Marc D. Hauser

Marc D. Hauser is a Reed Smith LLP partner in the firm’s global corporate group and the chair of the cannabis law team. His focus is on private equity and venture capital financing, governance and general corporate law. He is a member of the International Cannabis Bar Association and a board member of the Napa Valley Cannabis Association.

He is scheduled to be a featured speaker at Cannabis Conference 2022 in August in Las Vegas.

Hauser joined Reed Smith in 2019 after working briefly at a law firm in Napa County, GVM Law LLP, where he became proficient in cannabis law. Before that, for 15 years, he was associate general counsel at Equity Group Investments in Chicago. He graduated cum laude from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 1998.

“I learned about the industry early on at GVM, when I got a piece of cannabis work,” he said. “I took the opportunity to build a national network of cannabis lenders and investors and moved to Reed Smith to better take advantage of the greater scale available there.”

The problems associated with cannabis’ continuing illegality under federal law loom large. “It’s a hard industry because it’s been very capital-constrained for a long time,” Hauser said. “You need money to feed high growth.”

Still, things are getting better. “Banking is easier now than it was three years ago, and there’s better access to loans. But money remains extremely expensive. It’s been very hard to turn a profit given the tax and regulatory situation.”

Hauser represents CannaCraft, Inc., a leading California independent cannabis operator, in its merger-of-equals with March and Ash Inc., a dispensary operator. “That one had a lot of complexities that created intellectual challenges,” he said.

In 2021, he represented Achari Holdings Corp. 1, a $100 million special purpose acquisition company targeting ancillary cannabis businesses in its initial IPO. He continues to represent Achari in their consideration of potential merger targets.

“It was interesting and different to have a SPAC get involved in the industry,” Hauser said.

– John Roemer