The Legal 500 > Canada > Canada > Cannabis

A prime-mover in the cannabis space, Bennett Jones LLP’s focus on building a full-service offering has paid dividends, and the firm houses a well-rounded industry group across its Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary offices. The national department is led jointly from Toronto by IP litigator Dominique Hussey and corporate finance specialist Aaron Sonshine, who recently led the firm’s advice to Cresco Labs on its $100m oversubscribed funding round, which represented the second-largest private funding round in US cannabis history. In addition to its corporate finance experience, the practice group has specialist expertise in M&A, consumer markets, agribusiness and health law. In 2019, the team welcomed the arrival of Curtis Cusinato, who was formerly head of the corporate group at Stikeman Elliott LLP. Ranjeev Dhillon and Rami Chalabi left to join McCarthy Tétrault.

Dentons has a prolific cannabis practice, which counts some of the largest producers and distributors in North America among its clients. Though it is perhaps best known for its corporate finance expertise, the department draws upon the firm’s full-service offering to advise industry participants on M&A deals, celebrity partnership transactions, cannabis supply agreements and regulatory issues. The wider firm’s global network, particularly its US platform, is also an attractive feature for rapidly growing cannabis companies looking to expand into new markets. Toronto-based group head Eric Foster is widely recognized as a thought leader in the industry. In 2019, regulatory specialist James Wishart left to join client Canopy Growth.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP’s multi-disciplinary group stands out for the diversity of its practice and its geographical coverage. The firm benefits from overseas offices in New York, London and Beijing, and has notched up an impressive number of cross-border deals, advising on the Canadian aspects of transactions involving the US, Australia, Africa and Europe. Clients include domestic and international companies from across the industry, but it is particularly active for cannabis licensees. Finance specialist Alexis Levine is the key senior contact, while associate Chris Nyberg is recognized as a rising star in the cannabis industry.

McMillan LLP has positioned itself as a key player in Canada’s cannabis sector, having recently secured plum roles in several transformative transactions. In particular, its close relationship with Aurora Cannabis (the world’s second-largest cannabis producer) has led to a string of high-profile engagements. Most notably, the team advised Aurora on its C$3.2bn acquisition of MedReleaf in July 2018, which represented the largest merger in the Canadian cannabis space to-date. Entertainment and sports specialist Desmond Balakrishnan and capital markets partner James Munro are the key contacts in the Vancouver office.

Torys LLP’s multi-disciplinary practice combines a top-tier corporate offering with strong expertise in food and drug regulation and life sciences. The firm advises a wide range of industry players, including blue-chip companies, licensed producers and start-ups, across the full cannabis ecosystem, with medical cannabis standing out as a particular strong suit. The practice group in jointly led from Toronto by Eileen McMahon, who chairs the intellectual property and food and drug regulatory practices, and life sciences head Cheryl Reicin.

Toronto-based Aird & Berlis LLP has a presence in the mid-market and has used its historical strength in advising early stage companies to its advantage in the cannabis sector. Clients are drawn from the medical and recreational spheres and include producers, distributors and healthcare organizations. The group has experience across the full spread of transactional and regulatory matters, but corporate finance remains the key driver of activity, and the team is routinely involved in financing and go-public transactions. Capital markets co-head Sherri Altshuler and corporate finance partner Richard Kimel are the key contacts.

Fasken’s cannabis practice is best known for its robust regulatory offering, which is complemented by the wider firm’s strength in securities and M&A. The team acts for the full range of industry clients, including licensed producers, distributors and suppliers, and also draws on firm’s financial services expertise to act for lenders to and insurers of industry participants. Communications specialist Barbara Miller heads the department from Toronto and has a strong background in regulatory and transactional matters.

Gowling WLG’s national practice strikes a balance between transactional and regulatory matters, with the firm’s signature IP strength being a considerable asset on the advertising and product regulatory fronts. The firm also punches above its weight on the capital markets side, enjoying a significant recent run of cross-border deals involving the US and Latin America. Jointly led by Ottawa-based regulatory specialist Lewis Retik and corporate finance partner Peter Simeon in Toronto, the multi-disciplinary industry group also draws upon the expertise of partners in the real estate and litigation departments.

In a significant boost to McCarthy Tétrault’s ambitions in the cannabis space, the firm recently bolstered its industry expertise with the hires of recognized specialist Ranjeev Dhillon and talented younger partner Rami Chalabi, both of whom joined the Toronto office from Bennett Jones LLP. The firm has industry experience in securities transactions, M&A, joint ventures and regulatory matters, and is especially active on the lender side of financing deals, where it leverages its strong banking relationships.

Norton Rose Fulbright’s cannabis practice has a particular focus on regulatory matters. Under the leadership of Toronto-based Sara Zborovski, the practice group has provided regulatory advice to clients such as Auxly Cannabis Group, the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, and KushCo Bottle Supply. The team can also utilize the wider firm’s national business group for transactional support when needed, with Vancouver-based corporate finance partner Michael Posnikoff being a particular asset transactional side.

IP heavyweight Smart & Biggar is a popular choice for regulatory and commercial matters. Comprising a cross-practice team of lawyers from the IP, life sciences, compliance and marketing areas, the cannabis law group is geared to provide key industry brands advice on licensing, commercialization, patent and trademark issues. Toronto-based life sciences specialist Alice Tseng and Vancouver-based IP partner Theodore Sum lead the department.