THE AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTEContinuing Legal Education

Cannabis and Commercial Real Estate: Navigating a Budding Industry

February 22, 2017 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast

Excerpts from Harris Bricken’s Canna Law Blog (www.cannalawblog.com)

Submitted by

Vincent SliwoskiHarris Bricken

Portland, Oregon

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Excerpts from Harris Bricken’s

Canna Law Blog (www.cannalawblog.com)

Bank Loans on Cannabis Property: Tread Carefully

By Vince Sliwoski on January 3, 2017

My law firm represents a large number of cannabis operators in Oregon, Washington and

California. Some of these operators own the land they trade on; others simply lease. Whenever

we are lucky enough to meet the client before the onset of cannabis activity, our first question is

often whether the target property is mortgaged, or if it is owned free and clear. If the property is

mortgaged, we ask “by whom?” If the answer is “a bank,” we tend to say, “let’s talk about that

for a minute.”

Your standard institutional mortgage contains language allowing the mortgagee/lender to call the

loan if the property is being used to conduct “illegal activity.” Lenders won’t budge on that

provision: it relates back to federal lending guidelines, and attempting to pare back that language

is impossible. If a borrower acquires a bank loan with the secret intention of operating or leasing

to a cannabis business, that borrower is running a risk of foreclosure, to say nothing of

allegations of fraud.

When a bank discovers that cannabis is being grown, processed, held or sold on its mortgaged

property, it has the option, under contract, to call the loan. This means the bank can declare the

entire mortgage balance due and owing on the spot. In practice, if a loan is in good standing it

won’t always get called; but if a bank learns that cannabis is being traded on the property, a

real possibility exists that the mortgage will get called. And refinancing with the lender will be

all but impossible.

Although banks typically do not troll their commercial loans looking for pot merchants, many

loans require borrowers to inform lenders about tenants and new leases on the property. When a

bank decides to call a loan due to cannabis activity, the bank may give the mortgagor a limited

window of time to cure the defect (stop the cannabis activities), or to find alternative lending.

Given the realities of business investment and operations, the strictures of leases and the high

cost of private lending, this can cause tremendous headaches.

There is no work-around for the “illegal activities” issue in institutional lending, but that hasn’t

stopped some folks from trying. Among other creative ideas, we recently saw one owner give a

second, unrecorded mortgage to a cannabis operator as “insurance” against the first loan getting

called. Not only would this approach fail to prevent the first mortgage from getting called, it

would typically allow the first mortgagee to declare the balance of its loan payable immediately,

as “due on sale.” Such an action could wipe out the junior, unrecorded mortgage interest in any

subsequent foreclosure.

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Finding a cannabis property is not always easy, but it’s important to understand how the property

is financed (or otherwise encumbered) before you sign a lease or begin operations. If you intend

to purchase a cannabis property and cannot pay cash, seller financing is a popular option we have

written about elsewhere. Otherwise, it’s hard money or trying to fool the bank. Neither of those

is a good business plan.

Marijuana Property Transactions: The Curious Role

of Title Companies

By Vince Sliwoski on December 13, 2016

We have run quite a few real estate deals in Oregon, Washington and California cannabis. No

two deals are the same, and as we previously have written, buying and selling land for pot

ventures is a trip. An obvious reason for this is the lack of banking services, but another big

reason is lack of certain title company services, like escrow. If you are hoping to enlist a title

company as escrow in your cannabis property sale, we say to you, “good luck.”

Typically, title companies handle all of the paperwork to close a standard real estate transaction.

It is probably easiest to think of these services in three distinct parts: (1) receiving, holding and

sending money and key documents (escrow); (2) providing a spot for the parties to iron out

details toward the end of a deal (including deeds and other formal documents (closing)); and (3)

issuing title insurance. By providing this suite of services, a title company can serve as a “one

stop shop” for closing most real estate deals.

Pot deals, of course, are different.

In our experience, title companies generally will close a cannabis deal, and they will even

provide title insurance in most cases. However, they generally will not facilitate the exchange of

funds. This seems strange initially, but it relates back to banks, and the fact that many banks

refuse to service businesses even indirectly involved with cannabis. That includes title

companies. Thus, title companies often have formal policies against serving as escrow in

cannabis deals, especially where the land already is being used for a pot-related purpose.

