Tri-State Cannabis & Real Estate Conference

Jeremy Unruh serves as the PharmaCann senior vice president of public and regulatory affairs. Jeremy is responsible for the company’s strategic external matters, including legislative policy and public affairs; media relationships; organized labor; and coordination with state and local regulators. He works closely with PharmaCann’s finance team to facilitate investor and banking relationships. He manages lobbying efforts in eight statehouses and Washington, D.C., and is at the tip of the spear as PharmaCann works to optimize its operations across the company’s eight-state footprint. Jeremy was PharmaCann’s first employee, initially serving a general counsel and chief compliance officer, and later focusing on the company’s external affairs. Beginning his career as a prosecutor, Jeremy was trained in trial advocacy by the United States Department of Justice at the National College of District Attorneys in Columbia, S.C. Before his appointment as the first-chair prosecutor in the courtroom of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Jeremy successfully investigated and tried drug cases, homicides, financial, and sexual abuse crimes. Jeremy went into private practice for a national law firm that would reach the American Lawyer Top 100 during his tenure. Jeremy’s practice focused on commercial litigation, internal compliance investigations in the financial services and healthcare sectors, and product liability defense. He was the lead trial attorney on the national product liability trial team for a Fortune 100 industrial company for many years. He joined the firm’s Chicago office in 2006, where he helped grow the Chicago law firm from a handful of lawyers to an office of more than 100 lawyers when he left to join the cannabis industry in 2015. Jeremy has a B.S. from Kansas State University. He earned a Juris Doctor from Washburn University School of Law where he was an inaugural recipient of the Environmental Law certificate. While serving as an assistant state’s attorney in Chicago, Jeremy attended DePaul University Kellstadt School of Business Management at night and earned his M.B.A. Jeremy lives in Winnetka, Illinois with his beautiful wife, three delightful children, and a half-witted dog.

Known for his high level of personal commitment to his clients, Robert has the skill, knowledge and creativity necessary to solve problems and identify opportunities for them. As a member of the firm’s Real Estate practice, Robert counsels developers, real estate equity and opportunity funds, real estate investment trusts, investors, owners and tenants in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. His practice is national in scope and encompasses a broad range of transactions, with particular emphasis on acquisitions, dispositions, development and retail leasing. His professional focus also includes the management, financing and construction of commercial, retail, industrial and multi-unit residential properties. Robert is also chair of the firm’s Cannabis Group and counsels clients regarding regulatory compliance, risk management, governmental affairs, licensing and the leasing and acquisition of real property in connection with cannabis related uses. He employs a grass-roots approach that is pivotal in breaking the stigma associated with cannabis and its derivatives. Honors & Awards Recently recognized as a “Cannabis Law Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal, a “New Leader of the Bar” honoree by New Jersey Law Journal, a “Leader in the Law” by NJBIZ, and the recipient of a Band ranking from the prestigious Chambers USA, Robert DiPisa has gained a reputation for his steadfast ability to guide clients from across the cannabis industry. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Representative matters include: Representing cannabis entrepreneurs in connection with applications for vertically integrated medicinal cannabis licenses in the State of New Jersey. Representing New York and New Jersey based real estate investment and property services firm in connection with the acquisition of a 10.4 acre site formerly occupied by a Bon Ton Department Store at Westgate Mall in Bethlehem, PA for $30,000,000. Representing publicly traded REIT in connection with the concurrent leasing of 17 sites across 10 states to a national value based gym totaling approximately 220,000 square feet. Representing landlords and tenants in connection with the leasing of real estate for cannabis related businesses. Representing redeveloper and urban renewal entity in connection with the acquisition of a 2.73-acre former manufacturing facility site in Jersey City, NJ for $17,000,000 for the purposes of developing a mixed use multi-unit residential and retail development. Representing a prominent New Jersey commercial real estate owner and developer in the sale of four supermarket and pharmacy anchored shopping centers for $124,550,000 to a REIT in an “off market” transaction deemed “the largest strip center portfolio trade in Northern New Jersey over the last decade” by Northeast Real Estate Business Magazine. The representation included the creation and administration of an on-line due diligence document database containing over 500 files for bidders’ review, establishing bidding procedures for prospective purchasers, evaluating the bids received with the client, closing on the sale, and negotiating post-closing environmental obligations and related financial assurances. Representing a post-bankruptcy entity in the disposition of over 343 acres of land throughout the United States in connection with an asset sale in the amount of $146,749,000. The representation included establishing bidding procedures for prospective purchasers, evaluating the bids received with the client, closing on the sale, and negotiating post-closing environmental obligation. Representing the owner of the Rosedale Center, a multi-level mall in Roseville, Minnesota containing over 1,000,000 square feet of floor area with approximately 171 stores and 18 restaurants, in the negotiation of numerous leases and amendments with national and regional tenants. Representing private REIT concerning offering in connection with the acquisition of commercial property located in Chattanooga, TN. Representing prominent national developers in connection with obtaining funding from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency Incentive Program for the development of three mixed use high-rise towers in Jersey City, NJ. Representing client in connection with the potential buyout of an existing vertically integrated medicinal cannabis license in the State of New Jersey. Representing prominent New Jersey developer concerning the development of a mixed-use residential commercial property located in Harrison, NJ. Representing Walgreens Co. and McDonald’s USA, LLC before planning and zoning boards throughout Hudson and Essex County, NJ. Representing startups in the areas of information technology, real estate and the sale of consumer goods and services. Networks & Affiliations He is a frequent presenter on the economic benefits of the cannabis industry, lectures courses on cannabis law and is a member of several organizations including New Jersey CannaBusiness Association and REVEL. In addition, Robert is a contributor to national publications on this topic such as MarketWatch, Bloomberg Law, POLITICO, Marijuana Business Daily and The Wall Street Journal.

