Law Offices of Omar Figueroa
The Law Offices of Omar Figueroa is a boutique California law firm focusing on cannabis law. We fight for justice and human rights, and advocate passionately for our clients every step of the way.
About Our Team
When the future of your business is at stake, you need representation that’s as dedicated as you are. Our skilled, highly-focused team guides clients through the maze of laws and regulations surrounding cannabis, hemp, psychedelics, and other emerging industries, staying up-to-the-minute on the evolving policies of relevant state, local and federal governments.
Cannabis, hemp, and psychedelic organizations of all types and sizes, as well as investors, ancillary service providers, landlords, and others in these diverse spaces, turn to us for premiere level counsel. Whether you need help forming a start-up or seek transactional or regulatory guidance for an already thriving company, we have the tools and experience to ensure you can move forward with confidence.
For decades, progress, justice, and the well-being of the community has been our passion. That’s why we continue to work with governing agencies to improve the regulatory environment for our clients and are recognized as industry leaders.
Omar Figueroa
Omar Figueroa has more than twenty six years of experience at the vanguard of California cannabis law and is widely respected as an industry expert.
Omar earned his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Yale College in Connecticut and his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in California. He also graduated from the Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming, and earned a certificate from the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at The Wharton School after completing the intensive “Boards That Lead: Corporate Governance That Builds Value” program in Pennsylvania for directors of corporate boards.
Omar is a Director of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts and the Sonoma County Bar Association. He is also a Founding Lifetime Member and Director Emeritus of the International Cannabis Bar Association, a former Director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, and a Lifetime Member of the NORML Legal Committee.
Omar has been recognized with the Distinguished Counsel’s Award by NORML, and is considered one of the Top 200 Global Psychedelics Lawyers and Policy Experts as well as one of the Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers. He also served a two year-term as a member of the Sonoma County Cannabis Advisory Group after being appointed by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
Omar was trained as a litigator by his mentor, legendary San Francisco trial lawyer J. Tony Serra, sometimes called the Hippie Atticus Finch.
Omar founded a legal publishing company, Lux Law Publishing, and he is the author and publisher of a series of books documenting the evolution of cannabis laws and regulations in California and New York.
Omar has earned respect for his historic work documenting the legal evolution of cannabis law and several of his books are part of the collection of the Stanford Libraries and can be found at the Robert Crown Law Library at Stanford Law School. Omar’s books can also be found at the Lilian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School.
Omar was trained as a litigator by his mentor, legendary San Francisco trial lawyer J. Tony Serra. He also served a two year-term as a member of the Sonoma County Cannabis Advisory Group after being appointed by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
Omar frequently appears in media coverage as a legal expert on cannabis. He has spoken at cannabis events around the world, such as Spannabis and The International Cannabis Business Conference in Barcelona, MJBizCon NEXT in New Orleans, The Emerald Cup in Sonoma County, and the State of Cannabis in Long Beach, to name a few.
Omar is a member of the Ganjier Council and helped develop a curriculum to train Ganjiers (cannabis sommeliers) as well as the Systematic Assessment Protocol (SAP) to judge fine cannabis and concentrates.
Omar’s interests are not limited to cannabis, and he has a profound, long-term interest in entheogen law and policy. Omar has served as a Legal Advisor to Decriminalize California, a campaign to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms in California by means of a statewide voter initiative.
Omar also volunteered his time as a Board Member with the Sonoma County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, and along with other members of its the Law Enforcement Surveillance Technology (LEST) team spearheaded Sonoma County’s first Surveillance Technology Ordinance.
Omar has a long record of pro bono service, including decades of successfully defending protesters and activists. Some notable pro bono cases defended by Omar include, but are not limited to: dismissal of the first federal prosecution brought under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act; dismissal of state charges against OG computer hacker Kevin Mitnick in Los Angeles County; no jail time against journalist Will Parrish in Mendocino County; dismissal against septuagenarian forest defender in Humboldt County; hung jury trial in the Southern District of California (San Diego federal court) with no jail time against legendary activist Rod Coronado; no jail time and no felony conviction against a member of the so-called Paypal 14 in the Northern District of California (San Jose federal court); benevolent hacker Pimpshiz, motivated by a desire to alert authorities to flaws in the information infrastructure (Oakland federal court); cannabis activist and grower Eddy Lepp ( San Francisco federal court); and dismissal against animal rights activist facing multiple felony charges in Sonoma County and years in prison.
Omar considers himself fortunate to live in gorgeous West Sonoma County. In his free time, Omar practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has patiently advanced over many years to the rank of brown belt. Like the late purple belt Anthony Bourdain, Omar’s humble goal in jiu-jitsu is to “suck less tomorrow” by focusing on technique and making small incremental improvements. Oss!
Attorneys
Lauren A. Mendelsohn
Junior Partner Lauren Mendelsohn is an activist at heart who enjoys helping individuals and businesses navigate regulatory regimes and the justice system. An East Coast native with roots in New York and New Jersey, Lauren was named a Northern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers® in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and a “Lawyer of Distinction” in the area of Intellectual Property by Sonoma Magazine in 2021 and 2022.
Lauren focuses on cannabis permitting and licensing, regulatory compliance, business transactions, intellectual property, government affairs (including drafting local ordinances and citizen initiatives, lobbying decision-making bodies, and appearing for clients at administrative hearings), and post-conviction relief. She has spoken at numerous cannabis industry conferences and events, and has also taught several continuing legal education seminars in both live and virtual formats. She was selected as a judge for the 2022 and 2023 Emerald Cup competitions.
For several years, Lauren has been involved in drug policy reform as well as other social justice efforts. She formerly chaired the Board of Directors of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, an international non-profit aimed at ending the counterproductive “War on Drugs.” She also served a term on the Board of the International Cannabis Bar Association. Currently, Lauren sits on the Board of Directors of California NORML, the Sonoma County Growers Alliance, and Círculos Inc. She also volunteers as a chapter leader the Sonoma County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, and is a member of Americans for Safe Access’ California Advisory Committee.
Lauren earned her JD from the University of California, Irvine School of Law and her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Maryland. She is a proud member and supporter of the California State Bar, the Sonoma County Bar Association, the International Cannabis Bar Association (INCBA), Sonoma County Growers Alliance (SCGA), the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Alumni Association, California NORML, the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Sonoma County Regional Parks.
Our Roots
For more than two decades, Omar has devoted his life to defending individuals’ rights and fighting for justice. He is an outspoken advocate of cannabis reform and has helped author ordinances and voter initiatives to re-legalize the cannabis plant including Mendocino County Measure AF, the California Craft Cannabis Initiative, the Marijuana Control Legalization and Revenue Act, and the Repeal Cannabis Prohibition Act. He has also documented the evolution of the Golden State’s cannabis laws by starting a publishing company which has published a series of legal reference books currently in print. In 2010, Omar moved his office from San Francisco to Sonoma County’s progressive town of Sebastopol. Omar and his team continue to give back to the community by sharing information, taking on Pro Bono cases, and serving on the boards of not-for-profit entities.