Brad I. Rifkin

Overview

Brad I. Rifkin co-chairs the firm’s Government Relations and Lobbying division and is a member of the Sports Law, Gaming and Facilities, and Complex Civil and Commercial Litigation practice groups, where he has represented clients with a wide array of statutory, regulatory, funding, and procurement interests, including alcohol manufacturing, automobile dealer, casino-gaming, innovative technology, insurance, medical cannabis, non-profit organizations, rental cars, and ride-hailing.  Previously, Brad worked in the front offices of the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers baseball clubs.  A member of the Maryland State Bar Association, Brad currently serves as the president of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, where he also sits on the Board of Directors.

Some of the issues Brad has specifically assisted clients with includes:

• Led effort on the successful passage of legislation to modernize alcoholic beverage laws on behalf of Maryland’s craft alcohol manufacturers (including the statutory reform of Maryland’s beer franchise laws for the first time since 1974).
• Assisted effort on the successful passage of transformative legislation to create the first statutory and regulatory framework for peer-to-peer ridesharing in the nation.
• Led emergency Executive Order and subsequent legislative effort to grant direct-to-consumer shipping and delivery of alcohol for all Maryland alcohol manufacturers (breweries, distilleries, and wineries) during the pandemic.
• Led effort on the successful passage of complex and high-profile medical cannabis legislation to expand ownership rights (e.g., granting authority to own multiple dispensary licenses) and advance in-state research capabilities for program licensees (in partnership with academic institutions).
• Led and assisted in successful effort to secure emergency supplemental funding for non-profit and for-profit organizations during the pandemic.
• Assisted in effort to legalize sports betting in Maryland.
• Assisted in effort on the successful passage of legislation to keep the Preakness Stakes® in Baltimore City, redevelop Pimlico and Laurel racetracks, and help advance the long-standing interests of the Park Heights community.
• Led effort on the successful passage of legislation to create a statutory framework for Maryland’s private sector industrial hemp industry.
• Led effort on the successful passage of legislation to authorize a new class of street-legal vehicles in Maryland.