Emily became passionate about pursuing a legal career in the cannabis industry while attending Vanderbilt University Law School, as she had the opportunity to enroll in one of the nation’s first marijuana law and policy courses, taught by leading marijuana law scholar, Professor Robert Mikos. She also assisted Professor Mikos with writing a first-of-its-kind casebook entitled, “Marijuana Law, Policy, and Authority,” acquiring in-depth knowledge of the various state regulations governing cannabis consumers, producers, and third parties.
Over the past 3 1/2 years, she has done everything from advising clients on Canadian and U.S. securities laws governing marijuana-related business transactions, and preparing written testimony for local land use hearings on behalf of clients seeking state-issued licenses, to drafting FDA-compliant disclaimers for CBD and Industrial-Hemp derived products in the absence of FDA guidance. She has researched and written on a wide range of legal and policy issues related to legalization, ranging from the availability of intellectual property rights in the cannabis industry to employment law protections for cannabis consumers, and the First Amendment implications of marketing and advertising restrictions. By incorporating expert knowledge of the federal and state legal, regulatory, and policy environment with in-depth understanding of the business considerations relevant to operating in the cannabis industry, Emily is uniquely positioned to help clients successfully navigate the emerging cannabis market.
In addition to representing and advising individuals and businesses seeking cannabis licenses and securing final approval for pre-approved licensees, she also works with medical professionals and ancillary businesses working at the intersection of conflicting federal-state marijuana laws. Emily excels at helping clients identify, anticipate, and navigate existing and future legal concerns by combining her unique expertise in marijuana law, policy, and regulation with in-depth knowledge of the nascent cannabis industry and lifelong exposure to federal and state policymaking.
Prior to launching Legally Burns, LLC, Emily was an attorney at Offit Kurman, P.A., working in the firm’s cannabis law practice group, and worked for a boutique marijuana business law firm based in Portland, Oregon. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland School of Law, where her work focused on the regulation of cannabis and tobacco in the context of public health policy. Emily received her J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School, where she was an Honors Scholar. She received a B.A. in Public Policy and Minor in Political Science, summa cum laude, from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.