Mar 2, 2020
Vicente Sederberg Partners With MCLE to Launch Economic Empowerment Scholarship Fund
BOSTON — Vicente Sederberg LLP, a national leader in cannabis and hemp law and policy with a mission to advance the legal cannabis industry in a dynamic and responsible manner, is partnering with Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE) to create the Vicente Sederberg Economic Empowerment Scholarship Fund. This initiative is exemplary of the firm’s efforts to assist the Commonwealth in promoting full participation in the marijuana industry by people from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement.
“Vicente Sederberg firmly supports social equity and economic empowerment, and we are thrilled to kick off the MCLE Economic Empowerment Fund with our firm’s $25,000 commitment," said Adam D. Fine, managing partner of the Boston office of Vicente Sederberg. "By providing cannabis law training scholarships to other lawyers and business leaders who share this commitment, we can help reduce some of the barriers to entry into the legal cannabis industry.”
Beginning with Vicente Sederberg’s $25,000 commitment, the Economic Empowerment Fund will enable MCLE to award up to ten annual scholarships to MCLE programs in cannabis law and related areas (including business, environmental, real estate, municipal and tax law). Qualified recipients of the scholarships are lawyers who provide pro bono or reduced cost legal services to Massachusetts social equity program participants and Economic Empowerment applicants, or to individuals and businesses in those impacted communities—including those seeking licensure, ownership of or careers in marijuana establishments as well as inventors and developers of new cannabis accessories and tools. Additional scholarships will be made available as more firms and businesses contribute to the Fund.
“MCLE is grateful to Vicente Sederberg for its leadership in this area and for its generous support of MCLE’s Scholarship Endowment,” said Richard C. Van Nostrand, MCLE President. “We welcome other firms to join in our effort to provide tuition assistance to lawyers who serve the public interest and who, without financial aid, would not be able to attend MCLE programs.”
For lawyers interested in applying for a scholarship from this fund to a relevant MCLE program, email your request toscholarships@mcle.org. Please include the title and date of the program of interest and a brief explanation of your need and how attending the program will help you serve individuals or businesses in disproportionately impacted communities as described above.
To help make more scholarships available, contact Sal Ricciardone, Esq., Director of Philanthropy & Special Projects at sricciardone@mcle.org. Tax-deductible donations can be made to enhance the impact of the Vicente Sederberg Economic Empowerment Scholarship Fund on the training and education of deserving lawyers, by clicking on the link below, or print and complete a pledge form and return it to MCLE, c/o Sal Ricciardone, Esq., Director of Philanthropy & Special Projects, 10 Winter Place, Boston, MA 02108 or sricciardone@mcle.org. For more information about MCLE’s Scholarship Endowment or our named scholarship funds honoring outstanding members of the Massachusetts legal community, please click here.
About MCLE
Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE | New England®) aims to keep raising the caliber of lawyers’ professional and ethical service to their clients and communities by providing comprehensive and practical continuing legal education of the highest quality to the broadest possible audience.
About Vicente Sederberg LLP
Vicente Sederberg is a national cannabis law firm that has been on the leading edge of marijuana and hemp law and policy for nearly a decade. It has approximately 100 employees, including more than 40 attorneys, working out of offices in Denver, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Jacksonville. VS offers a full suite of corporate, legal, policy, regulatory, and research services for all types of cannabis businesses, ancillary businesses, trade associations, nonprofits, and governmental bodies. Since its founding in 2010, VS has helped shape marijuana and hemp policies across the nation and around the globe. Chambers and Partners USA ranked VS a Band 1 law firm in its inaugural “Cannabis Law” practice category, and it has been recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as “the country’s first powerhouse marijuana law firm.”