Lukian Kobzeff (left) and Justin Keller partners at Rimon Law.

Fast-growing midsize law firm Rimon is expanding its cannabis and hemp practice by adding a five-attorney group from Los Angeles-based cannabis boutique, Frontera Law Group.

The group consists of two partners, Justin Keller and Lukian Kobzeff, and associates Alexandra Brown, Paul Castillo and Patrick Devine. They have joined Rimon's Los Angeles office.

"We became really sold on Rimon, because of their global reach, their full-service ability to represent the client in all capacities, [and] their innovative kind of structure," Keller said. He also noted "a lot of synergies between the kind of ancillary related services that our cannabis clients would need, and the types of attorneys and the practices that they had here" at Rimon.

Keller joined Frontera Law Group from Kirtland & Packard in June 2016, while Kobzeff joined the Los Angeles firm a few months earlier from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith's Las Vegas office. The two partners have been building their cannabis practice since then, where Keller assists cannabis industry clients in all stages with transactions and regulatory compliance, and Kobzeff primarily works with early-stage companies.

"I basically showed up into the cannabis industry at the same time as California was starting to move toward legalization," said Kobzeff. That has allowed him to be on the "front lines" of the industry as it changes, he said.

Echoing Kobzeff's sentiment, Keller added that, because they have witnessed the evolution of California cannabis law over time, they have "strong grasp" on the regulatory component of the law.

"It really does feel that we're talking dog years in terms of the growth curve, and in terms of the amount of experience that you accumulate in a relatively short period of time," he said.

With the group's addition, Rimon has about 11 attorneys in its cannabis law practice, according to the firm's website. Rimon CEO Michael Moradzadeh said, "Rimon is already in the process of talking to other cannabis lawyers."

"We see cannabis as a great industry to expand our team, nationally and internationally," Moradzadeh added.

Frontera Law Group did not respond to requests for comment on the group's departure.

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