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Companies in the cannabis industry are often worried about the laws they have to comply with regarding the product they sell. However, compliance in the cannabis space means more than knowing how the states treat cannabis or the Food and Drug Administration’s position on CBD, the compound cannabidiol, according to Ian Stewart and Garrett Graff.

Stewart, partner and chair of the national cannabis practice at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker in Los Angeles, and Graff, managing partner at Hoban Law Group in Denver, advise cannabis companies on compliance. They said companies need to be aware of employment laws and focus heavily on how products are labeled. One emerging issue related to labeling is when employees fail a drug test and believe they would not fail because a product was labeled as “THC free.”

“Consumers think ‘I can pass a drug test for cannabinoids,’” Stewart explained. “Then when they fail, they’re turning around and filing deceptive business practice suits against the companies.”

What are some of your regulatory concerns working in the legal department of a cannabis company? Let me know by sending me an email to [email protected].

What’s Happening

Suing The School

Two former in-house attorneys at Louisiana State University filed suit against the university, three administrators, including the general counsel, claiming gender discrimination and retaliation.

Katherine Muslow, general counsel of LSU’s Health Science Center, and Meredith Cunningham, who worked part-time as in-house counsel under Muslow, filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Louisiana. They claim Muslow’s salary of $182,475 in 2017 was $45,045 below the minimum for her pay grade and more than $132,000 below the midpoint. Cunningham also claims her pay was well below the minimum while men in the office received salaries exceeding the $162,242 midpoint.

After the legal departments at the university were consolidated, Cunningham and Muslow asked that their salaries be raised to match their male counterparts. Their employment contracts were later rescinded and their positions were “retired.”

Lacking Diversity

Nearly 60% of IP corporate counsel believe they have been discriminated against for being a woman, ethnic minority and/or LGBTQ, according to the results of a survey published by Managing Intellectual Property magazine.

“What is clear from the survey results is that a lack of diversity remains and many respondents have experienced discrimination because of their background,” the report stated.

Despite the high number of attorneys who’ve seen discrimination, 85% of respondents indicated their companies have diversity and inclusion initiatives, mostly focused on women, LGBTQ, and mental health or wellness issues. Around 22% of respondents said they wanted their companies to focus on issues related to ethnic minorities.

What I’ve Been Reading

Lawyers working in corporate legal departments in Singapore have one of the hardest jobs in the business, according to the Singapore Business Review. With an evolution in several laws, including those on employment and data privacy, GCs are constantly on their feet trying to keep up in Singapore. Combining that with shrinking budgets and a “do more with less” attitude, working in-house in Singapore is an evolution of its own.

The top executives of companies need to be more mindful of insider threats when it comes to cybersecurity, a panel at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference said last week, according to a report in PC Magazine. Dorian Daley, the general counsel of Oracle, said Oracle has a cybersecurity oversight committee. She said the committee does a “corporate colonoscopy” to look for issues and to correct them.

Stacy Hostetter, the general counsel of CannaCraft, told an audience at the Cannabis Drinks Expo that a lot of the rules regarding CBD in drinks “are relatively subjective,” according to a report in the North Bay Business Journal. She said companies that have questions should ask for guidance because regulators are willing to work with those companies.

Don’t Miss

Tuesday, Aug. 6 – The Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel will be hosting an event on ethics at the Philadelphia Marriott West in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Topics will include best practices for defending against and preventing antitrust claims, attorney client privelege, and data privacy and cybersecurity compliance.

Thursday, Sept. 12 to Friday, Sept. 13 – ALM will be hosting its Corporate Counsel Forum Europe at the Pennyhill Park & Spa in Surrey, United Kingdom. Speakers at the event will include Huma Allana, vice president of legal at Coca-Cola European; Libby Campetti, legal director at Reckitt Benckiser; and Simon Croxford, general counsel, investment bank and Europe, the Middle East and Africa at UBS.

Monday, Sept. 23 to Tuesday, Sept. 24 – The American Property Casualty Insurance Association will be hosting the National General Counsel Conference Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region Government Relations Meeting. Speakers include Laura Lazarczyk, chief legal officer of Zurich North America; Elizabeth Brodeur, corporate counsel and director of legal and regulatory compliance at Safety Insurance; and Gwendolyn Fuller McGriff, deputy director, legal, legislative and external affairs and general counsel at South Carolina Department of Insurance.

On The Move

✦ Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. ✦ Steve Calkins was hired as the chief legal officer at the Arcadia, Wisconsin-based furniture company. He will be based in Tampa, Florida and lead the company’s legal function and international operations including business transactions, compliance and regulatory issues. Calkins previously worked as the chief legal officer at Office Depot.

✦ Nordstrom Inc. ✦ Ann Munson Steines has been made the general counsel of the Seattle-based clothing outlet. She previously worked in-house at Macy’s and was responsible for “all aspects of employment law and legal matters relating to retail operations.” She replaces Robert Sari who retired from Nordstrom in March.

✦ El Pollo Loco ✦ Jason Weintraub will join the California-based fast food chain on Aug. 29 as the chief legal officer. Weintraub previously served as the legal director and head of international business affairs and senior director of business and legal affairs at Taco Bell.