RZA Legal — 2025: Year in Review

This year we doubled down on what we do best: practical legal solutions for regulated businesses and entrepreneurs across Colorado (and beyond). We guided clients through complex licensing issues and transactions, assisted with commercial, residential and agricultural real estate deals, advocated for responsible state and local policy, and kept educating future lawyers and entrepreneurs on evolving laws and regulations — especially around cannabis, liquor, real estate, and natural medicine.  With an attorney in Fort Collins and an attorney in Grand Lake, we covered a lot of ground serving clients across the state, but with a renewed focus on working within our local communities.  And we didn’t just work all year, we played a bit too, including celebrating our firm’s 10^th anniversary with a party at Tetra Lounge in Denver this August!

Firm highlights & milestones

• Officially moved our HQ to midtown Fort Collins! With this move came an opportunity to meet more community members and our awesome neighbors in Northern Colorado.

  
  

• Joined some excellent professional groups including the Northern Colorado chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), Northern Colorado Community, and the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce.
  

• Attended and shared takeaways from major national gatherings that inform our regulatory practice including the 9^th Annual Colorado Cannabis Symposium, Psychedelic Science 2025, the MCBA Equity Tour, the INCBA’s Cannabis Law Institute, and National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium.   

• Published new client-facing resources on assisting buyers and sellers of businesses and real estate as well as opportunities under Colorado’s personal-use natural medicine laws and operational readiness for licensed marijuana and psychedelics businesses. 
  

Client achievements

We’re grateful to the entrepreneurs and regulated businesses who trusted us this year. Some representative wins:

• Negotiated and closed commercial real estate deals on behalf of landlords and tenants, sellers and buyers, to ensure legal and regulatory compliance, as well as fair terms – these included such businesses as restaurants, dispensaries, grow facilities, manufacturing facilities, and retail shops.
  

• Convinced a municipality to lift a summary suspension on a liquor licensed business, getting them back to operational and able to sell their business.
  

• Advised clients through complex purchases of regulated cannabis businesses, structuring the transactions to preserve value and reduce regulatory risk. 
  

• Resolved a dispute between business partners which led to an out of court settlement and partner buy-out, saving the client tens of thousands in legal fees and litigation costs.
  

• Guided clients to be the first recreational dispensaries to open in their respective markets.  

• Drafted SOPs, contracts, and website terms & conditions for multiple operators, reducing client risk and helping with smoother business operations.
  

• Supported the Denver Social Equity Technical Assistance Program and participants.
  

• Resolved disciplinary actions against liquor and marijuana licensees to enable them to remain in business and maintain their licenses.
  

• Drafted multiple comprehensive estate plans to allay client concerns before international vacations.
  

Speaking, teaching, and outreach

Education and advocacy remained central to our work in 2025 – Rachael presented nearly every month of 2025, including the following highlights:

• Presenting at the Larimer County Trust & Estate Section on the legal crossroads of marijuana, natural medicine, estate planning and probate.
  

• Panelist at the Women Grow Leadership Summit in Maryland and moderated a fireside chat with Governor Polis’ deputy counsel and special advisor on cannabis and natural medicines at the 9^th annual Cannabis Law Symposium.
  

• Discussed legal pitfalls for entrepreneurs at the Founded in FoCo conference
  

• Appeared on the Under the Microscope Podcast with the one and only Jenny Germano
  

• Talked to everyone at our booth at BIPOCANN’s Vendor Day!
  

• Presented at CREW on Legal Issues to Spot in Commercial Real Estate Deals.  
  

• Presented on the intersection of second amendment rights and cannabis rights at Cannabis Law Institute
  

• Volunteered at Senior Law Day at the Fort Collins Senior Center 
  

• Presented to She Goes High at the Fort Collins Chamber on owning your power and the legal side of protecting your business
  

• Chatted with the incomparable Curt Bear on the LoCo Experience Podcast 
  

• Served as member at large for the Colorado Bar Association Natural Medicine Committee and Past-Chair of the Cannabis Law Section
  

• Joined the Board of Directors at Har Shalom in Fort Collins
  

• Was selected to take part in the Leadership Fort Collins program for 2025-2026
  

Publications & blog highlights

We continued publishing explainers and resources to help clients and community members understand new rules and practical next steps for their businesses:

• “Understanding Colorado’s Personal Use Laws for Natural Medicine” (Jan 22, 2025) — an overview for entrepreneurs exploring compliant ancillary businesses and licensed healing centers.
  

• Psychedelic Science 2025 recap — takeaways and how the conference informs practice and policy work.
  

• Ongoing coverage of SOPs, real estate, and licensing guidance — see the RZA Legal blog archive for full posts and past recaps.
  

Looking ahead to 2026

We’ll keep sharpening our practical playbook for Colorado entrepreneurs: licensing readiness, real estate strategies, transaction structuring that protects value, and advocacy that helps communities and businesses thrive together. If you're launching a new business or expanding an existing one, let’s connect early — planning ahead is the best way to protect time, capital, and opportunity.

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