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

Mitzi Vaughn Related Seminars and Products

Shareholder

Karr Tuttle Campbell

Mitzi Vaughn is a shareholder at Karr Tuttle Campbell in Seattle, Washington. She represents clients in matters of cannabis regulatory compliance, corporate transactions and governance, and intellectual property. She was a founding board member of the International Cannabis Bar Association and currently sits on its advisory board.

From 2017 to 2020, Mitzi was the Chief Legal Officer of a company that provides intellectual property licensing, financing, real estate and hard assets leases, and other support to U.S. and international cannabis and hemp enterprises. From 2013 to 2017 she worked with Greenbridge Corporate Counsel, a transactional law boutique exclusively serving the cannabis industry in Washington, California, and Hawai’i. She served as its Managing Attorney. She has advised governmental bodies regarding cannabis regulation, including the Jamaican Cannabis Licensing Authority, the Hawaii Legislature’s Joint Health Committee, members of the Washington State Legislature, and the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“WSLCB”).

In 2019, Mitzi participated in legislative negotiations the resulted in the passage SSB 5318 – the statute “reforming the compliance and enforcement provisions for marijuana licensees.” She drafted revisions to the first bill that were incorporated into the substitute bill and voted into law. Mitzi subsequently assisted in drafting Washington Administrative Code provisions and WSLCB Enforcement Division policies implementing SSB 5318. She continues to be active in the legislative and rulemaking process.

Mitzi is also actively involved with international and U.S. drug policy reform organizations. She served as General Counsel to the Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics (WA) from 2013-2015.  Since 2015, she has represented The Cannabis Alliance (successor to CCSE) in a General Counsel role. Finally, Mitzi is a Board Member for the Drug Reform Coordination Network & the DRCNet Foundation, organizations that are active at the United Nations at home and abroad.

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 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

Member

Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC

My practice is focused on corporate transactions, healthcare regulations, administrative appeals, and healthcare compliance matters. I represent post-acute care providers (e.g. skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, hospices, home health agencies, rehabilitation providers), physician groups, management service organizations (MSOs), dental service organizations (DSOs), community hospitals, retail medicine providers (e.g. free standing ERs), ancillary providers (e.g. pharmacies, labs, DME), digital health companies, behavioral health, chiropractors, and veterinary practices, private equity groups and investors in the healthcare industry. 

Due to my healthcare practice, I regularly serve as special counsel in conjunction with white collar criminal defense teams in federal cases or investigations involving healthcare fraud and abuse. In these roles, I assist criminal defense attorneys on health care regulatory violations (e.g. Anti-kickback, OIG exclusion issues, etc.), operations, assessment of plea bargains and the sentencing process.

In addition to my healthcare practice, I developed a cannabis regulatory and corporate practice starting in late 2013. I formerly served as outside general counsel for the Texas Cannabis Industry Association, served on the National Cannabis Industry Association’s FDA coalition, which helped co-author a FDA primer in preparation for the 2019 FDA public hearing on CBD products, and currently serve as an advisory board member to a hemp bio-pharmaceutical development company. I represent and regularly advise a broad base of cannabis related clients, including, physicians, private equity groups investing in the cannabis industry, cultivators, processors, wholesalers, retailers, distribution centers, reverse distributors, and ancillary providers (e.g. testing labs, biomass brokerage firms, MLM companies etc.) in regulatory and corporate matters.

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.