Features December 2022

Most commercial cannabis producers grow in large spaces, cultivating multiple strains to scale up quickly. Many also subject their plants to intense radiation to destroy microbial growth, like yeast or mold, a process which causes the plant’s terpene profile—a strain’s characteristic aroma and flavor—to suffer. By contrast, Arizona-based cannabis operator Sonoran Roots grows limited strains […]

It amuses—and bemuses—Julia Belagorudsky when colleagues from other departments speculate how she mustn’t bore easily. They wonder, what’s an in-house lawyer to do other than review contracts. Only that’s not what she does all day at Dotdash Meredith. To be sure, there’s fine print to pore over, but Belagorudsky finds it as intellectually stimulating as […]

Communication towers can be anywhere from a diminutive six feet to a sky piercing 200. While their antennas and other digital equipment allow cell phones, telephones and radios to function, legal management allows them to remain compliant with all local regulations. That’s where Sheila Marcella Romero Rodriguez comes in, managing all Phoenix Tower International legal […]

Getting your name in lights means a lot—just ask Robert Lavet. As general counsel for SoFi Technologies Inc., he helped negotiate the company’s 20-year naming rights agreement for the new football stadium in Inglewood, California. While SoFi CEO and former NFL Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto came up with the idea, Lavet and outside counsel […]

It’s called the Okanagan Charter, a pact introduced in 2015 at the International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges. And this past October, the small and private Ursinus College became the first liberal arts institution of higher learning to sign on. This simply reaffirmed the college’s existing commitment, says Robert C. Clothier, the college’s […]

There are times when Bill Caruso might sigh at the regulations a private, for-profit college must adhere to. Case in point: No more than 90 percent of its revenue can come from federal financial aid. The underlying theory is that a private, for-profit school should be of sufficient quality to garner more than 10 percent […]

One day during a middle school computer class in Naperville, Illinois, Tajanae Mallett took a skills and knowledge test that predicted her ideal career would be as a corporate attorney. For the last 10 years, she’s followed that path, but not in the traditional sense. Typically, a lawyer spends time honing their legal skills in […]

When Nestlé Health Science bought Atrium Innovations for $2.3 billion in 2018, it added supplement lines to its product portfolio including Garden of Life and Pure Encapsulations—along with about 1,200 employees globally. Jonathan Abikhzer was one of those employees. As associate general counsel for Atrium Innovations, he provided legal support and guidance for the acquisition, […]

When Hurricane Ian hit Florida in September, Bethune-Cookman University was the first college in the state to evacuate students. Located in Daytona Beach, along Florida’s eastern coast, the campus was damaged by flooding and severe winds. Trees fell across much of campus and awnings were ripped from buildings. Students left on Sept. 26, two days […]

Growing up in Garland, Texas, Justin Wheeler loved it when his parents would drive him and his friends to the 20-screen Cinemark theater across town in Plano—the nicest cineplex in the area. Noticing this, Wheeler’s father encouraged his son to do something he enjoyed. While acting wasn’t for Wheeler, the young man eventually realized a […]