Women in Hemp

Ali Jubelirer is a seasoned attorney and business advisor with extensive experience in the cannabis and hemp sectors. Drawing on her unique background as both legal counsel and a former owner/operator in these highly regulated industries, Ali offers clients a rare dual perspective - deep legal insight paired with firsthand operational knowledge. She helps cannabis and hemp businesses navigate complex and varied regulations, licensing requirements, compliance, labor and employment matters, disputes and strategic growth, helping them thrive in a rapidly evolving legal landscape. Her clients include cultivators, manufacturers, dispensaries, investors and ancillary service providers working in the cannabis and hemp industries.

Ali’s cannabis and hemp practice includes guiding clients through the purchase and sale of licenses and other strategic transactions, including funding; preparing licensing and managed services agreements; interpreting laws and regulations across multiple jurisdictions; representing clients before state agencies; engaging with regulators; and drafting and negotiating a wide range of commercial contracts. Ali is a trusted partner to her cannabis and hemp clients seeking to launch, scale, and sustain compliant operations in a dynamic legal environment.

Clients turn to Ali not only for her deep legal knowledge but also for her ability to serve as a strategic partner. She helps organizations proactively manage risk and navigate complex legal issues with confidence. Her counsel is grounded in a thorough understanding of both the letter of the law and the practical needs of modern businesses. Ali also brings significant experience working with startups and tech companies across various industries. Her tenure at Groupon, starting shortly after its public listing, provided her with invaluable insights into the legal and operational needs of high-growth tech companies. This experience, combined with her comprehensive legal background, enables Ali to effectively assist clients both within and outside the cannabis industry.

Prior to joining Benesch Ali ran “Dynamic Jack,” a licensed cannabis cultivation and manufacturing company in New Mexico, and later founded “Dynamic Jane” to develop hemp-infused beverages as a brand owner. Before these ventures, Ali served as General Counsel and head of HR to a multi-state cannabis operator based in Chicago and founded CannaMatch, a company with the mission of connecting new Illinois social equity cannabis licensees to trusted service providers. Ali also served as outside General Counsel and head of HR for AeroPay, a compliant cashless payment platform serving cannabis and other highly regulated industries.

Ali’s career prior to entering the cannabis industry includes nearly eight years at Groupon in various roles, culminating as VP & Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer in 2019, where she oversaw the U.S and international employment and labor needs of the company, its global ethics and compliance program, and its immigration function. She also spent six years at Tribune Company as employment in-house counsel and five years at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, focusing or traditional labor and employment litigation.

Ali holds a B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University Honors Program and a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She is a certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP) and holds a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) certification. In addition to writing articles about her experiences as a cannabis and hemp operator and her legal interpretation of both new and changing laws, Ali is a sought-after speaker on cannabis and hemp law and policy, entrepreneurship and her experience as a woman in the industry. Ali is ranked as a Global Top 200 cannabis attorney and is actively involved in industry organizations like the Hemp Beverage Alliance and advocacy efforts aimed at shaping the future of responsible cannabis and hemp regulation.

I work for Dart Bank which was the first bank in Michigan to serve the cannabis industry. We now serve cannabis and hemp businesses nationwide. Dart Bank also offers inhouse payments for hemp and cannabis supporting businesses via our subsidiary West Town Payments. We have been banking the cannabis & hemp ecosystem since 2019 - we are committed to the industry. I live in Connecticut.

Director of Operations, HBA