US Social Equity - Cannabis & Criminal Justice Reform

Jessica F. Gonzalez, Esq. Related seminars and products

Attorney

Rudick Law Group, PLLC

As a cannabis attorney, Jessica Gonzalez assists cannabis clients navigate the legal cannabis and hemp industry in the tristate area. She has counseled start up and medium sized cannabis/CBD companies on various matters, including corporate entity set-up, state and local compliance, private offering documents and applications for state cannabis licenses. Jessica also counsels corporate and individual clients on intellectual property procurement, prosecution, protection and enforcement for domestic and international trademarks. As cannabis advocate, Jessica has presented on both the municipal and state level on topics such as social justice/social equity, IP protection, cannabis legislation, state and federal banking and state cannabis licensing.

Joseph A. Bondy Related seminars and products

The Law Offices of Joseph A. Bondy

Joseph A. Bondy is a criminal defense and cannabis business attorney, with offices in Manhattan. A graduate of Columbia University and Brooklyn Law School, Mr. Bondy is admitted to practice in New York, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York, the District of Connecticut, the United States Courts of Appeal for the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Over the past twenty-four years, he has represented more than one thousand individuals at all stages of litigation, including dozens of federal and state cannabis clients.

Mr. Bondy has tried multiple federal and state matters to verdict, including RICO, murder, securities fraud, and multi-ton cannabis cases, and has repeatedly won reductions from the Federal Sentencing Guidelines across a wide variety of criminal cases, including for marijuana cultivation and trafficking defendants. In addition to his criminal defense practice, Mr. Bondy represents a number of companies in the cannabis and industrial hemp industry on a variety of corporate, regulatory, and business law matters. In May 2019, High Times Magazine identified Mr. Bondy as “one of the nation’s preeminent cannabis attorneys,” while earlier this year, Mr. Bondy won two CBD processing licenses for clients in New York State’s highly competitive application process, and a settlement on behalf of a group of cannabis investors. Mr. Bondy is a member of the pro bono legal team in Washington v. Barr, the presently pending lawsuit that is challenging the constitutionality of our federal cannabis laws. His dedicated courtroom advocacy and written work have won numerous clients’ dismissals, acquittals, reduced sentences, and appellate reversals.

Mr. Bondy is a life member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and a life member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’ (NORML) National Legal Committee. He is the Founder of In the Know 420, a well-known weekly livestream on cannabis law and policy, and Vice-President of the Cannabis Cultural Association (CCA). The American Trial Lawyers College rates Mr. Bondy as one of the top 100 criminal trial attorneys in the United States. Mr. Bondy lectures on a variety of federal criminal and cannabis law topics at various community, bar association and legal programs throughout the country. Mr. Bondy serves on the faculty of Cardozo Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP), and immensely enjoys mentoring young lawyers and advocates.

Devaughn Ward Related seminars and products

Marijuana Policy Project

As senior legislative counsel, DeVaughn is the lead attorney in MPP's efforts to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. His work also covers marijuana policy reform efforts in a handful of other states.

Prior to his role at MPP, DeVaughn spent nearly a decade gaining experience in law and public policy by serving in legislative roles in the Connecticut State Senate, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and City of Hartford. Immediately preceding his role with MPP, DeVaughn managed a civil rights focused law practice in Hartford, Connecticut. DeVaughn is particularly proud of his work on behalf of Connecticut inmates in their battle to be tested and treated for Hepatitis C. In 2019, DeVaughn was recognized as one of the "New Leaders in the Law" by the Connecticut Law Tribune.

DeVaughn earned his B.A. from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is admitted to the bar in all state and federal courts in Connecticut. He resides in Hartford and serves as a board member for several non-profit organizations in the Greater Hartford area.

Ami Kachalia Related seminars and products

American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey,

Ami is a Campaign Strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, where she develops and implements policy advocacy campaigns with a focus on criminal justice reform and immigrants’ rights.

She comes to this position from Drug Policy Alliance in Trenton, NJ, where she executed statewide policy advocacy campaigns on criminal justice and public health issues related to drugs, including pretrial justice, parole reform, marijuana legalization, civil asset forfeiture reform, harm reduction, and access to treatment. Previously, she served at The Fund for New Jersey as a philanthropy fellow and program associate, where she conducted grantmaking to organizations advocating for progressive social and economic policy in New Jersey.

Ami holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rutgers University – New Brunswick.