Cannabis Taxation: Preparing Your Client for the IRS Audit Ramp-Up

David Ruskin Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

David is a partner with the Chicago-based law firm, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.  Following 25 years of litigating business and tax disputes, in 2016 David turned his full energy to focus on providing legal counsel to the cannabis industry, representing entrepreneurs, investors and business owners, both plant touching and ancillary trades.

David Ruskin leads the firm's Cannabis practice. He advises both public and privately companies on a wide range of corporate issues including mergers, acquisitions, and financing and tax transactions. David counsels entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners to help achieve their goals in the Cannabis industry. He represents companies facing business and tax litigation and provides outside general counsel services.

Having worked with cannabis companies for nearly a decade, David’s cannabis practice touches every part of the industry. He represents national and expanding brands, licensed retailers, cultivators and processors, and delivery services. David also advises non-plant touching and start-up companies as they look to grow in the evolving industry, and he helps both investors and companies seeking capital create the appropriate agreement to accomplish their goals.

David helps clients navigate unsettled and differing statutes, regulations, and industry-specific legal developments. He enjoys guiding clients through the state licensing process and counseling on issues that arise from early-stage application steps through the company’s lifespan. David has assisted license holders from over 15 legalized states in expanding their operations into new jurisdictions, empowering them to enter new markets with compliance and confidence.

With extensive litigation experience, David represents clients in an array of issues litigated in the cannabis industry and beyond. He often represents clients in partnership, ownership, and contract disputes and defends clients involved in whistleblower (qui tam), False Claims Act claims, and multistate tax issues. David represents clients before state courts, administrative tax tribunals, appellate, and federal courts.

Prior to joining the firm, David was a partner in the Litigation Group and led the Cannabis practice at HMB Legal Counsel, a well-established, corporate-focused law firm based in Chicago, Illinois.

David was recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in 2024 for Cannabis Law and Closely and Privately Held Business Law by Leading Lawyers magazine.

Nick Richards Related Seminars and Products

Tax Partner

Greenspoon Marder LLP

Nick Richards is an experienced tax attorney, partner, and co-chair of the Cannabis Law practice group at Greenspoon Marder LLP. As a tax controversy attorney, he represents individuals and businesses in tax audits & trials, M&A, and in managing tax debt. He also advises cannabis companies, owners and investors regarding tax and regulatory compliance matters. Mr. Richards has been a tax attorney for more than twenty years beginning his career with the IRS where he was a leading trial attorney, a Chief Counsel advisor, and a Special Assistant United States Attorney.

With his broad experience and understanding at all phases of the tax system, from reporting and assessment through appeals, court, and tax debt resolution, Mr. Richards achieves successful legal solutions tailored to his individual client’s needs. Mr. Richards also teaches tax attorneys and CPAs throughout the US and he is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver, Graduate Tax Program.

Taxes can be stressful and Mr. Richards’ clients find relief in his broad experience in the IRS and in representing taxpayers large and small. He understands the tax system, provides informed advice, and protects taxpayers from the mistakes and missteps of those less experienced. Several years after leaving the IRS, he represented a Colorado cannabis company in one of the first IRS audits in the legalized industry. Since that ground-breaking case, he has gone on to successfully represent companies in many cities, states, courts and before the federal government. In addition to tax audits, trials and collections, he is widely recognized as a leading cannabis industry attorney and has extensive experience in IRC Section 280E and BSA cash reporting requirements. His knowledge of the tax system is essential when advising business owners and investors, particularly in mergers, acquisitions and entity formation.

Nick Richards is a father of two young children, a proud husband, a music fan, and he enjoys the outdoors when not fighting for his clients.

Katye Maxson-Landis Related Seminars and Products

Moxy Accounting

Jessica Velazquez, CPA, CFE Related Seminars and Products

Principal, Cannabis Practice Leader

BeachFleischman PLLC

Jessica Velazquez is a Principal and Cannabis Practice Leader for BeachFleischman. She specializes in delivering comprehensive tax and advisory services to entrepreneurs and businesses. Fluent in English and Spanish, Jessica excels at tailoring tax strategies and solutions to meet the needs of her diverse client base. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in Nevada and Illinois.

Jessica is a dedicated social justice advocate who has spent much of her 20-year career championing the success of women and minority business owners.

Areas of Specialty:

• 280E and IRC 471 Consulting
• Audits
• Forensic Accounting
• Strategic Business Planning
• Tax Planning & Preparation
• Industry Experience
• Cannabis
• Financial & Professional Services

Education:

• DePaul University, Master of Science in Taxation
• Southern Illinois University, Bachelor of Science in Accounting
• Professional Associations and Activities
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• National Association of Tax Professionals