Biography
Lauren Rudick is the Founder and Managing Principal of the new, female-led, boutique business law firm, Rudick Law Group, PLLC, with offices in New York City and Jersey City.
A “recovering litigator,” Lauren practiced commercial litigation for ten (10) years, during which time she successfully represented clients in a wide variety of business, intellectual property, and Internet/media disputes, while contributing to the Firm’s land use and zoning practice. With a trained and sensitive eye for keeping clients out of litigation and a penchant for deal-making, Lauren has refocused her career on start-up law, regulatory compliance, M&A, and commercial and secured transactions. Lauren has also developed a niche in running due diligence, salvaging deals that have turned south, mitigating against legal exposure, and identifying and remedying abuse or misuse of corporate power and form.
Prior to starting her own firm, Lauren was the co-founder of Hiller, PC’s cannabis law practice, having come to the cannabis industry through her mother’s end of life care. What started as a passion project in patient rights during a brief residency in California, Lauren has become one of the Nation’s preeminent attorneys providing legal services to cannabis industry players in the “Green Rush.” Lauren provides clients with the most up-to-date information necessary to operate and invest in successful cannabis and ancillary businesses. With a unique, interdisciplinary, and holistic approach to cannabis business licensing, Lauren has run successful applications in competitive medical cannabis states and adult-use markets alike. Lauren is also a member of the legal team that brought an action against former Attorney General Sessions and the federal government seeking, among other things, a declaration that the mis-classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug is unconstitutional, on, among other things, due process, equal protection, free speech, and commerce clause grounds. With increasing frequency, Lauren has also been representing investors and start-up organizations in cannabis adjacent industries, including psychedelics and Ag Tech.
Lauren is an Expert Contributor to Marijuana Venture Magazine, a frequent speaker at national and local events, including, among others, the Emerald Cup, MJ Biz Con, the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition, the Women Grow Leadership Summit, BevNet, the International Cannabis Bar Association, and the National Cannabis Industry Association, and has provided pro bono legal and advocacy services to the Drug Policy Alliance, Compassionate Care New York, and the Cannabis Cultural Association. She has appeared on local and national television networks, including CBS, ABC, and Fox, has been quoted in numerous cannabis and non-cannabis publications including, among others, The New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, Inc., Rolling Stone, Forbes, HERB, Daily Cannabis Observer, Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Business Daily, Leafly, the Weed Blog, Weed News, and the Fresh Toast. In 2022, Lauren was recognized by PoliticsNY as a Cannabis Industry “Power Player,” which organization which also named her as a Power Woman of Manhattan, also in 2022. For the past four years, Lauren has been serving on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the International Cannabis Bar Association, as the organization’s Treasurer. In 2021, Lauren was appointed as a Vice-Chair of the Cannabis Law and Policy Committee of the American Bar Association. And since 2021, she has been serving on the Board of Directors for Breeder’s Best, a private record-label style producer of unique cannabis genetics.