Fortunately, it is possible to close a real estate sale without a title company performing escrow

services. In those transactions, the buyer and seller will usually engage an attorney to serve as

escrow, and the attorney will take instructions on how and when to distribute funds. Though

attorneys tend to be more expensive than title companies for this purpose, they are safer than

fringe operators offering escrow services, and an attorney worth her salt should be able to run the

exchange efficiently.

With respect to title insurance, title companies generally will issue these policies on the rationale

that the insurance product relates to land ownership, rather than to the activities taking place

thereon. Of course, most title insurance policies in marijuana-related transactions will expressly

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exclude coverage for governmental actions, including civil and criminal forfeiture under the

federal Controlled Substance Act. Before purchasing title insurance, we strongly recommend that

the buyer disclose their intended use of the land. Otherwise, the title company has an argument

not to pay on claims.

In the coming months, we expect to handle more and more real estate deals for pot businesses

and also sellers. The California land grab will heat up in that state’s pot friendly counties, and

our Oregon office has seen another spike in land deals from November’s local election results.

Our Washington cannabis lawyers are also seeing an increase in land sales, mostly attributable

to growers who got in early, but now wish to sell.

Ultimately, the laws around the purchase and sale of commercial real estate tied to cannabis are

complicated, and vary state by state. An experienced cannabis attorney with commercial real

estate chops will be able to facilitate the purchase or sale of real estate for pot commerce, from

title examination through recording the deeds. The attorney will know how to work with the

parties’ chosen title company to push the deal through, and how to navigate the unusual aspects

of these transactions, like escrow.

Oregon Marijuana Laws: Buying and Selling Land is

a Trip

By Vince Sliwoski on October 22, 2015

There are 48,699 registered marijuana growers under Oregon’s Medical Marijuana Program.

Some of these growers grow a couple of plants for a patient or two, and others produce at the

program limits of 24 mature plants. There are grow sites with just one or two growers, and others

with dozens of growers and 100 or more registered patients.

Under the new recreational program, grow sites will be even larger. Outdoor limits are currently

capped at 40,000 square feet in total canopy, per license. That is close to an acre. As we have

written here before, marijuana is now an official “crop” in Oregon, protected by the state’s right

to farm laws. For these reasons, Oregon marijuana cultivators are buying up land in grow-

friendly counties at a pretty good clip.

As with marijuana leases, marijuana land sale transactions are not typical and we are already

starting to see documentation drafted by lawyers without cannabis experience that fails to

account for this. Bank loans are out of the question, as chartered lenders are unwilling to finance

the purchase of an asset that could be seized at any moment under the federal Controlled

Substances Act (CSA), 21 USC § 856. That statute, sometimes called the “crack house statute,”

provides that using or allowing real property to be used for unlawfully manufacturing, storing,

distributing, or using a controlled substance, is a federal crime. Marijuana is a Schedule I

controlled substance under the CSA.

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Without access to bank loans, cultivators who are not independently wealthy must deal with hard

money lenders, if they can drum up the collateral; or, more typically, convince the property seller

to carry a loan. In either case, the buyer gives the lender or seller a promissory note. That note

almost always carries a higher interest rate than a standard bank note. Recently, depending on the

size of the transaction and the term involved, we are seeing interest rates in the 10 to 12 percent

range, but they can be even higher.

And then there is the very interesting issue of security. No sensible seller will lend money based

only on a borrower’s promise to pay. Like any seller, a seller who finances the sale of real

property to an Oregon marijuana cultivator will insist on a first deed of trust. That way, if the

buyer misses a payment, the seller can take the land back by foreclosing on the deed. If things

are done correctly, the seller will have priority over any other creditor.

A savvy seller may also insist on a security interest in the marijuana “crop” itself. You may be

wondering how a non-licensed entity, like a creditor to a marijuana business, could legally seize

and sell an acre’s worth of marijuana. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) has

considered this, and its draft rules currently provide that “the Commission may issue a temporary

authority to operate a licensed business to . . . a person holding a security interest in the business

for a reasonable period of time to allow orderly disposition of the business.”

