William G. Roark is Managing Partner of the Firm. A member of the firm’s Litigation Department, Bill’s practice focuses on environmental litigation and assisting the firm’s municipal and corporate clients navigate complex administrative law matters including those involving the Federal Clean Water Act, Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law, Hazardous Site Clean Up Act and Act 47 Receiverships.

Bill is also chair of the firm’s medical marijuana practice. Bill represents individuals and businesses in the medical marijuana industry by helping them comply with Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act. He assists clients in understanding the permitting application process and the requirements associated with entering this industry. Because he has remained on the forefront of the legislative development and implementation of the Act, Bill has been asked to plan and present at various educational seminars teaching other professionals about this new law. Since 2014, he has devoted his time to expanding the legal profession’s knowledge and awareness of the Medical Marijuana Act and its precursors so that the profession can be better prepared to meet the numerous legal needs on the horizon. He serves as co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s (PBA) official Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Committee.

An active member of the Montgomery Bar Association, chairing and participating in various committees, Bill is a past editor for the Montgomery County Law Reporter, past chair of the Environmental Law Committee and a contributing editor to Montgomery County’s Civil Practice Manual. He serves as an adjunct professor teaching “Cannabis Law and Regulation” at Villanova University Law School, having previously taught at Temple University Beasley School of Law, and guest lectured at the University of the Sciences. He is an Officer of Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

A graduate of Bucknell University (B.A. Economics, cum laude, 2003), Bill received his law degree with honors in 2006 from Villanova University where he served as a member of the Villanova Moot Court Board Executive Committee. Prior to joining the firm, Bill worked for Environmental Equipment Inc., where he helped usher in the green-age by selling, servicing and installing solar pool heating systems.

Bill has been recognized locally and nationally as a leader in cannabis law. Recently, he was named a “Cannabis Industry Power Player” by Metro News. Three years ago, Bill was selected as a Rising Star for 2020 for Cannabis Law by Law 360, a highly respected national legal publication that recognized lawyers nationwide whose “legal accomplishments transcended their age.” Bill was a recipient of the 2020 PBA Special Achievement Award, recognizing his work in starting up PBA’s Medical Marijuana & Hemp Law Committee. For twelve consecutive years (2010-2021), Bill has been named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars List. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Bill has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for Cannabis Law for 2023-2024. Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin has been selected as a “Best Law Firm” for the years 2015-2024 by U.S. News and World Report. Additionally, Bill is one of only thirty attorneys named to The Legal Intelligencer’s 2018 “Lawyers on the Fast Track.”

Representative Cases

  • Conducted multiple compliance reviews for Pennsylvania and out of state entities submitting permit applications under phase 1 of PA’s Medical Marijuana Act
  • Represented medical marijuana growers, processors and dispensaries at local municipal hearings seeking zoning and land use approval
  • Personally assisted in the drafting of various components of permit applications for medical marijuana organizations
  • Consulted with health care providers to assist in their understanding of a physician’s obligations under Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act
  • Successfully represented commercial real estate owners in a two day trial concerning Pennsylvania’s Hazardous Site Clean Up Act.  The trial resulted in a judgment being entered in Mr. Roark’s client’s favor for approximately a quarter of a million dollars.  The verdict was appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court where Mr. Roark effectively and successfully argued the issues on appeal, resulting in an affirmation of the trial verdict.
  • Represented a young adolescent boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling into an uncovered pit at a reform school.  During trial, the case was settled for seven figures.
  • Enabled owners of interstate tire shredding business to continue operating in Pennsylvania by successfully appealing Department of Environmental Protection’s denials of permit applications.
  • Successfully negotiated a favorable settlement for owners of large mobile home park to recover remediation costs related to a heating oil spill.
  • Effectively obtained a judgment after trial exceeding six hundred thousand dollars against a residential home builder for violations of various consumer statutes and negligent construction.

News

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Education

  • Bucknell University (B.A. in Economics, cum laude, 2003)
  • Villanova University School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2006)

Memberships

  • Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania; Officer
  • Pennsylvania Association for Justice (Formerly Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association); past Board Member
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
    • Co-chair, Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Committee
  • Montgomery Bar Association
    • Editor, Montgomery County Law Reporter (2010-2012)
    • Officer of Young Lawyer Section (2011-2014)
    • Civil Rules Committee Member
    • Civil Practice Manual Committee Member
  • National Cannabis Bar Association; Member

