Lisa Pittman is a pioneering figure in the emerging legalized hemp/cannabis industry. She is the chair of the American Bar Association’s Cannabis Law & Policy Committee and a non-resident fellow of the Drug Policy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Ms. Pittman presented the American Bar Association’s first marijuana law CLE at its annual meeting in New York City in 2017. She is an appointee to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Council.
Her work has earned her the title “The First Lady of Texas Cannabis Law.”
From her participation in the nascent cannabis industry, Ms. Pittman has represented a broad range of clients from investors to ancillary service and product providers to “plant touching” companies — farmers, processors, manufacturers, laboratories, distributors, and retailers. Some of these clients have now expanded into other countries. In pursuit of becoming an authority in this area, she spent two years in Colorado, and she understands the many challenges facing marijuana and hemp businesses, such as tax, banking, insurance, and regulatory compliance issues, and she has grown a vast network of experts to assist in these areas. Ms. Pittman keeps abreast of the constantly evolving laws, news, and deals occurring in the cannabis industry internationally on a daily basis.
From her extensive experience in breach of contract in litigation, Ms. Pittman is adept at negotiation and contract drafting, and her broad base of knowledge in many legal areas gained from her litigation experience allows her to give comprehensive business and legal advice to clients in the cannabis industries, including investment and growth strategies, and risk management and mitigation to avoid civil litigation, criminal prosecution, or regulatory violations. She has assisted marijuana and hemp license applicants in multiple states across the country, including guiding Louisiana State University through its rollout of Louisiana’s medical marijuana program.
Ms. Pittman is also a certified mediator and arbitrator.
Among her awards and honors: Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers 2021-2022; Texas Lawyer Trailblazer Award, 2020; National Law Journal Trailblazer Award – Cannabis Law, 2020; Leadership Austin, Class of 2017; Austin Bar Association Leadership Academy Class of 2016; American Bar Association Leadership Academy Class of 2015.
She is a board member and managing editor of the Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal. She is a member of the Travis County Women Lawyers Association, the Texas Bar Association, the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Austin Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the International Cannabis Bar Association, Amicus Committee, and the National Cannabis Industry Association, Hemp Committee.
