KC Branch frequently speaks on complex legal issues at the intersection of cannabis, business law, and professional ethics. His speaking engagements include programs for the American Bar Association, where he is active in both the Business Law and International Law Sections. He has addressed topics such as legal ethics for attorneys representing cannabis clients, labor and hiring restrictions related to cannabis use, human trafficking risks in agricultural labor, and tax burdens under IRC §280E and local ordinances. His sessions are consistently well received by attorneys, regulators, and industry professionals for their clarity, candor, and practical insight.
These themes often inform his strategic counsel, even when not directly at issue, enabling clients to anticipate enforcement trends, reputational challenges, and structural risk before they escalate.
KC Branch Firm PC is based in California and provides strategic guidance to cannabis and hemp operators, investors, and brand owners with regulatory exposure in multiple U.S. jurisdictions and internationally. His clients include licensed THC businesses, hemp beverage companies, agricultural landowners, and cannabis-adjacent enterprises navigating FDA, FTC, and tax frameworks. His work increasingly supports companies operating across or entering into markets in the European Union, Spain, Costa Rica, and Latin America.
KC collaborates regularly with local specialists — including land use attorneys, licensing experts, and foreign counsel — to ensure that jurisdiction-specific requirements are met without losing sight of the overall strategy. He is often brought in where legal complexity is highest: cross-border transactions, overlapping regulatory regimes, or multi-agency compliance environments. In matters involving cannabis and alcohol, he advises on branding conflicts, co-ownership limits, and product separation mandates, helping clients avoid costly regulatory entanglements.
Often engaged to lead overall legal strategy, KC acts as the architect of complex cannabis transactions and compliance efforts, supported by a team of trusted local specialists. Rather than replacing local professionals, he coordinates and integrates their work through close collaboration — ensuring it aligns with a unified legal and business plan. His role is to turn fragmented legal requirements into a coherent, forward-looking strategy that clients and their on-the-ground teams can execute with clarity and confidence.
In 2024, KC Branch served as lead counsel on a cross-border cannabis investment involving a coordinated suite of agreements: intellectual property licensing, indemnification, consulting, and operations. The matter required bridging U.S. and international regulatory frameworks, managing investor risk, and developing a durable structure despite shifting enforcement priorities and banking constraints. He also represented a cannabis delivery startup facing unusually wide-ranging issues — from 280E tax exposure and community opposition to landlord conflict, Detroit licensing, California land use, and eventual bankruptcy planning. The client required coordinated strategic guidance across tax, regulatory, leasing, and financial domains.
KC also advised on a high-value cannabis cultivation venture in Sonoma County that was halted due to wildfire destruction. In that matter, he handled organizational structuring, coordinated with insurers and appraisers on casualty valuation, and provided guidance to protect investor interests during wind-down.
His 2024–2025 work includes counseling hemp product and beverage companies on evolving labeling, IP, and FDA compliance standards; advising landowners and cultivators on zoning and land use conflicts (including with non-licensed crops); and structuring cannabis-adjacent operations to avoid regulatory entanglement. He has worked extensively on conflicts between alcohol and cannabis regulation, including counseling clients on product separation, ownership restrictions, and licensing boundaries.
A key value-add in KC's practice is his role as a strategic legal advisor across jurisdictions. Rather than focusing on the day-to-day application processes handled by local counsel, he provides the macro-level structure many cannabis operators and investors lack — helping clients spot legal risk, regulatory friction, and deal instability early in the process.
While some projects have stalled or changed direction due to external events (e.g., fire, economic headwinds, or community pushback), KC’s role often focuses on protecting the long-term viability of cannabis ventures through legal clarity, careful risk management, and smart contracting.