Bauchner Heads Mandelbaum’s Cannabis & Psychedelics Practice Group

On Oct 3, 2023

Joshua S. Bauchner has joined Roseland-based Mandelbaum Barrett PC as chair of the law firms’ expanded Cannabis & Psychedelics Practice Group and a partner in its Litigation Practice Group. The firm also announced that it has renamed its Cannabis Practice as the Cannabis & Psychedelics Practice Group to reflect this growing, multifaceted and complex area of law that includes cannabis and psychedelics.

As chair, Bauchner will counsel investors, entrepreneurs, growers, distributors, and retailers on the growing body of legal, regulatory, and business issues impacting the production, sale and use of controlled substances such as cannabis and psychedelics. He will be based in the firm’s Roseland office and also will maintain an office in its New York City offices.

Bauchner established an industry-leading reputation for being on the vanguard of controlled substances law. He was instrumental in co-hosting the first-ever and highly successful Cannabis Symposium in New Jersey and currently serves on the New Jersey State Bar Association Cannabis Law Committee, were he is the immediate past co-chair, the New York State Bar Association Cannabis Law Committee, and on the NORML Legal and Amicus Committees. In 2022, he received the New Jersey Law Journal’s “Innovator of the Year Award” for his legal work and advocacy in the controlled substance space.

On joining the firm, Bauchner said, “Mandelbaum Barrett PCs full-service practice allows me to bring a greater range of resources to bear on behalf of my large institutional clients, including banking, corporate transaction support, litigation support, land use, healthcare regulatory, and litigation support.” Bauchner represents a diverse client base from start- ups to Fortune 500 companies, as well as cannabis operators and applicants.

A licensed real estate instructor in New York State, Bauchner also has extensive real estate industry experience having represented condominium and cooperative boards of management. He serves as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School.

Prior experience also includes clerking for the Honorable Ursula Ungaro in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and serving as the Deputy Director of the Legal Division at the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. Committed to serving his community (he resides in New York City), he was appointed by the Manhattan Borough President to Manhattan Community Board 10, where he has served as the Board’s treasurer and co-chaired the Committee on Land Use.

He is admitted to practice in both New York and New Jersey, as well as in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuit.

Additionally, Bauchner has served on the Board of Trustees for Wheaton College, the New York Theater Ballet, Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance, and the Harlem Wellness Center.

He earned a J.D., magna cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, and a B.A., cum laude, from Wheaton College.

Mandelbaum Barrett PC’s move to rename its Cannabis Law Practice and bring in a well-known force in this area underscores the evolving nature of this area of law. The practice represents investors entrepreneurs, growers, distributors, and retailers and features steep legal expertise in such areas as real estate, regulatory matters, corporate, tax, employment law and strategic planning ”to help these clients not only adapt to the rapidly changing environment but succeed in this burgeoning industry,” Barrett added.

Specifically, the practice will offer the following services:

• Licensing & Compliance
• Corporate Formation and Governance
• Commercial Real Estate, Leasing & Business Development
• Regulatory Compliance
• Financing & Investment Strategies
• Litigation, Dispute Resolution & Advocacy
• Municipal Ordinances & Licensing Requirements

“Cannabis is now legal in 38 states, and psychedelics are already starting to be legalized in several states,” Bachner explained. “The value of substances such as psilocybin (colloquially known as “hallucinogenic mushrooms”) for medical, recreational, and scientific purposes has been advancing rapidly and is finally being studied. Today, much needed, affordable access to these treatments, for medicinal purposes, in particular, is under consideration, and Mandelbaum Barrett PC is ideally positioned to help guide its clients who are part of this long-overdue development.”

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

Related Articles: