Mike has lived and worked in the Boston area since 2006. His path to New England was a winding one, having been born on the west coast and spending his formative years in Auburn, Alabama, the son of a physics professor. He left Alabama to attend the University of Virginia, where he got dual degrees in Political and Social Thought and African-American Studies. After taking a year off to rock climb, Mike went to the University of Michigan Law School, where he graduated cum laude in 2004. He was a member of the Journal of Race and Law, publishing an article on Fair and Facially Neutral Higher Education Admissions Through Disparate Impact Analysis.   

Mike’s law practice spans both litigation and transactional work. In 2013, he cofounded a software company, serving as general counsel and COO for seven years. Prior to that he was a litigator and public policy advocate, working on matters of public interest, including employment, housing and real estate, and healthcare. He now offers that broad, pragmatic experience to emerging companies in general corporate matters. Mike gets excited to help creative and motivated people realize their visions and build great companies in the process.  

He is a founding board member of Union Capital Boston, a growing, local nonprofit that’s quickly making a name for itself as an innovative program for low-income communities to build social capital. He also has a diverse pro bono practice, involving immigration law, public benefits litigation, and supporting small business. Outside of work, it is easier to list the things Mike doesn’t like - television news and vanilla ice cream. Otherwise, if it’s interesting, Mike likes it, especially sports, music, and anything irreverent.

Bob Nichols is Corporate Counsel at Kiva Brands, Inc., a leading cannabis edibles company and cannabis distributor.  Bob is licensed to practice in California and Washington, DC.

Previously, Bob was a partner and owner of Kind Law, a boutique law firm located in Santa Rosa, CA for almost five years.  At Kind Law, Bob served cannabis companies throughout the supply chain, ancillary companies, and other clients with issues related to transactional matters, company formation, governance, M&A, financing, real estate matters, commercial contracts, and legal disputes. 

Before joining Kind Law, Bob represented large Fortune 500 companies in Washington, DC for over five years as an associate at two national law firms.

Chelsie Spencer is a cannabis and hemp attorney. She is a founding member of Ritter Spencer PLLC. Chelsie practices in the areas of medical marijuana and hemp and represents clients across those industries for their business law and compliance needs. Chelsie represents all facets of the cannabis and hemp industries, including dispensaries, growers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, and more. Forbes Magazine dubbed Chelsie the “rare friendly face in the midst of a cutthroat CBD hurricane, the person you want on speed dial when things turn sour” for her work in the cannabidiol (CBD) industry. In addition to navigating complex issues and transactions in these highly regulated industries, she frequently writes, speaks, and presents on issues affecting these industries at conferences and forums across the United States.

Chelsie’s practice also focuses on transactional issues in commercial law and in intellectual property. Chelsie has secured registration of numerous federal trademarks and copyrights for her clients and manages worldwide trademark portfolios, in addition to handling trademark and copyright licensing, consent, coexistence, and assignment agreements for a variety of industries.

Chelsie’s litigation experience includes enforcing and defending claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, patent infringement, false designation of origin, trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and tortious interference with contract, among others. She is licensed in both Texas and Florida and has represented clients in federal and state litigation throughout the nation, at both the trial and appellate level. She has tried numerous cases to verdict in both state and federal courts and has secured dismissal of multiple federal lawsuits.

Nicole Grimm is a partner with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB) and serves as Chair of the firm’s Cannabis Practice Group. She concentrates her practice on intellectual property matters, including patent procurement, counseling, inter partes review proceedings, and litigation. In particular, she prepares and prosecutes patent applications, prepares freedom to operate and patentability opinions, and handles global patent portfolios for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and cannabis clients. She has also litigated cases involving patent, trade dress, and copyright infringement before U.S. District Courts.

Nicole co-founded the Cannabis Practice Group at MBHB to address the intellectual property needs of this emerging market. She frequently writes and speaks on issues related to intellectual property protection for cannabis businesses.

Nicole is a licensed attorney in Illinois and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, her M.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado, and her B.A. in Biochemistry from McDaniel College.  

While in law school, Nicole served as an intern for the Honorable Martin P. Welch, Chief Judge, 8th Judicial Circuit at the Baltimore City Circuit Court. Prior to law school, Nicole worked for The Johns Hopkins University as a research technologist.