Omar Figueroa: Attorney and Cannabis Aficionado

Attorney Omar Figueroa is a seasoned veteran of California’s cannabis scene, with 26 years of experience representing clients in the industry. He was first inspired to work with cannabis clients while studying at Stanford Law School, where he met his mentor, the well-known criminal defense and civil rights attorney Tony Serra.

As he was considering the path his career would take, self-described cannabis aficionado Figueroa says his mentor told him that “there’s two types of lawyers in the world, lawyers who fight about money, and lawyers who fight for freedom. Which one do you want to be?”

“I decided I want to be a lawyer who fights for freedom,” Figueroa says in an online interview. “And I started doing freedom defense, focusing on cannabis clients, because they’re the crème de la crème of criminal defendants. Very nice people. They do their homework. They think long term, you know, they’re willing to do everything I asked of them so that they could win their case.”

Much of Figueroa’s early career was spent representing criminal defendants who had been charged with cannabis-related crimes, including hundreds of cultivators. After the legalization of recreational cannabis in California in 2016, Figueroa’s practice shifted focus.

Cannabis Legalization Spurs Professional Pivot

He now represents many cannabis businesses from his office in Sonoma County, the San Francisco Bay Area’s gateway to California’s famed Emerald Triangle cannabis cultivation region. The change, he says, was a significant pivot for his practice.

“I used to help my clients avoid their nightmares,” he explains. “Now I help them accomplish their dreams.”

Figueroa now primarily works with small business owners, representing them and protecting their rights in legal matters including permitting, licensing, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, and civil disputes.

“Most of my clients are mom and pops, and you know, these agile businesses that have managed to thrive in an era of unwieldy regulation and heavy taxation,” says Figueroa. “And it’s because they’re small and they’re agile and they’re mobile that I get to represent the people who are at the core of the cannabis culture.”

Figueroa’s work is well-respected by both the legal and cannabis communities. He is a lifetime member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Legal Committee, a founding lifetime member and director emeritus of the International Cannabis Bar Association, and a former director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Additionally, he helped develop the curriculum for the Ganjier cannabis sommelier program. Figueroa is also passionate about helping other attorneys with cannabis law, often teaching continuing education legal seminars.

“If you’re going to be a lawyer and you want to be respected by your peers, you have to assume a leadership position and also teach, because that’s how you learn, is by teaching,” he says.

To learn more about Omar Figueroa’s cannabis law practice, visit his firm online.