Ethical Representation of Psychedelic and Cannabis Clients

The prospect of representing clients whose ventures involve controlled substances, such as clinics, retreat centers, educational businesses, religious institutions, retail outlets, and other related businesses, presents unique opportunities for attorneys, but also unique ethical challenges. This program addresses those challenges at several levels.

First, this course will cover the duty of competence and review the types of federal and state laws that attorneys need to be familiar with to satisfy that duty and screen clients. Participants will examine issues related to the scope of client representations, including the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct and selected state variants, as well as practical considerations for screening clients and drafting limited-scope representation agreements. This course will examine the ethical issues unique to patenting psychedelic substances from the vantage point of both the Psychedelic Bar Association’s North Star principles and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Lastly, obligations relating to the preservation of evidence under the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct will be explored.

This course is designed for attorneys with some experience in business or intellectual property law; however, attorneys interested in how cannabis law intersects with these fields are also encouraged to attend. Psychedelics and cannabis remain largely illegal in the United States under federal and various state laws. This seminar does not encourage or condone activities that violate applicable laws.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the rules of professional conduct relevant to accepting and representing clients with ventures that involve psychedelics or cannabis.
2. Review key federal and state laws relating to psychedelics or cannabis to satisfy competence requirements.
3. Evaluate ethical issues that may arise in representations relating to psychedelics and cannabis.

Course Time Schedule:

Eastern Time: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Central Time: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Mountain Time: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Pacific Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Alaska Time: 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Hawaii-Aleutian Time: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

This course is also being presented on the following dates:

Monday, February 23, 2026
Monday, March 23, 2026
Monday, April 27, 2026
Monday, May 18, 2026
Monday, June 22, 2026