Jonathan Bench

Jonathan is chair of Harris Sliwoski’s corporate practice group, where he helps public and private companies with international and domestic business transactions. His clientele includes companies from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Jonathan has worked and consulted in the U.S., Asia, and South America and is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese.

He is an emerging blockchain legal expert and enjoys developing international legal strategies with promising web3 projects.

Philippines rice terraces

The Philippines: Cannabis in Duterte’s Backyard?

For those of you familiar with the Philippines, you know that “President Rodrigo Duterte” and “war on drugs” are two parts of the same phrase. In the first two years of his presidency, Duterte sanctioned the killing of over 10,000 Filipinos who were connected in any way to the drug trade. But you might be

Blue shoes on yellow line with words start here

International Cannabis: Guidance for Companies Entering the U.S. Market

As I mentioned in a prior post (see here), we have been fielding regular inquiries from international cannabis companies that want to engage with the U.S. market by selling raw hemp or cannabis, distillates (including cannabinoids), and products, including products that have been proven in their home markets. How to Enter the U.S. Market High-Level

Global Cannabis

International Cannabis Continues to Look to the U.S. Market

Although COVID-19 is causing much of the world to slow down, business deals in many industries continue. Companies continue to seek strategic acquisitions, partnerships, and investments as they enter new international markets or seek to relocate a portion of their business or supply chain from higher-risk markets, such as China, to lower-risk markets in Southeast

Welcome to Delaware vintage rusty metal sign

Delaware Cannabis Business Incorporation: Authorized and Issued Shares

Even though COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the world and the U.S. economy, we continue to work on interesting and complex business deals with our cannabis clients with many clients either looking to acquire or be acquired as the industry matures and inevitable consolidation occurs. And because many deals continue to have a Delaware

Sisal fiber hanging drying in field

As China’s Hemp Industry Suffers, U.S. Hemp Growers Prepare to Pounce

The U.S. hemp market continues to heat up for a variety of reasons, mainly because the general populace is finally starting to understand the difference between cannabis as marijuana and cannabis as hemp (and the benefits of CBD and other cannabinoids derived from cannabis). In this post I’ll discuss why China’s pain can be U.S.

Cannabis insurance

Anatomy of a Cannabis Insurance Policy

The Basics of a Cannabis Insurance Policy Insurance in the cannabis industry is big business, and business owners need to know what policies are available and what those policies cover. Why? Because in insurance policies, like all other business contracts (e.g. leases), the risk of a business venture is divided between the contracting parties. Your

China Hemp

Will China Really Buy More U.S. Hemp? There is No Guarantee

Two major President Trump-centric events have been unfolding these past few weeks, and each has alternatingly claimed the limelight and been overshadowed by the other. First, we have the ongoing Senate impeachment hearings, which began January 16, and second, phase one of the U.S.-China trade deal, which was signed and made public on January 15.