The Business of Cannabis: Reestablishing Investor Confidence

Amy McDougal Related Seminars and Products

CEO

CLEAResources LLC

Amy McDougal, Founder and President at CLEAResources, LLC, helps companies effectively manage their greatest legal and regulatory risks. She designs compliance and ethics programs to mitigate legal risks so company executives can focus on business.

"Increased emphasis on business transparency makes ethical performance a corporate priority," says Amy. A company's legal counsel may lack experience in developing compliance and ethics programs. Amy draws on her background as a prosecutor and in-house compliance counsel to conduct risk assessments through the skilled eyes of an attorney, without the steep law firm fees. "I keep current on state and federal enforcement trends. My assessments prioritize a company's vulnerabilities and recommend actions so clients get the most legal risk mitigation for their dollar."

Amy's clients range from federal contractors to global corporations including in the nascent cannabis industry. They rely on her expertise in compliance, codes of ethics, staff training, corporate monitoring, auditing, and investigations."The savviest approach is to put your compliance program in place as a sword to prevent misconduct. If an incident occurs, your program then becomes your shield. Prompt reporting, a proactive response, and a solid plan to remediate future misconduct demonstrate a commitment to ethical practices and legal compliance."

A well-published thought leader, Amy is founding director and corporate secretary of the International Association of Independent Corporate Monitors. Through IAICM, she educates businesses and promotes service quality. Amy's place at the forefront of her profession reflects leadership ability honed by service as a U.S. Air Force officer. "The military taught me to translate strategic thinking into tactical action. “That's exactly what I bring to my clients," she concludes. "I translate compliance and ethics into a practical program so businesses can confidently move forward in a clear direction."

Nanette Heide Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Duane Morris

Nanette C. Heide is a partner in Duane Morris’ Corporate Practice Group, Co-Chair of its Private Equity Division and team lead of the firmwide Private Equity Industry Group. Ms. Heide has significant experience handling complex transactions and providing general corporate counseling. She regularly represents private equity and venture capital investors, multinational and domestic corporations (public and private) in a wide spectrum of corporate finance transactions, including private equity and venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, institutional private placements, cross-border transactions, debt and equity structuring transactions, joint ventures and strategic alliances. She also has formed and structured private equity and hedge funds. She is the Senior Advisory Partner to the firm's Fashion/Retail/Consumer Branded Products Group, and a member of the firm's Partners Board. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, Mergers & Acquisitions named Ms. Heide one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A

Ms. Heide serves as outside counsel for many mid-sized companies on issues of corporate governance, securities law compliance, general commercial transactions and disclosure issues. Her clients span a wide variety of industries, from fashion, retail and consumer products to cannabis, communications, media and Internet-based businesses.

Ms. Heide previously served as general counsel and chief financial officer of two technology companies. She is a graduate of Washington and Lee University School of Law, where she was editor in chief of Washington and Lee Law News, and is a graduate of West Virginia University.

Regina Unegovsky Related Seminars and Products

Senior Attorney

Regal Tax & Law Group

A San Francisco native, Regina is an attorney with Regal Tax & Law Group, PC. with a focus on corporate matters, regulatory compliance and tax controversy. I routinely resolve over five million in tax issues per year on behalf of taxpayers. I bring over 10 years of experience in working with state and federal taxing or regulatory agencies to my clients, and have been concentrating on compliant start up in cannabis. I have been honored to be recognized as a Rising Star attorney by SuperLawyers three years running.

In my spare time, I enjoy travel, hiking with my dogs and learning to bake.

Jeffrey Merk Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Aird & Berlis LLP

With extensive experience in a broad range of corporate finance and commercial matters, Jeffrey offers clients a practical and business-minded approach to solving legal and regulatory challenges. He is skilled at isolating what is truly important in a complex business transaction and in identifying solutions. Jeffrey takes great care in tailoring his service to each client and providing strategic and insightful judgment to effectively further their business objectives.

Jeffrey is co-Practice Group Leader of the firm's Capital Markets Group and co-Chair of the Life Sciences Group. He is also a member of the firm's Corporate/Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions/Private Equity and International Groups, as well as the Cannabis and Mines & Minerals Groups. He practises corporate law with an emphasis on public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and ongoing general corporate and commercial activities. Jeffrey’s experience includes numerous cross-border securities offerings (public and private), acting for U.S. buyers of Canadian entities or assets; acting for U.S. financiers of acquisitions in Canada; acting for Canadian sellers to U.S. buyers, and acting as Canadian counsel in connection with large, internationally-led transactions. He frequently advises mining, private equity, industrial, cannabis and psychedelics clients.

Jeffrey has recently been featured in the media with respect to the legal, regulatory and investment context for psychedelics in Canada.

In 2007, Jeffrey completed a six-month secondment with the Corporate Finance Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission where he was responsible for reviewing and clearing prospectuses and considering applications for relief from the requirements of the Securities Act (Ontario).