OKLAHOMA CITY – Crowe & Dunlevy recently announced the appointment of attorneys Eric S. Fisher and J. Blake Johnson as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the firm’s Cannabis Industry Practice Group. They lead a team of attorneys representing the interests of more than 100 marijuana and hemp businesses in Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas and Arkansas, while bringing the resources and experience of a full-service corporate law firm to North America’s — and Oklahoma’s — fastest growing industry.
The growth of Oklahoma’s legal cannabis industries offers tremendous opportunity for innovative and responsible businesses. In addition to providing clients cannabis-related advice and assistance, Crowe & Dunlevy boasts a deep bench of legal professionals with even deeper roots in other practices areas including corporate law, taxation, labor and employment, environmental law, administrative and criminal investigation and defense, and other legal areas in which a growing business and evolving industry may need assistance.
Fisher serves as a director in the firm’s Oklahoma City office. In addition to working with clients in the cannabis industry, he frequently serves as outside general counsel to closely held companies, family businesses and entrepreneurs and their early stage and emerging market businesses, offering guidance and advice on all aspects of the organization, operation and financing of such businesses. Fisher graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree from Northwestern University before graduating with honors from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
As an associate working with cannabis-industry clients in the firm’s Oklahoma City office, Johnson was the founding member of the Cannabis Industry Practice Group. Experienced in all stages of litigation, he also works with entertainment industry, product liability and Indian law and gaming clients. He is an American Bar Association Appellate Advocacy National Championship quarterfinalist and received the National Order of Scribes Legal Writing Award. Johnson graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma before attending the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He received his law degree with several honors, including Order of the Coif, Order of the Barristers and Law Review.
Though Oklahoma’s medical-marijuana market is still in its infancy, Crowe & Dunlevy has advised and counseled clients in the legal-cannabis industry since 2017. The firm’s Cannabis Industry Practice Group currently works to provide businesses in the industry with crucial counsel concerning every facet of their development, operation and growth.