Hilary Bricken

Practice Areas

With a passion for organizational growth, Hilary advises clients in the cannabis, healthcare, and life sciences spaces on transactions, regulatory compliance, governance matters, and other corporate needs.

Hilary likes being a dealmaker: she values building collegial relationships with clients and other attorneys, and she loves helping clients create value and business opportunities. She also appreciates the in-depth strategies that transactions rely on.

Much of Hilary’s practice is devoted to mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions, as well as to serving as first point of outside counsel for certain clients. She also assists with entity formation and the drafting of various governance documents and asset portfolio management. In addition, Hilary advises clients on industry-specific regulatory compliance.

Hilary’s experience with the cannabis industry dates to 2010, when she began assisting medical cannabis providers with business questions. It was immediately clear to her that this emerging, growing industry had a massive need for corporate counsel, and she has advised cannabis clients—including many major national and international companies—ever since. Her experience includes cannabis licensing; marijuana and industrial hemp regulatory compliance; mergers and acquisitions; corporate and transactional matters, including negotiating management services agreements, fee slotting agreements, cultivation supply agreements, and intellectual property licensing agreements; receiverships; dissolution and wind downs; and financing and debt restructuring. In 2023, Hilary joined Husch Blackwell out of enthusiasm for the firm’s deep bench of innovators in the cannabis and healthcare space.

Hilary also devotes a significant portion of her practice to healthcare clients, including physicians, physician groups, and medical services organizations, and she represents clients regarding the off-label application of controlled substances.

Known for offering a commonsense business approach to legal questions, Hilary never gives legal advice in a vacuum. She provides clients with definitive guidance that has practical applications, adding value and supporting business goals.

Professional Memberships

Washington State Bar

California State Bar

Florida State Bar

Publications

Could State Ownership Solve US Cannabis Policy Issues?, Law360, December 1, 2022.

Reefer Sadness? SAFE Banking Act is Back, Cannabis Business Executive, February 3, 2022.

Acquiring a Cannabis Business, Thomson Reuters Westlaw, 2021.

Colorado marijuana laws explained, GreenState, November 28, 2017.

Washington marijuana laws explained, GreenState, November 28, 2017.

Marijuana Law and Policy, Above The Law, Featured Columnist, 2015 – 2019.

Federal-State Conflicts on Cannabis, Washington Wire, January 10, 2013.