The rules go on to provide for issuance of a “certificate of authority” to the temporary licensee

(in this case, the seller or creditor). This means that if a seller has perfected her interest in the

marijuana crop by filing the appropriate financing statement, and a buyer stops making

payments, the secured seller can actually seize and sell the marijuana. This would be done in

addition to taking back the property, if recovery of the property did not cover the outstanding

debt. Of course, the seller would have to be willing to seize and sell the marijuana in violation of

the federal CSA, but that’s another story.

These are just a few of the more interesting angles on the sale of real property for marijuana

cultivation. There is much more on this topic than we have written here, from standard

considerations like the form of deed exchanged, to industry particular contract terms, like those

related to the failure of a buyer to obtain or maintain OLCC licensure. Both buyers and sellers in

these transactions must take special care to ensure that their interests are protected.

Marijuana Lease Checklist: Ten Things to Note

By Vince Sliwoski on November 29, 2016

In states with legal cannabis programs, most licensed cannabis businesses fall into three broad

categories: producers, processors and retailers. Some states offer more exotic classes of licensure

for activities like testing, research and even wholesaling marijuana, but a substantial majority of

pot entrepreneurs are trading in the basics. Whether you are on the landlord or tenant side of the

transaction, though, marijuana leases are anything but basic.

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Unlike with standard commercial leases, pot landlords and tenants must account for the status of

federal prohibition, the strictures of state-level programs, and the peculiarities of local zoning

laws. These considerations are separate and distinct from baseline commercial lease

considerations, which can themselves be complex and run into the dozens of pages. Without

getting too far into the weeds, here are ten items to consider specifically in your marijuana lease.

1. Profit Sharing. We have seen many, many pot leases drafted by parties where a landlord

agrees to take a cut of business profits over and above base rent. This type of transaction is

typically frowned upon by regulators, who may view anything beyond ordinary, arms-length

payments as de facto license ownership, subject to disclosure and vetting. Both parties should

check local rules before entering into any sort of profit sharing arrangement, even if it is a

small percentage of rent overall.

2. CSA Indemnity. Savvy landlords will often push for an indemnity requirement from

tenants on general liability issues. The experienced marijuana landlord will also require

indemnity on the specific issue of civil forfeiture under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

This stipulation requires a marijuana tenant to defend a landlord and absolve the landlord of

wrongdoing if the federal government takes enforcement action against the landlord for

renting to the pot business.

3. Licensing Cooperation. Most marijuana licenses are tied to locations. A marijuana tenant

will want to ensure that its landlord is obligated to assist if new administrative rules impose

unforeseen requirements on them during the lease term. If a tenant is forced to move, the

chances it will be able to drag its license from one place to the next are low. And if the

property contains any peripheral attributes relevant to cannabis licensure, like a state-approved

water right, the tenant will also want to ensure that the landlord is obligated to maintain that

feature.

4. Access. States have strict rules about who may enter onto a marijuana licensee’s premises,

and when. The right of the landlord to enter onto a premises should be clearly outlined, and it

should dovetail with the provisions contained in any relevant statute or administrative rule

regarding entry by anyone other than the licensee.

5. Occupancy and Commencement Dates. A typical cannabis lease will provide that a

tenant will abide by all state and local laws, which includes a requirement not to begin any

marijuana related activity on the premises prior to licensure. Sometimes, this creates a chicken

and egg problem for a tenant, who needs a lease to get licensed, and also needs a license to

operate under its lease. The parties should plot out a realistic timeline for licensure, and

discuss whether rent will be abated or reduced prior to licensure.

6. Outs. Both parties will want a series of cannabis-specific “outs,” or escape clauses, drafted

into the lease. These outs may accrue in situations ranging from federal law enforcement

action, to local cannabis license denial. The landlord may also want outs for a tenant’s

noncompliance with state or local cannabis laws.

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7. Environmental Concerns. This is a big one in production and processor leases. Landlords

and tenants will want to address fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides used and stored at the

premises, along with the disposal of cannabis products and byproducts. States have both

general environmental laws and cannabis specific laws that govern these issues and a properly

drafted cannabis lease will take them into account.

