That's Appealing
Welcome to That’s Appealing—a LawUpdates.com videocast. Here you can help yourself to our special house-blend of legal news, analysis, and commentary about appellate practice and appellate court decisions of interest to the business community, all accompanied by pearls of wisdom from distinguished guests including business executives and consultants, appellate and trial court judges, and experienced lawyers.
We're not worthy! An appealing conversation with Ryan Hurley - Ep. 2
Ryan Hurley was one of the first attorneys in Arizona to represent cannabis businesses in regulatory and transactional matters after Arizona decriminalized the cultivation, manufacture, sale, use, and possession of medical marijuana. Today he serves as General Counsel at Copperstate Farms, one of the largest greenhouse cannabis producers in North America. Join Robert as he interviews Ryan about the value he places on the services of appellate counsel.
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This Week's Guest - Ryan Hurley
Ryan Hurley is General Counsel at Copperstate Farms, and a Dispensary Agent for Holistic Patient Wellness Group, Inc., the largest medical cannabis grower in the Southwest. HPWG operates a 40 Acre greenhouse in Northern AZ. Prior to joining Copperstate, Ryan was a partner at Rose Law Group, Rich, Hurley in Scottsdale, AZ where he led the law firm’s Cannabis Practice Group. He has a background in land use and zoning law, environmental and water issues, renewable energy and a wide variety of regulatory compliance and administrative law issues. Along with his law degree Ryan has a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Arizona College of Agriculture.
Ryan has been involved in AZ’s MMJ program since the very beginning assisting clients with all aspects of AZ’s medical marijuana law but primarily focusing on the business of MMJ and helping clients apply for and secure dispensary licenses from the AZ Department of Health Services and to operate in compliance with AZDHS Rules. He is a frequent presenter at marijuana seminars and conferences throughout the country and is a tireless advocate for marijuana reform and for marijuana patients and businesses in myriad interviews and appearances on TV, print and radio. Mr. Hurley was the attorney for the Arizona Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol a committee to legalize marijuana for adult-use in Arizona in 2016 and is deeply involved in the effort for a 2020 initiative. Ryan is one of the founding members of the National Cannabis Industry Association and also currently sits as the Vice President of the Arizona Dispensaries Association, of which he is a founding member. Ryan has been committed to the entire cannabis space from day one and continues to be a thought leader for this emerging industry.
Your Host - Robert Mandel
An accomplished appellate and trial court advocate, Robert Mandel has nearly three decades of experience vigilantly, zealously, and effectively representing clients in business and regulatory disputes both domestically and internationally. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© and other peer-review journals, Mr. Mandel leads the firm’s appellate practice and litigates in trial and appellate courts throughout Arizona and beyond.
Mr. Mandel’s appellate engagements frequently involve a panoply of business, constitutional, or public law issues, conflicting legal doctrines and public policies, novel legal questions, and robust trial court records. He spearheads appeals from final judgments, preliminary injunctions, and other interlocutory decrees, petitions for writs of certiorari or mandamus, appellate motion practice, and amicus curiae briefs. Astute clients avail themselves of Mr. Mandel’s appellate experience before the trial court action concludes, however. In those circumstances, he collaborates with the trial team to avoid an unfavorable outcome and to optimize the record for appeal by crafting the jury instructions, composing bench memoranda, formulating post-trial motions, presenting oral argument, and more.
Beyond his notable appellate practice, Mr. Mandel is a veteran business litigator. Over the past 27 years, he has represented an array of public and private companies and individuals in disputes involving claims of statutory, common law, and constructive fraud, negligence and negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, business interference, unfair competition, false advertising, trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, shareholder and corporate claims, conversion, breach of private and public contracts, unjust enrichment, fraudulent transfer, construction design defect, together with a variety of real property claims. Mr. Mandel’s clients represent a wide variety of traditional and emergent industries and business sectors.