Legal News

High times for often unsuspecting "pot lawyers"

By Richard Binder

California's booming, half-legitimate marijuana economy is throwing off all kinds of legal work, and not just to attorneys advising medical co-ops. It's also meant fees for real estate and tax lawyers who may or may not know their clients' true revenue source. Because of the tension between state and federal law, these lawyers walk a delicate line between business adviser and criminal conspirator.

Under the Bush administration, federal prosecutors targeted real estate agents who allegedly facilitated marijuana growing operations, but not attorneys, said McGregor Scott, recently the U.S. attorney in California's Eastern District. In theory, Scott said, attorneys who know clients are involved in marijuana could be subject to aiding and abetting charges.

President Obama may take a softer line with medical pot: Last week, in response to DEA raids on dispensaries, a White House spokesman said "federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws." Still unclear, though, is how the feds ? and, for that matter, state prosecutors ? will treat large-scale commercial growers and the lawyers they hire. Beyond potential criminal liability, the professional ethics for attorneys are untested.

Read the full story at The Recorder.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on February 12, 2009 (boomark / email).