8. Lease Term. Commercial leases often extend five or ten years at minimum, and a tenant

may have one or more options to renew its lease beyond the initial term. In cannabis, parties

tend to agree to shorter lease terms with fewer renewal options, because of the uncertainty

inherent in cannabis laws and markets. Each party should weigh its desire for contract stability

against the risk of market disruption, before committing to a term.

9. Dispute Resolution. The default rule in commercial leasing is that disputes are settled in

court. Landlords are accustomed to expedited court proceedings designed to deal with FED

(“forcible entry and wrongful detainer”) and courts are well versed in the summary eviction

process. With cannabis, however, there are compelling arguments to be made for arbitration

when it comes to contracts, including leases.

10. Federal Illegality. As with any cannabis contract, a well drafted cannabis lease should

stipulate that federal illegality is not a valid defense to any claim arising from the lease, and

that the parties waive the right to present any such defense related to the status of cannabis

under federal law. Otherwise, a court could throw out the lease entirely, causing some serious

headaches.

The above list is not exhaustive, and every marijuana lease will be different, depending on the

parties, activity, state and location. Above all, it is important to note that marijuana leases, like

other marijuana contracts, are unusual agreements that require expert attention.

Cannabis Real Estate 101

By Daniel Shortt on February 12, 2017

Since licenses to grow, process, or sell cannabis are usually tied to a specific real property

location, it is not surprising that cannabis businesses often need real estate help. The following

are some basic points we try to convey to our cannabis clients about real estate in a cannabis

context.

1. Location. Location. Location. Choosing the right location is important for any business,

but this is especially true for a cannabis business. Finding a suitable and state-and-local-

law-compliant location for a marijuana business can be difficult. Most states, cities, and

counties limit where marijuana businesses can physically operate. States and cities often

require cannabis businesses be at least 1,000 feet away from schools and parks because

federal criminal law sentencing guidelines tack on extra sentencing time for cultivating,

processing, or distributing cannabis within 1,000 feet of a school or park. Local zoning

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laws can also significantly restrict location options and these can vary greatly from local

government to local government. Regulations that limit the number of cannabis stores or

grow sites allowed in a given county are also common, as are moratoriums and outright

bans.

2. Find a Landlord With Whom You Can Work. Most commercial landlords will not rent

out their space to a cannabis business. Because cannabis remains illegal under federal law,

landlords can face arrest for violating the federal Controlled Substances Act or, more

realistically, losing their property via a civil asset forfeiture. Look what happened to the

landlord in the Harborside case. The landlord-tenant relationship can be strained if the

landlord is not informed of the nature of the tenant’s business and the risk associated.

3. Make Sure Your Lease Works for the Cannabis Industry. “Boilerplate” lease

agreements do not work for cannabis businesses. For example, the typical Commercial

Broker’s Association lease states that any illegal activity on the property will constitute a

lease default. We usually write our commercial marijuana leases to forbid only those

actions that violate state law and federal law with the exception of the federal Controlled

Substances Act. Commercial leases also typically contain a provision governing the

activities permitted on the leased property. If the tenant is a marijuana retailer, the

permitted use provision should explicitly permit the “retail sale of marijuana.” Leaving the

permitted use provision vague only increases the chances of the cannabis business tenant

being found in breach of the lease for having conducted an activity not permitted on the

property.

4. Know Your Property. Our cannabis real estate lawyers are far too frequently brought in

on long simmering real estate deals only to have to tell both sides that there will need to be

major changes in the deal points for the deal to work at all. Before getting too far down the

negotiating path, it is wise to at least secure a real property report. These reports will show

ownership history, encumbrances (such as mortgages) on the land, and any easements or

other restrictions on property use. For example, if there is an unpaid mortgage on the land,

the holder of that mortgage can foreclose on the property, even though the current owner

was not the one who entered into the transaction. Even a tenant who is not purchasing the

property should be informed of the property’s history and the risks associated with that

property.

