Allison Margolin

Allison Margolin
NationalityAmerican
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
OccupationLawyer
Years active2002–present
Known forMarijuana Advocate & Criminal Defense Attorney
Websiteallisonmargolin.com

Allison Margolin is an American attorney and author of Jury Nullifications and Reasonable Doubt and Just Dope: A Leading Attorney's Personal Journey Inside the War on Drugs.[1][2]

Margolin is based in Los Angeles, California, but practices law throughout California. Margolin handles matters in all counties including Siskiyou County and Stanislaus County where she currently practices criminal defense, code enforcement defense, and water law. Margolin has been hired in other states including Utah, Nevada, and Oklahoma, and has currently been profiled for her work in the Asian American discrimination case, Lo et al v. County of Siskiyou et al.[3][4]

Margolin is known for her work as a criminal defense attorney, and early on became known for her advocacy for drug legalization and criminal justice reform. She is the daughter of Bruce Margolin, one of the first lawyers to champion efforts to decriminalize marijuana in the 1970s. In 1999 Margolin completed her undergraduate at Columbia University where she graduated magna cum laude in Political Science and obtained a certificate in Creative Writing, and taught a section of Judicial Politics, in connection with receiving the Arthur Rose Teaching Assistant-ship. She then entered Harvard Law School. Her Harvard application essay argued that all drugs should be legalized.[5] Margolin graduated from Harvard with a J.D. in 2002. Margolin began her legal career representing people with terminal diseases who were facing criminal charges for marijuana activity.[6] By 2008, she had a reputation for getting cases dismissed, and for recovering marijuana plants that had been seized by police.[7] She has represented growers and distributors in marijuana cases in both state and federal court, including the Supreme Court of California and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[8][9]

She initially gained notoriety for "unorthodox ads" that proclaimed her "L.A.'s dopest attorney". Margolin was one of the first attorneys to advertise her law practice on YouTube.[5][10] She is a founding partner of Allison Margolin PLC and the law firm Margolin & Lawrence, where she practiced regulatory and business law, as well as federal and state criminal defense.[11][12][13]

Margolin is also the author of Jury Nullifications and Reasonable Doubt, published by Phoenix Books in January 2008.[14] As a cannabis lawyer, she is an advocate for regulations that remedy the effects of the drug war and promote social equity.[15][16] From 2018 to 2023 she was named a SuperLawyer by Thomson Reuters and was selected to Rising Stars from 2010 to 2012 and 2015 to 2017. [17]

  1. ^ Margolin, Allison B.; Engemann, Shannon (2007). Jury nullifications and reasonable doubt. Phoenix Books. OCLC 190958289.
  2. ^ Margolin, Allison (2022). Just dope: a leading attorney's personal journey inside the war on drugs. North Atlantic Books. ISBN 9781623176860. OCLC 1287992984.
  3. ^ "Lawmaker's Email Compares California Weed Farmers to 'Sharia Law'". August 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "Lo v. Cnty. Of Siskiyou, 2:21-cv-00999-KJM-AC | Casetext Search + Citator".
  5. ^ a b Dolan, Maura (August 22, 2006). "A Law Unto Herself". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  6. ^ "Allison Margolin, L.A.'s Dopest Attorney". June 12, 2013.
  7. ^ "Dr. Kush". The New Yorker. July 20, 2008.
  8. ^ Winship, Parker. "LA's Premiere Marijuana Attorney on Advice for Extractors and Her Plan to End the Drug War". Dabs Magazine.
  9. ^ G. M. Filisko (September 1, 2012), "A Dope Niche: With State Law Changes, It's Pot That's Hot", ABA Journal, American Bar Association
  10. ^ Slater, Dan (July 25, 2008). "L.A.'s Dopest Attorney Says Courts Need to Bone Up on Pot Law - Law Blog - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  11. ^ "Los Angeles' Latest Draft Rules Worry Cultivators and Manufacturers". February 27, 2021.
  12. ^ "California's Legal Pot Law is Helping Give Felons Their Lives Back". June 12, 2017.
  13. ^ "Accepting marijuana is a step toward seeing it's used safely: Guest commentary". Los Angeles Daily News. June 8, 2017.
  14. ^ "Jury nullifications and reasonable doubt | WorldCat.org". Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  15. ^ "Is marijuana legal in California? 6 things you should know". January 2, 2018.
  16. ^ "How L.A. Can make its marijuana rules more fair (And more fun): Guest commentary". Los Angeles Daily News. July 12, 2017.
  17. ^ "Top Rated Beverly Hills, CA Criminal Defense Attorney | Allison Margolin | Super Lawyers". Retrieved October 28, 2023.