Miller Nash LLP is pleased to welcome attorney Ben Pirie to the firm’s Portland office. Pirie joins the firm’s leading cannabis industry team, assisting cannabis businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest on a wide range of corporate and regulatory needs. Pirie advises on mergers and acquisitions, negotiating complex contracts and corporate governance, as well as regulatory compliance in the emerging cannabis and hemp industries. Before joining Miller Nash, Pirie was a solo practitioner, where in 2015 he organized the LLCs that received some of the first Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) retail licenses, and then practiced at a mid-sized, regional firm.
About Ben Pirie
Since the passage of Oregon’s Measure 91, Pirie has helped cannabis clients from labs to retailers to obtain and keep every type of recreational marijuana license from the OLCC. He is experienced in structuring complex transactions that provide cannabis brands with access to interstate markets without violating state laws or federal enforcement priorities. Pirie has been recognized nationally for his work in the cannabis industry as a “Leader in Their Field” by Chambers USA, and currently serves on the executive committee of the Oregon State Bar Cannabis Law Section. Pirie received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University before earning his law degree at Lewis & Clark Law School.
About Miller Nash’s Cannabis Practice
Miller Nash’s multi-disciplinary team provides assistance to a wide range of cannabis and hemp clients operating in each tier of the industry, including producers, processors, distributors/wholesalers, retailers, transporters, and quality assurance labs. They assist cannabis clients with business formation, license application and updates, general business operations and contracting, regulatory compliance, tax planning, administrative violations, business disputes, and acquisition, sale, divestiture, and dissolution. In addition to business and transactional matters, they provide a full range of dispute resolution services involving regulatory enforcement actions, business partner disputes, receiverships, and tax disputes. They also advise investors, financial institutions, real estate developers and owners, software developers, technology companies, and vendors navigate the risks involved in working with licensed cannabis companies.