Karl Frederic is a Partner with the law firm of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP. Has a multi-disciplinary practice focusing on real estate development, leasing, construction and related matters involving the full spectrum of real estate assets -- from retail centers and corporate headquarters to MetLife Stadium. He has a particular experience in real estate matters involving the pharmaceutical and bio-tech industries. He also advises on acquisitions and the repositioning and expansion of existing developed assets. As the cannabis industry has risen over the past few years, Karl has applied his experience in life sciences to the needs of this sector, and has developed significant contacts throughout the cannabis industry, including representing trade groups, cultivators and CBD start-ups. Karl frequently speaks and writes on cannabis and related topics. He can be reached at T: 732.448.2552 or E:

For over two decades, David has worn two hats; he has been one of Chicago’s premier general contractors, and also a practicing real estate and zoning attorney. In 2017 he combined those unique skill sets along with his passion for the cannabis industry to co-found, Grow America Builders, to be one of the only national Design+Build firms working exclusively in cannabis. David’s 20+ years experience in retail, industrial and commercial construction provided a seamless transition into the different methods of cannabis facility construction. But his legal experience in real estate and zoning law is what gives his clients an advantage when navigating through the numerous zoning, building and compliance codes that regulate cannabis construction. David’s vision was to create a company that would be a true one stop for any cannabis client; consulting, zoning entitlements, land development, architecture, engineering, interior design, and turnkey construction. That vision came to life via Grow America Builders, and since its inception, David and his team have worked on virtually every type of cannabis facility literally from coast to coast across fourteen states in almost every scope and capacity. David earned his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Iowa and Juris Doctor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Daniel founded AEBOV Industrial Real Estate Brokerage in June of 2020 to hone in on his passion for industrial real estate. Shortly thereafter the firm started to take on clients in the cannabis space. Currently, AEBOV represents cannabis operators across all license classes looking to acquire facilities in NY or NJ. Daniel's podcast, "AEBOV Grade", shares discussions with industry leaders on all facets of industrial real estate. He also hosts a webinar series entitled "From Ordinance to Opportunity", which delves into cannabis real estate-related issues. Daniel is currently a member of the Cannabis & Hemp Networking Association NY and a column contributor to the Commercial Observer.

As a partner in Seyfarth’s Real Estate department, Christopher’s practice focuses on the representation of purchasers, sellers, investors, developers, lenders, tenants, and landlords in all facets of their commercial real estate portfolios. Christopher has been a member of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council’s Sustainability Initiative, which focuses on the intersection of climate risk and commercial real estate finance, since its inception in 2021. He is also a member of the firm’s Impact & ESG advisory group. In 2023, Christopher served as a curator on the Content Committee for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s BuildingEnergy NYC conference—a conference dedicated to sustainability in real estate and decarbonizing the built environment. Drawing on his experience in the cannabis real estate space, Christopher served as a panelist for a 2022 Strafford CLE webinar on leasing to cannabis-related businesses.