Marijuana Commercial Leases: This Industry Is

Different, You Know

By Hilary Bricken on February 22, 2015

As so many of you know, few landlords are willing to rent to marijuana businesses. They are

afraid of the very real possibility of losing their property in a federal civil asset forfeiture action.

The federal government has been known to seize property being used for cultivating,

manufacturing, or selling marijuana. In the last seven years, the Feds have seized more than

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a billion dollars in personal and real property allegedly tied to federally illegal drugs, including

marijuana in states where marijuana is legal.

If you are a landlord or a marijuana business tenant, you should know what you can do to help

avoid federal intervention, including asset forfeiture.

Under federal law, forfeitures can be civil or criminal:

The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States and no property right shall exist

in them … [a]ll real property, including any right, title, and interest (including any leasehold

interest) in the whole of any lot or tract of land and any appurtenances or improvements, which is

used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of,

a violation of this subchapter punishable by more than one year’s imprisonment.

Since manufacturing, cultivating, and distributing cannabis are federal crimes, real property that

facilitates those crimes is subject to asset forfeiture.

Civil forfeitures of real property are brought as judicial forfeiture actions that require a court

to oversee the seizure. In these civil cases, the government has the burden of proving that the

property is subject to forfeiture. The government does not need to prove the landowner is guilty

of a crime. It merely needs to show a “substantial connection” between the property and the

crime.

Federal law does provide what is known an “innocent owner defense” to the forfeiture of real

property. This defense provides that property will not be forfeited if the owner can show that it

did not know about the conduct giving rise to forfeiture or that when it learned of the conduct

giving rise to the forfeiture it did all that it reasonably could to terminate such use of the

property.

Here’s the big problem though in states where marijuana is legal for either medical or

recreational use. In those states, the innocent owner defense is usually not available because the

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state typically mandates that the lease explicitly allow for the growing, manufacturing, or selling

of marijuana. And, in most marijuana-legal states, having a lease that allows for marijuana

activity is also required to receive a state license to operate.

There are though many things that both landlords and tenants can to prevent asset forfeiture or

federal intervention altogether, including those discussed below.

Real property leases that involve a cannabis business should include “escape clauses” that

specifically list out federal intervention, changes in federal enforcement policy, forfeiture threats,

and federal enforcement actions (such as DEA raids or DOJ criminal charges or administrative

actions) as defaults that constitute lease violations. This sort of provision will give the landlord

fodder for appeasing the Feds.

Commercial leases typically contain a permitted use provision governing the activities permitted

on the leased property. The permitted use provision for a cannabis business should specifically

identify the activities allowed on the property. If the tenant is a marijuana retailer, the permitted

use provision should explicitly permit “retail sale of marijuana.” Leaving the permitted use

vague will likely mean that marijuana tenants run the risk of breaching the lease by conducting

an activity not permitted on the property, which itself could invite federal scrutiny.

Marijuana commercial leaseholds should provide for a strict code of conduct for property use.

The typical Commercial Broker’s Association lease states that any illegal activity on the property

will constitute a default in the lease, so just pulling one of these provisions “off the shelf” is

not appropriate. We typically write our commercial marijuana leases to forbid only those actions

that violate state law — not federal law.

Your marijuana lease should also include provisions relating to hours of operation, how the

tenant treats of its neighbors, odors, loitering, use of hazardous substances, the number of people

permitted on the property, and compliance with state and local regulatory rules and with the Cole

Memo.

Federal marijuana prohibition coupled with the fluidity of state marijuana regulatory schemes

make standard commercial lease agreements wrong for leases involving marijuana businesses.

You instead need a lease that deals with the realities of running a marijuana business.

Real Property Forfeiture For Marijuana Tenants:

Your Marijuana Leasehold Is Key

By Hilary Bricken on September 15, 2014

Why do commercial landlords still hesitate to rent to marijuana businesses? In addition to the

remote possibility of a landlord getting arrested and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of

Justice (DOJ) for violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, landlords face the very real

threat of losing their property via a civil asset forfeiture. The federal government can and does

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sometimes seize property used for cultivating, manufacturing, or selling marijuana. In recent

years, the Federal Government has netted at least one billion dollars from seizing personal and

real property used for to manufacture or distribute Federally illegal drugs, including marijuana in

states where marijuana is legal. Whether you are a commercial landlord or a marijuana business

tenant, you need to know what you can do to help fend off Federal intervention, including asset

forfeiture.

