CHICAGO – Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP represented High Haven https://highhavencannabis.com/, an Illinois-based cannabis company, in its challenge of the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation’s (“IDFPR”) decision to reject High Haven’s social equity application for cannabis dispensary licenses. As a result of IDFPR’s denial, High Haven was excluded from the highly-lucrative dispensary lotteries conducted in 2021. High Haven filed an appeal of the IDFPR’s determination in the Chancery Division of Cook County. After over a year of litigation, the Court agreed with High Haven’s position in an order issued on August 10, 2022. The Court’s order adopted High Haven’s legal arguments and allowed the company to participate in a “corrective lottery” designed to recreate the odds High Haven would have faced had it not been excluded from the original lotteries. High Haven won five licenses in the corrective lottery, making it one of the largest lottery winners. High Haven is now raising capital to launch its operations across Illinois.
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s team was led by Partner Casey Grabenstein, with support from associates Michael Pollock, Tom Laser, and Nick Collins, as well as the firm’s Cannabis Practice.
About Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr
The attorneys of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr are dedicated to providing client-centric counsel to businesses throughout the United States and internationally from 16 offices on the East Coast stretching from Boston to Miami, and extending into the Midwest by way of Chicago and Minneapolis. We advise and defend well-known public and private corporate entities, exciting start-ups and an array of closely-held companies, as well as nonprofits and governmental entities. As a full-service law firm, we handle matters in areas including bankruptcy, business and finance, cybersecurity and privacy, estates and trusts, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, white collar and government enforcement, and real estate. Energy and environmental, food and beverage, cannabis, construction, higher education, insurance, sports and entertainment and life sciences are among the core industries we serve. We are actively engaged in our communities,
and energetically invested in enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession.
