Alissa "Alie" Jubelirer, general counsel of cannabis firm Revolution Enterprises.

Alissa "Ali" Jubelirer, a former in-house leader and executive for Groupon and Tribune Co., now Tribune Media, has joined a growing number of corporate counsel who have made a leap into the burgeoning cannabis industry.

As the new general counsel of Revolution Enterprises, Jubelirer will manage corporate and compliance matters for the Illinois-based company, which was founded in 2014 and grows, processes and dispenses cannabinoid products for people and pets.

Revolution now has more than 150,000 square feet of marijuana production space, including a main cultivation center in a remote location outside Chicago that has been described as the "Area 51 of pot" due to its high security and secrecy. The company is setting up operations in Florida and plans to expand to other states.

Jubelirer spoke with Corporate Counsel on Tuesday—her second day on the job—about why she went to work for a cannabis company and the regulatory and compliance challenges that lie ahead. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Corporate Counsel: Let's talk about your decision to leave Groupon. What were some of the factors you considered when you decided to make this transition?

Ali Jubelirer: I loved Groupon. I had an awesome run there and this was really not about leaving Groupon so much as jumping into what I considered to be an amazing opportunity to get in at the ground floor of a newish industry and really help build or enhance what Revolution has already accomplished in the few years that they've existed. When I started at Groupon it was 2011 and there were some similarities in terms of my excitement about getting in there and building. I'm ready to do it again.

CC: What was it that attracted you to the cannabis industry?

AJ: I think that the health and wellness aspect of it is really amazing, and there's still so much that we don't know in that respect. Because it's [marijuana] illegal under federal law, the research that's been done is in its infancy and I don't think we even yet understand all the health and wellness benefits. But I have personal experience with friends who have suffered from cancer and have found relief from using cannabis products. I've heard anecdotally from other friends about their experience with CBD about how it helps them sleep and reduces anxiety.

CC: It sounds like you enjoy working for startups.

AJ: I really do love the startup atmosphere. There's a lot of creativity around being able to come in and work with a little bit of an open space and really make your mark. I like the chaos of it and the nonstop nature of startups. I also like that you get to move in and out of your lane a little bit more than in a really big bureaucratic organization.

CC: As Rev expands nationally, you're going to have to deal with different state laws and gray areas. That lack of uniformity seems daunting.

AJ: It is a really big challenge. The regulatory framework in every state is different. With my background in global compliance, I've had the experience of having to work with patchworks of different laws in different countries. Even in the United States, with employment laws, for example, every state has different employment laws that you're going to have to comply with. I have experience managing that. But it is a big undertaking. For me, I'll have to get up to speed very quickly on the regulatory framework for each state and make sure that we have processes and policies in place so that we're complying. And then, of course, it will be training employees so that they also understand what's expected of them. And monitoring and enforcement of the regulatory framework—we take that very seriously because we want to make sure that we're doing things by the book and putting out exceptional products within that framework.  

CC: Can you get more specific about the main compliance and regulatory challenges that in-house lawyers in the cannabis industry are facing?

AJ: By way of example, each application process for licensing in each state is different, everything from what they want to hear from you about your plans for how you would roll out cultivation processing and dispensing in the state to details about your background in finances to your hiring, how you plan to staff. Every state has different requirements and there's sort of a point structure to that in terms of winning the license. The application process is the starting point for the many differences. Then if you win a license you need to comply with not only the state regulations but what you've told the state that you intend to do.

CC: Are you the only member of Rev's legal department at this point and will you be building the department?

AJ: There's another attorney here, Abdul Mohamed, and he's great. He's going to be reporting to me. I plan to build the legal department as we grow. We'll need to staff as many people as are required to make sure that we're complying with all these regulatory requirements as well as everything else that comes along, from employment to [intellectual property] needs to litigation. So we'll see.

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