Oakland, California and Chicago—Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, announced today the expansion of its cannabis group with the addition of Ausra Deluard and Joanne Caceres to the Health Care practice. Deluard joins as counsel and Caceres as managing associate in the Firm’s Oakland and Chicago offices, respectively.

Earlier this year, Dentons' cannabis group expanded with the addition of partner Eric Berlin, one of the nation's leading cannabis law authorities. Berlin and Kathryn Ashton, chair of the Health Care practice, lead the group, which is focused on helping clients navigate the regulatory framework of the cannabis industry. As an extension of the Firm’s unrivaled global cannabis capabilities in Canada, Europe and South America, the multidisciplinary team of lawyers in the US have worked with clients on regulatory, licensing and other corporate matters.

"As more clients enter the cannabis industry either directly or as service providers to these growing businesses, the addition of these accomplished lawyers will immediately benefit our expanding client base," said Ashton. "The cannabis group continues to grow in both size and recognition, which complements our Health Care practice as a whole."

Deluard focuses her practice on advising clients in the cannabis industry to achieve their business objectives and guiding them on the rapidly evolving laws and regulations. In advance of California’s statewide commercial cannabis legislation, she helped leading cannabis brands prepare go-to-market strategies. Her experience in high stakes antitrust merger litigation and in civil and criminal antitrust investigations informs her perspective in counseling companies to avoid the liability risks of operating in a highly regulated industry. Her exposure to administrative rulemaking while representing Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup deepens her understanding of state and local agency practices. She earned her JD from the University of California, Berkeley where she was assistant editor of the Berkley International Law Journal, and her BSC and BS, summa cum laude, from Santa Clara University. Deluard is an adjunct professor at the University of California, Hastings College of Law and recognized as a Northern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers for the past three years.

Caceres counsels cannabis industry clients on business strategies while avoiding legal risks, and clients involved in complex commercial litigation matters in federal and state courts, as well as in other forms of dispute resolution. Caceres holds a JD from Harvard University, where she was the executive technical editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, and her BA from Princeton University.

Dentons nationally-recognized Health Care practice is one of the largest in the US, comprised of more than 100 lawyers, consultants and policy professionals with deep experience counseling health care and life sciences organizations. The Health Care practice serves clients operating in virtually every sector of the health care industry.

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