Publications & Speeches

Speeches

  • Guest Speaker, Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, Pennsylvania Bar Association, December 9, 2020
  • Guest Speaker, “Doing Business in a Cannabis World: A European and United States Perspective viewed from Latin America” webinar, CMS Rodríguez-Azuero, December 4, 2020
  • Course Planner, PBI Medical Marijuana & Hemp Law Symposium 2020, October 2020
  • PBI Second Annual Full Day Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Symposium Course planner, March 28, 2019
  • Guest Lecturer, Temple University School of Law, "Drug Law: Policy & Practice" class, November 5, 2018
  • Guest Speaker, Medical Marijuana Educational and Outreach Event sponsored by CURE dispensaries, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, October 18, 2018
  • Intersection of Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act and the Workers' Compensation Acts, Speaker, PBA Workers' Compensation Section Conference, October 4, 2018
  • Medical Marijuana in the Legal Industry: The Key Issues for Solo Practitioners and Small Firms, Presenter, PBA Solo & Small Firm Section Conference, July 20, 2017
  • Interviewed on NBC10's "@Issue" Program - Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Law and its Impact on the Community, June 2017
  • The Legalization of Marijuana & its Effect on Municipalities, Co-Presenter, Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government, Lafayette College, February 2, 2017
  • Medical Marijuana in PA: How did we get here?, Co-Presenter, Association for Pennsylvania Municipal Management's Annual Winter Workshop, January 27, 2017
  • Medical Marijuana Legislation Update, Co-Presenter, Montgomery County Zoning Officers Association, September 14, 2016
  • Seeing Green: Is Pennsylvania Next to Regulate Medical Marijuana? Discussion on the Social Economic & Political Implications of Pennsylvania's Medical Cannabis Act, Panelist, Bucknell University, November 5, 2015
  • Municipal and Zoning Aspects of Pennsylvania's Medical Cannabis Act, Speaker, Montgomery County Bar Association, May 21, 2015

Publications

Academic Teaching

  • Temple University Beasley School of Law, Adjunct Professor, teaches class entitled “Drug Law and Policy”, 2020-2021
  • University of the Sciences, Philadelphia Pa., guest lecturer on medical marijuana laws

Continuing Legal Education Courses

  • PA Medical Marijuana - Ethics and the Conflict with Federal Law, Course Presenter, Montgomery Bar Association, 11/9/18
  • PBI First Annual Full Day Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Symposium Course planner, 3/16/18
  • The Medical Marijuana Act and Your Practice, Course Presenter, Chester County Bar Association's Spring Bench Bar Conference, 2/28/18
  • Next Steps for Medical Marijuana in PA: Evolving Issues in a Growing Industry, PBI course planner, (Philadelphia, Simulcasts, Live Webcast), 10/18/17
  • Ethical Implications Pennsylvania Lawyers Face in Marijuana Practice, Law Line Webinar, presenter, 9/21/17
  • PBI CLE Down the Shore 2017: Pennsylvania's Evolving Medical Marijuana Industry (3 hour event in Atlantic City, NJ), presenter, 8/10/17
  • PBI Webinar: Medical Marijuana Growers and Dispensaries Begin in Pa.: What Lies Ahead (for Everyone) (Live Webinar), presenter, 7/27/17
  • A New Reality: Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act, Course Planner and Presenter, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, June 14, 2016
  • A New Reality: Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act, Course Planner and Presenter, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Mechanicsburg, June 8, 2016
  • Medical Marijuana Coming to Pennsylvania: a question or a statement?, Course Planner and Presenter, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Webinar, April 11, 2016
  • Pennsylvania's Proposed Medical Cannabis Act, Course Planner and Presenter, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Webinar, November 23 and December 8, 2015
  • Proposed Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Act: The Nuts and Bolts, Speaker, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Webinar, June 17, 2015
  • Is Medical Marijuana Coming to Pennsylvania? Speaker, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Webinar, April 9, 2015

Honors & Awards

  • Selected to Best Lawyers in America® for Cannabis Law for 2023-2024.
  • Named a “Cannabis Industry Power Player” by Metro News, April 18, 2022.
  • Named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars List for 2010-2023. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
  • Recipient of Pennsylvania Bar Association’s 2020 Special Achievement Award for his work in starting up PBA’s Medical Marijuana & Hemp Law Committee.
  • Selected as a Rising Star for 2020 by Law 360.
  • Named to The Legal Intelligencer’s 2018 “Lawyers on the Fast Track.”

Personal Interests

Bill resides with his wife and two daughters in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. Bill is an avid sports fan and still follows every one of his alma mater’s gut-wrenching college basketball seasons. Although the opportunity rarely presents itself, Bill remains a certified scuba-diver and still enjoys the occasional dive.