In few places are lawyers more necessary or more helpful than in emerging industries where the rules are made up as the industry grows up. Few industries today need lawyers—and good lawyers—more than the growing cannabis industry.

Marijuana is now legal in some form in 33 states and Washington, D.C., each with its own complex and evolving set of regulatory and tax regimes. Navigating these laws and regulations, and knowing when and how to challenge them in order to help clarify and define the law, requires lawyers skilled in advising their cannabis-industry clients on the requirements of law at all levels. States that have passed such laws and regulations are counting on skilled attorneys to make these complex regimes work in practice. Without lawyers, they are unlikely to accomplish the goal of ensuring a safe, well-supervised, industry.