"Her expertise is impressive, and she demonstrates both thoroughness and responsiveness.” - Benesch Client, Chambers USA
“Bryna is an outstanding attorney, wonderful to work with, and highly knowledgeable in all aspects of cannabis law and compliance.” - Benesch Client, Chambers USA
Bryna’s clients are her priority, and she is laser focused on helping them achieve their goals, whether they be courtroom wins, effective case resolutions or creative business solutions. Bryna is known for giving real-world guidance that is clear and practical. With over 25 years’ experience in high-stakes litigation, she has represented clients in a wide array of matters, including false advertising, product liability, defamation, trademark, trade secret and copyright cases.
Bryna also serves as chair of the nationally ranked Cannabis Industry Group at Benesch, where she works on the cutting edge of an industry known for its regulatory complexity and challenging legal and business landscape. Her clients are nationwide and range from new entrants in the space to publicly-traded companies operating across dozens of states.
In her litigation practice, Bryna works with clients in a range of industries, including consumer products, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, commodities, entertainment, and cannabis. She has substantial courtroom and appellate advocacy experience and is also skilled at assisting clients in need of reputation management. She has handled high-profile false advertising and defamation matters, copyright and trademark cases for household name companies, and a wide variety of class actions in federal and state courts throughout the country.
Bryna has collectively handled cases worth tens of billions of dollars, including defeating a $1.15 billion constitutional claim on summary judgment. She also defeated nationwide, single-state and multistate class certifications on behalf of a toy manufacturer and its big box retailers involving a popular children’s toy that contained a Schedule I controlled substance when swallowed.
Other representations include defending a labeling class action seeking to remove a wide category of cannabis products from the state-legal market; trademark work for a well-known film production company; and litigating a defamation case against a popular singer and television personality. Bryna also has experience defending food and beverage companies in lawsuits involving misleading health and benefit claims. Her deep experience defending all manners of deceptive advertising and product defect claims includes matters before the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Advertising Review Board.
For over a decade, Bryna has also advised companies in the cannabis space. She prides herself on gaining a keen understanding of their operations. Bryna understands the challenges in the cannabis industry and loves nothing more than seeing her clients grow and meet their business goals.
Bryna and her team advise cannabis clients across the country on issues of regulatory compliance, risk avoidance, company formation and structuring, licensing, corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, advertising and product packaging, brand strategy and intellectual property protection. They also perform legal due diligence for investors in the cannabis space, and guide hemp clients in navigating a constantly evolving legal landscape.
Bryna has lectured across the country on the ever-evolving landscape in cannabis law and served as an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she taught Illinois’ first law course on cannabis. She is nationally ranked by Chambers & Partners for cannabis law, is a Global Top 200 cannabis lawyer, and her Cannabis Industry Group is recognized by the Legal 500. Past honors have included Crain’s Notable Women in Law, Super Lawyers, and the National Law Journal’s 40 under 40 in Chicago.
