Surrounded by Stressors: Attorney Suicide Risk, Mental Health, and Competence

Mitzi Vaughn Related Seminars and Products

Founder

MV Law PLLC

Mitzi Vaughn is the founder of MV Law PLLC, a law firm she founded when Karr Tuttle Campbell, a firm with 120 years of history in Seattle, closed its doors. She is an internationally recognized attorney who has spent more than a decade providing high-level corporate, mergers, and acquisitions service to cannabis and hemp clients as well as clients in more traditional industries. Her skill set includes complex transactions, regulatory compliance, national and international expansion, and governance. Mitzi was a founding board member of the International Cannabis Bar Association and currently sits on its Advisory Board.

Mitzi has spoken in Zurich, in the Irish Parliament (Oireachtas), and before the Hawai'i Legislature; she consulted with the Jamaican Cannabis Licensing Authority prior to their medical rollout. She has negotiated and drafted Washington State cannabis laws, regulations, and policies, and has served as General Counsel to The Cannabis Alliance (WA) for nearly a decade. Mitzi was a Board Member for the Drug Reform Coordination Network, an international drug policy organization which has consultative status at the United Nations. She now sits on its Advisory Board.  

Mitzi was awarded a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, studied international human rights at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and earned a B.A. in History, magna cum laude, from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Rae Guyse, JD Related Seminars and Products

Associate Attorney

Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC

Rae Guyse is an Associate Attorney in the cannabis and litigation practice groups at Ritter Spencer with a particular interest in supporting clients in the emerging hemp, cannabis and alternative medicine industries. Rae’s practice also focuses on trademark, business formation, and other transactional matters. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2020, Rae began her legal practice as an insurance recovery attorney, where she gained experience representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes to maximize recovery in claims against insurers. Rae is skilled at analyzing insurance programs to identify holes or overlaps in coverage and can support clients in developing creative solutions to unique risk management challenges. Rae has also gained significant experience representing clients in various industries in complex commercial litigation matters.

Richard Y. Cheng, Esq., CHC Related Seminars and Products

Managing Member

Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC

Richard Y. Cheng, a distinguished member at Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC, brings a wealth of experience and expertise in corporate transactions, regulatory, compliance matters, and administrative appeals. His profound knowledge of healthcare and corporate M&A law has led him to represent a diverse range of investment platforms (e.g. private equity, family offices, venture capital funds) and healthcare providers ranging from post-acute care providers (e.g. skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, hospices, and home health agencies), hospitals, physician groups, ancillary providers, behavioral health facilities, management service organizations, dental services organizations, NPHOs and veterinarians. Richard’s adeptness in navigating various healthcare regulations has solidified his reputation as a trusted legal advisor in healthcare law.

At Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC, Richard leads the healthcare and corporate M&A practice, offering representation to a broad range of investors, healthcare organizations and providers. His extensive background includes dealing with the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, HIPAA, EKRA, CMP assessments, corporate practice of medicine and dentistry laws, and state related regulations. Prior to forming Ritter Spencer Cheng, PLLC, Richard was an equity partner at an Am Law 100 global law firm where he was a member of the corporate practice group, healthcare section and chaired the firm’s hemp / regulated products practice group.

In addition to his traditional healthcare practice, Richard developed a cannabis regulatory and corporate practice starting in late 2013. As a leading cannabis attorney, Richard served as outside general counsel to the Texas Cannabis Industry Association, co-authored a FDA primer in preparation for the 2019 FDA public hearing on CBD products and has been named a top 250 cannabis legal expert by DataBird Research Journal. He represents a broad base of cannabis related clients, including, private equity groups investing in the cannabis industry, physicians, medical marijuana dispensaries, seed developers, cultivators, processors, wholesalers, retailers, distribution centers and ancillary providers (e.g. testing labs, biomass brokerage firms, etc.) and marketers. Richard created and taught the cannabis law course at the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law where he served as an adjunct faculty from 2020-2022.

Jacquesline Walker, LICSW, CSM-C, CCTP Related Seminars and Products

Founder | CEO

The Well Firm

Jacquesline is a Clinical Psychotherapist, Founder and CEO of The Well Firm. Her early work was spent investigating high level crimes against children, often collaborating with the DC OAG, DCPD, and the FBI. Jacquesline's time working in this field helped inform her practice supporting professionals in high stress industries, specifically the law profession. She is a subject matter expert on the impacts of stress and trauma in professional spaces.

Jacquesline's work with numerous AM100 and Vault 10 firms includes facilitated workshops, professional development trainings, and holding space for firms whose people have been impacted by various traumas. She develops firm specific workshops and delivers talks around lawyer well-being, emotional intelligence, stress management & resilience, and racial trauma.

Jacquesline also maintains a private practice that focuses on providing clinical mental health services to professionals of color, as well as supporting those experiencing trauma in both public and private ecosystems. She is originally from Boston, Massachusetts and received her Masters degree from Howard University. When she's not talking about wellness in the legal field, Jacquesline spends time perfecting her mushroom risotto, reading novels, and chasing the sun. She lives in Washington, DC and is married to a lawyer.