Gina Austin is the founder and managing attorney of Austin Legal Group, and leads our Cannabis, Securities, and Corporate and Land Use Departments. Gina brings a wealth of practical knowledge and insights to her practice as a result of her over 25 years of experience and familiarity with a broad range of legal practice areas.
Gina’s experience in land use entitlement has provided a foundation for great success obtaining permits from local municipalities. For example, Gina regularly assists clients through third-party project oppositions and appeals, environmental challenges, public hearing preparations, delays in local jurisdiction responses and processing, assistance in guiding technical experts through required transportation analysis, noise impact analysis, biological resource reports, and more. Gina’s deep understanding of both cannabis law and corporate transactions uniquely positions her to guide clients through this complex regulatory framework.
As a seasoned corporate and securities attorney, Gina has guided companies through complex transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, tender offers, debt financing, management services agreements, licensing agreements, and entering the public markets. Her expertise encompasses both transactional and regulatory aspects of securities law, making her a trusted advisor to clients navigating complex financial landscapes.
Since focusing on the cannabis industry in 2013, Gina has worked with over 150 cannabis companies in all areas of the supply chain. Gina has been a featured speaker in dozens of cannabis conferences, providing insight on a wide variety of topics such as land use, zoning, regulatory compliance, corporate structure, mergers and acquisitions, and environmental issues. Austin Legal Group represents cannabis companies in dozens of jurisdictions throughout California as well as Colorado, Washington, Oregon, New York and Nevada. Cannabis companies operate in a unique legal landscape, navigating federal restrictions alongside state-specific regulations, which demands specialized expertise. Gina is also the founder of ALG Strategies, a cannabis consulting firm that assists prospective and existing cannabis license holders through the complex application, licensing, and permitting process both at state and local levels.
Currently, Gina represents public and private companies both inside and outside of the cannabis industry in a variety of corporate transactions including strategic planning, public offerings, private equity, M&A, and other general corporate matters. Gina also continues to represent non-cannabis land use clients to help them maximize their real estate investment.
Memberships:
- San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, member of the Public Policy Committee and Cannabis working group
- National Cannabis Industry Association, member
- California Cannabis Industry Association, member
- International Cannabis Bar Association, member
- San Diego County Bar Association, member Land Use Law and Business & Corporate Law Sections
Education:
- J.D., Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Cum Laude
- M.A., San Diego State University
- B.A., San Diego State University
Bar & Court Admissions:
- California
- Hawaii