First though, a brief overview of how asset forfeiture works. Forfeiture can be either civil or

criminal. Forfeiture of real property used to violate the Federal Controlled Substances Act is

governed by 21 U.S.C §§ 881 and 18 U.S.C §§ 983 and 985. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C §881(a)(7):

“[t]he following shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States and no property right shall

exist in them … [a]ll real property, including any right, title, and interest (including any

leasehold interest) in the whole of any lot or tract of land and any appurtenances or

improvements, which is used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to

facilitate the commission of, a violation of this subchapter punishable by more than one year’s

imprisonment.”

Since cultivating, manufacturing, and distributing marijuana are Federal crimes, real property

used to facilitate the commission of those crimes is subject to asset forfeiture.

In civil asset forfeiture cases involving real property, the government actually sues the property

itself and the property owner is treated as a third party claimant. Civil forfeitures of real property

are initiated as judicial forfeitures, meaning a court with competent jurisdiction must oversee the

seizure. The burden of proof is on the government to show by a preponderance of the evidence

that the property is subject to forfeiture. Civil asset forfeiture of real property does not require

that the government prove that the landowner is guilty of any crime; it is enough if the

government shows that there is a “substantial connection” between the property and the crime

alleged. By contrast, criminal forfeiture is against a person only after a conviction (beyond a

reasonable doubt) for an underlying criminal offense.

Nonetheless, 18 U.S.C §983(d) creates what is known as the “innocent owner defense” to asset

forfeiture of real property. “An innocent owner’s interest in property shall not be forfeited under

any civil forfeiture statute. The claimant shall have the burden of proving that the claimant is an

innocent owner by a preponderance of the evidence.” The term “innocent owner” means an

owner who (i) did not know of the conduct giving rise to forfeiture; or (ii) upon learning of the

conduct giving rise to the forfeiture, did all that reasonably could be expected under the

circumstances to terminate such use of the property (emphasis added).”

In many states where marijuana has been legalized (either for recreational or medical use) the

innocent owner defense is usually not available because the marijuana-legal state mandates that

the lease explicitly allow for the cultivation, manufacture, or retail sale of marijuana. And, in

most if not all, marijuana-friendly States, having a lease that allows for marijuana activity is a

requirement to receive an operational license from the state. So then what can landlords and

tenants do to prevent asset forfeiture or Federal intervention altogether?

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First, as we noted in our post, Marijuana Commercial Leaseholds: Any Resemblance to Regular

Leaseholds is Purely Coincidental real property leases that involve a marijuana business should

include “escape clauses” listing Federal intervention, changes of Federal enforcement policy,

forfeiture threats, and/or Federal enforcement (be it a raid by the DEA or filing of criminal

charges by the DOJ) as defaults that constitute lease violations or cancellations.

Leases typically contain a permitted use provision to govern the activities that can take place on

the leased property. The permitted use provision for a marijuana business should accurately

identify the activities allowed on the property. For example, if a tenant is a marijuana retailer, the

permitted use provision should reflect this by explicitly permitting “the retail sale of

marijuana.” If the permitted use is unclear, tenants run the risk of breaching the lease by

conducting an activity not permitted on the property, which itself could invite Federal scrutiny.

It is also prudent for a marijuana commercial leasehold to set out a strict code of conduct relating

to the use of the property. The typical Commercial Broker’s Association lease provides that any

illegal activity on the property constitutes a default so just pulling one of these “off the shelf” is

not the way to go. One reliable way to handle the illegality issue is to write a lease that explicitly

forbids only those actions that violate state (not Federal) law.

Moreover, it is important to include in a marijuana lease provisions relating to hours of

operation, the tenant’s treatment of its surrounding commercial neighbors, loitering, odors, the

use of hazardous substances at the property, the number of people permitted on the property, and

constant compliance with any and all state and local regulatory rules and with the recent Cole

Memo from the DOJ.

