Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers – Full List
Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers – Bubbling Under
