Mr Lewis Retik > Gowling WLG > Ottawa, Canada > Lawyer Profile

Gowling WLG
SUITE 2600
160 ELGIN STREET
OTTAWA, ON K1P 1C3
Canada

Position

Leader, Food and Beverage Group and Co-Leader, Cannabis Group

Career

Lewis Retik is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office. He leads the Food and Beverage Group and co-leads the Cannabis Group.

His practice is focused primarily on regulatory and commercial law with respect to commercializing regulated products, including: regulatory licencing, product distribution, product classification, manufacturing, advertising, packaging, and labelling.

Lewis has extensive experience working with companies of all sizes, ranging from recent startups to large international companies in regulated industries, including: food, natural health products, cosmetic, drugs, and technology. He also addresses regulatory compliance and commercial issues that relate to e-commerce, multi-level marketing, direct selling, consumer protection, and products that use the radio frequency spectrum.

He is often responsible for working with clients to develop regulatory strategies that are both consumer-friendly and compliant.

In addressing client issues, Lewis regularly interacts with senior government officials within such departments and agencies as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Competition Bureau, Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Environment Canada.

Lawyer Rankings

Canada > Cannabis

An increasingly prominent firm in the cannabis sphere, Gowling WLG added 11 new clients to its roster over the past year. Distinguished by its ability to lean on the wider firm’s signature IP offering, the team shines in regulatory and IP-related issues, with sources highlighting its ‘extraordinary level of unique regulatory knowledge’. It also houses a robust transactional practice, which recently saw Toronto-based Peter Simeon advise IM Cannabis Corp on three strategic acquisitions completed through IMC Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of IM Cannabis and IMC Pharma. Ottawa-based regulatory specialist Lewis Retik co-heads the practice alongside Simeon. Toronto-based IP partner Natalie Rizkalla-Kamel is also noted.