The bottom line: Federal marijuana prohibition and the fluidity of state law marijuana

regulatory schemes mean that standard commercial lease agreements are not sufficient to sustain

and protect the landlord/tenant relationship involving a cannabis business. You instead need

lease that accounts for the realities of running a marijuana business. Or prepare to face the

consequences.

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STATE MCLE CONTACTS

Revised: 02/15/2017

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Kansas Ms. Shelly Sutton Kansas CLE Commission 400 S Kansas Ave Ste 202 Topeka, KS 66603 785/357-6510 shelly.sutton@kscle.org www.kscle.org

Kentucky Mr. Cliffornd Timberlake Kentucky Bar Association 514 W Main St Frankfort, KY 40601-1883 502/564-3795 x231 502/564-3225 ctimberlake@kybar.org www.kybar.org

Louisiana Ms. Kitty Hymel Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on MCLE 2800 Veterans Memorial Blvd Suite 355 Metairie, LA 70002-6130 800/518-1518 Toll Free 504/828-1414 504/828-1416 FAX kittyh@lascmcle.org www.lascmcle.org

Maine Ms. Susan Adams Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar PO Box 527 Augusta, ME 04332-0527 207/623-1121 207/623-4175 FAX sadams@mebaroverseers.org www.mecle.com

Minnesota Ms. Liz Vanderbeek Minnesota State Board of CLE 180 E 5th St Ste 950 St. Paul, MN 55101 651/297-7100 651/296-5866 FAX lvanderbeek@mbcle.state.mn.us www.mbcle.state.mn.us Mississippi Ms. Tracy Graves Mississippi Commission on CLE PO Box 369 Jackson, MS 39205-0369 601/576-4622 601/576-4733 tgraves@courts.ms.us www.courts.ms.gov/cle_/ Missouri Mr. Christopher C. Janku The Missouri Bar PO Box 119 Jefferson City, MO 65102-2355 573/638-2233 573/635-2811 FAX cjanku@mobar.org mcle@mobar.org www.mobar.org

Montana Ms. Kathy Powers Montana Commission of CLE 7 W 6th Ave Ste 2B PO Box 577 Helena, MT 59624 406/442-7660 406/442-7763 FAX cle@montanabar.org www.mtcle.org

Nebraska Ms. Carole McMahon-Boies 521 S 14th St Ste 200 Lincoln, NE 68508 402/471-3072 402/471-3071 FAX carol.mcmahon-boies@nebraska.gov www.mcle.ne.gov

Nevada Ms. Toni Sarocka Nevada CLE Board 457 Court St 2nd FL Reno, NV 89501 775/329-4443 775/329-4291 FAX nevadacleboard@sbcglobal.net www.nvcleboard.org

STATE MCLE CONTACTS

Revised: 02/15/2017

New Hampshire Joanne M. Hinnendael New Hampshire Bar Association 2 Pillsbury St Ste 300 Concord, NH 03301-3502 603/224-6942 603/224-2910 FAX jhinnendael@nhbar.org www.nhbar.org New Jersey Supreme Court of New Jersey Board of Attorney Certification CLE 25 Market St Trenton, NJ 08625-0979 609/984-3077 sctcle.mailbox@njcourts.gov www.judiciary.state.nj.us/cle New Mexico Ms. Anita J. Otero New Mexico MCLE PO Box 93070 Albuquerque, NM 87199 505/821-1980 505/821-0220 FAX mcle@nmmcle.org www.nmmcle.org New York Ms. Elise Anne Geltzer New York State Unified Court System 25 Beaver St Rm 888 New York, NY 10004 877/697-4253 212/428-2974 FAX cle@courts.state.ny.us www.courts.state.ny.us North Carolina Ms. Debra P. Holland North Carolina State Bar PO Box 26148 Raleigh, NC 27611 919/733-0123 919/821-9168 FAX dholland@ncbar.gov www.nccle.org North Dakota Ms. Debbie Bowen North Dakota CLE Commission 504 N Washington St. Bismarck, ND 58501 701/255-1404 701/224-1621 FAX Debbie@sband.org www.sband.org Ohio The Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on CLE 65 S Front St FL5 Columbus, OH 43215-3431 614/387-9327 614/387-9323 FAX www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/attorneyservices/cle.default.asp

