Freedom Fighters: Expungement, Activism & Legalization

Andrew P. Cooper, Esq., LLM

Andrew is Counsel at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP where he Chairs the Firm’s Cannabis & Psychedelics and Healthcare Practice Groups. 

After spending most of his over 30 years of practice as a trial and transactional attorney, handling primarily intellectual property (patent, trademark and copyright), commercial litigation, and healthcare matters, and as General Counsel representing companies in markets such as salty snacks (as General Counsel for Robert’s American Gourmet, the manufacturer and distributor of the iconic “Pirate’s Booty”) and beer, wine and liquor (representing BH Group, the manufacturer and distributor of “Notorious Pink”), Andrew pivoted to cannabis several years ago.

Since that time, Andrew has used the skills he’s honed as an IP and Healthcare lawyer to represent clients in and around the emerging cannabis industry. Andrew is considered a leading expert on cannabis & psychedelics, and represents businesses and individuals at every level of the cannabis supply chain. Clients include state-licensed adult-use marijuana and hemp cultivators, processors, delivery companies, distributors, testing laboratories and dispensaries, whether vertically integrated or operating as standalone businesses, as well as investors in those businesses. He also represents a full range of vendors and ancillary players that supply their products and services to the cannabis industry, from raw materials, technology, advertising and marketing, consumption products, beverage, and security companies. 

Andrew is also committed to helping build a truly equitable cannabis model in the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey & Connecticut). As an Executive Board Member of The JUSTÜS Foundation, a § 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring and facilitating the entry of legacy operators to the legal cannabis market, Andrew has assisted social equity and justice-involved applicants pro bono in structuring their businesses and navigating through the licensure process.

Andrew is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University where he currently teaches a course entitled “The Law & Business of Marijuana”.

Andrew also has been recognized as a Super Lawyer (2013 – 2023) (Cannabis).

Attorney John D. Williams

Attorney John D. Williams has concentrated his practice on cannabis law since 2017. He represents clients in all sectors of the cannabis industry (marijuana, cannabinoid hemp, and industrial hemp), and he has served the full range of cannabis businesses (cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, delivery services, etc.). His legal practice includes canna-business formation, licensing, regulatory compliance, and defense of government actions. Mr. Williams is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association Cannabis Law Committee and several cannabis trade associations, and he has lectured frequently on various aspects of cannabis law and industry.