Lisa Pittman, of counsel at Coats Rose. who focuses on medical marijuana, cannabis and hemp law, has been appointed as a Nonresident Fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy as a part of the Drug Policy Program. Pittman, who is based in Austin, serves as co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis Business Law practice. In this two-year fellowship, Pittman will focus on legal issues regarding medical marijuana and the hemp industry. “Moved by the testimony of mothers with children with epilepsy in support of the Texas Compassionate Use Act, I began to learn more about cannabis as medicine in 2014, leading to my practicing law in this emerging industry, which included moving to Colorado for two years to learn the issues,” said Pittman, in a statement by the firm. “I am deeply honored and privileged to have received this prestigious appointment five years later from one of the most respected Universities in the country, which demonstrates how far this movement has come,” Pittman continued. “With the support of the Baker Institute, I will be able to continue my pursuit of cannabis policy reform in Texas, which will benefit our clients and all Texans.” 

Pittman has 20 years’ experience in litigating and trying disputes relating to labor and employment, breach of contract, commercial banking, fraud, fiduciary duty, construction defect and injury, deceptive trade practices, premises liability, professional liability, and products liability, as well as in complex commercial insurance coverage matters. She advises clients on the many challenges facing cannabis and hemp businesses, such as tax, banking, insurance, and regulatory compliance issues. Her efforts spurred the American Bar Association to form a Cannabis Law & Policy Task Force, on which she served as a founding Steering Committee member, and she also serves as the chair of publications and programming on the recently formed standing Cannabis Law and Policy Committee, for which she is chair-elect. After working in the 2019 legislative session toward the passage of a hemp law in Texas, in January 2020, Pittman was appointed to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Council.

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