JOHN N. NEAL

JOHN N. Neal is a partner and chair of the Hospitality and Liquor Control Law Group at Walter | Haverfield, an Ohio firm with offices in Cleveland, Columbus and Mayfield Heights. He focuses his practice on Ohio state and federal liquor permit licensing, and the licensing of Ohio’s new medical marijuana industry.

Neal has developed a diverse set of legal skillswithcomplexcommerciallitigation,employment law, business organizations, insurance coverage, real estate, and business transactions. He has been retained as outside general counsel by companies who need same-day answers on a variety of issues.

Neal counsels companies and individuals on the intricacies of Ohio’s regulation of the liquor industry, including representation of liquor manufacturers, distributors, state liquor agencies, and retail permit holders.

In addition to liquor licensing, Neal has worked on the drafting and implementation of the November 2016 state of Ohio constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana, backed by the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project.

Neal is on the forefront of counseling individuals and businesses on obtaining the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, distribution, and retailer medical marijuana licenses in this brand new industry in Ohio.

Neal earned a BA, magna cum laude, from Miami University, and a JD, cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University.

Married with three children, Neal’s mother is second generation Irish on her maternal side and third generation on her paternal side. The family ancestry stems from counties Mayo and Cork. He is a member of the Irish American Law Society of Cleveland.