Oklahoma Ms. Beverly S. Petry Oklahoma Bar Association PO Box 53036 Oklahoma City, OK 73152 405/416-7009 405/416-7089 FAX beverlyp@okbar.org www.okbar.org Oregon Ms. Denise Cline Oregon State Bar 16037 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd Tigard, OR 97281-1935 503/620-0222 503/598-6915 FAX dcline@osbar.org www.osbar.org Pennsylvania Mr. Nate Graham Pennsylvania CLE Board 601 Commonwealth Ave Ste 3400 Harrisburg, PA 17106-2495 717/231-3230 717/231-3251 FAX 800/497-2253 ngraham@pacle.org www.pacle.org Puerto Rico Ms. Yanis Blanco-Santiago Supreme Court of Puerto Rico CLE Programs PO Box 190917 San Juan PR 00919-0917 787/641-6604 787/641-6602 FAX Rhode Island Ms. Holly Hitchcock, M. Ed. Rhode Island Supreme Court MCLE Commission John E. Fogarty Judicial Annex 24 Weybosset St., 3rd Floor Providence, RI 02903 401/222-4942 401/222-4302 FAX www.courts.ri.gov South Carolina Ms. Mary A. Germack The Supreme Court of South Carolina Commission on CLE & Specialization PO Box 2138 Columbia, SC 29202 803/799-5578 803/799-4118 FAX commcle@bellsouth.net www.commcle.org

Tennessee Ms. Judy Bond-McKissack Tennessee Commission on CLE & Specialization 1321 Murfreesboro Pk Ste 810 Nashville, TN 37217 615/741-3096 615/532-2477 FAX info@cletn.com www.cletn.com Texas Ms. Nancy R. Smith State Bar of Texas PO Box 13007 Austin, TX 78711-3007 515/427-1806 800/204-2222 x1806 515/427-4123 FAX nsmith@texasbar.com www.texasbar.com/mcle Utah Ms. Sydnie W. Kuhre Utah Supreme Court Board of CLE Utah Law & Justice Center 645 South 200 East, Ste. 312 Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3834 801/531-9077 801/531-0660 FAX skuhre@utahbar.org www.utahbar.org Vermont Ms. Martha I. Hicks-Robinson, Director Vermont Judiciary Board of Bar Examiners, Character & Fitness MCLE 111 State Street, Suite 9B Montpelier VT 05609-0701 (802)828-3281 Fax: (802)828-6550 Martha.Hicks-Robinson@state.vt.us www.vermontjudiciary.org Virginia Ms. Gale M. Cartwright Virginia State Bar 1111 E. Main St., Ste. 700 Richmond, VA 23219-3565 804/775-0577 804/775-0544 FAX mcle@vsb.org www.vsb.org Virgin Islands Ms. Hinda Carbon Virgin Islands Bar Association PO Box 4108 Christiansted, VI 00822 340/778-7497 340/773-5060 FAX executivedirector@vibar.org

Washington Ms. Renata Garcia Washington State Bar Association 1325 4th Ave., Ste 600 Seattle, WA 98101-2539 206/727-5987 206/727-8313 FAX renatag@wsba.org www.wsba.org West Virginia Ms. Hope L. Gresham The West Virginia State Bar 2000 Deitrick Blvd Charleston, WV 25311-1231 304/553-7238 304/558-2467 FAX greshamh@wvbar.org www.wvbar.org Wisconsin Ms. Jacquelyn B. Rothstein Board of Bar Examiners Mail: PO Box 2748 Madison, WI 53701-2748 Shipping: 110 E. Main St., Ste. 715, Tenney Building Madison, WI 53703-3328 608/266-9760 608/266-1196 FAX jacquelyn.rothstein@wicourts.gov tammy.mcmillen@wicourts.gov www.wicourts.gov Wyoming Ms. Marie Ellis Wyoming State Bar 4124 Laramie St PO Box 109 Cheyenne, WY 82003-0109 307/632-9061 307/632-3737 FAX mellis@wyomingbar.org www.wyomingbar.org