Rachel Gold

Director
rgold@keglerbrown.com
Office: 614-462-5479
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gold

Rachel Gold

Director

rgold@keglerbrown.com
Office: 614-462-5479
  • Download my vCard
  • Join my LinkedIn Network

Rachel Gold advises many of the region’s most recognizable commercial and mixed-use real estate companies in growing their businesses through acquisition, development, and sale. In addition to her broad-based experience, she regularly works with national brands, from leading retailers to large chain restaurants, on developing and implementing commercial leasing strategies that protect their interests and support their corporate goals.

Rachel has also been on the leading edge of Ohio’s emerging cannabis industry, working with pioneering businesses to establish and grow their operations. She is consistently recognized as one of the region’s most accomplished young attorneys by peer-review publications.   

Real Estate Leasing + Development

Rachel’s extensive experience with both buyer- and seller-side transactions gives her a unique perspective as she provides guidance to real estate clients dealing with a wide variety of matters, advising them on the development, acquisition, and leasing of commercial properties.

Rachel skillfully guides the development of real estate projects, bringing together the necessary team members to meet whatever needs arise and using her industry knowledge to coordinate solutions related to environmental and zoning issues, project and site planning, entitlements, and more. She also has significant experience and skill in negotiating, drafting, and reviewing lease agreements, having worked on leases for clients on both a local and national scale, including restaurants, warehouses, shopping centers, big box retailers, as well as single tenant buildings for both landlords and tenants.

Corporate

Along with leases and purchase agreements, Rachel advises businesses of all sizes regarding their contract assets and vendor services agreements. She takes the time to develop a customized understanding of her clients’ needs and priorities to best negotiate with vendors to craft agreements for shipping and transportation, credit application, technology and IT, staffing and more. Rachel also assists both buyers and sellers in the structuring and negotiation of M+A deals, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, and on all other legal aspects of complex business transactions.

She also works with cross-border clients, helping to establish domestic entities for international groups looking to subcontract in the technology sector.

Cannabis

As part of our Marijuana + Hemp team, Rachel works to provide Cannabis businesses everything they need to operate.  She serves as outside general counsel for cannabis companies, including Multi-State Operators (MSO), providing them with experienced guidance on issues related to applications, regulatory compliance, appeals, real estate, employment, mergers and sale agreements, and licensing. From assisting with all three of Ohio’s Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) license types from start to cleanup, to handling continued compliance after submission, appeals, and requests from regulators, Rachel helps her clients meet their structuring needs, such as staffing, training, employee licensing and more, in order to be compliant with the numerous DCC regulations and legal requirements.

  • The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (J.D., 2015)
    • Communications Editor, The Ohio State Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal
    • Vice President of Mentoring, Jewish Law Students Association
  • Indiana University (B.A., 2012)

  • Ohio

  • International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), member
  • International Cannabis Bar Association (INCBA), member 
  • Michael J. Canter JCC Leadership Program, 2020-2021
  • The Columbus Jewish Historical Society, Vice President, 2024-2025
  • Leadership Columbus, Class of 2025
  • Kegler Brown Diversity Equity + Inclusion Committee, member
  • Kegler Brown Recruiting Committee, member 

  • Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America®, 2026
  • Selected to the Ohio Rising Star list by Super Lawyers, 2023-2025
  • Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America®, Ones To Watch, 2021-2025
  • Recognized in Columbus CEO Top Lawyers, 2024

  • Together with Important Goals (TWIG 2), Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Active Member
  • Pelotonia, Rider

Experience

Acquisition of Ohio Marijuana Licenses

Images of a budding cannabis plant

Defending Medical Marijuana Licensee from Cancellation of License

A marijuana leaf on top of two books next to a judge's gavel on a green placemat

Acquisition, Refinancing, and Spin-Off of Non-Core Assets for West Virginia-Based Beverage Distributor

Publications + Presentations

Article

Prospective tenants: Watch for these bare-minimum provisions in lease negotiations

Columbus Business First
Article

Benefits and disadvantages of commercial rent increases based on consumer price index

Columbus Business First
Article

Property Requirements for a Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Ohio

Columbus Business First
Article

A closer look at 2021 changes to Columbus, Ohio residential rental laws

Rachel Friedman Gold writes in Columbus Business First about the new “Housing for All” legislation that is changing our city’s residential rental framework for the better.

Columbus Business First
publication

Medical Marijuana + Telehealth: Best Practices During the Pandemic

Ohio’s healthcare professionals are leaning on telehealth during the COVID-19 outbreak to treat Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program patients. As a result of the outbreak, the Ohio Medical Board has authorized physicians who hold a Certificate to Recommend to use telemedicine in place of in-person visits to make recommendations and renewals for medical marijuana to qualifying patients. The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy adopted a similar measure by authorizing dispensaries — now classified as an “essential business” — to accept an order for the sale of medical marijuana over the phone.During the pandemic, dispensaries are permitted to accept an order for the sale of medical marijuana over the phone from a patient or caregiver. Orders placed over the phone must be received (a) at the dispensary by dispensary employees, (b) through the dispensary’s telephone system, and (c) during business hours. Patients and/or caregivers must still pick up medical marijuana orders in person at the dispensary prior to the close of business the day the order was placed.Dispensary employees are required to follow existing program regulations when selling medical marijuana ordered over the phone. As a reminder, dispensary employees must:Verify the patient/caregiver’s identity using photo identification and registry card before granting the patient/caregiver access to the dispensary department;Retrieve the order for medical marijuana after the patient/caregiver enters the dispensary department;Assist the patient/caregiver to an available point-of-sale;Verify the patient/caregiver’s identity using photo identification and registry card before completing the sale;Check OARRS to verify the sale will not exceed the 90-day supply;Complete the sales transaction in METRC; andAffix the label to the container or package after the patient/caregiver verifies the order is correct.Any telephone order for medical marijuana that is not picked up by close of business on the day the order is received must be returned to the dispensary’s vault/safe.Dispensary employees delivering telehealth services are prohibited from engaging in the following conduct:Cold-calling medical marijuana program patients;Dispensing medical marijuana outside of the dispensary;Accepting payment for medical marijuana outside of the dispensary; and Processing transactions within METRC or OARRS prior to the sale of medical marijuana.Any questions about your responsibilities in recommending or dispensing medical marijuana should be directed to Kegler Brown’s Medical Marijuana Team: Luis M. Alcalde + Rachel Friedman Gold.

publication

Cannabis Law in Columbus: Reconciling What's Legal and What's Not

Rachel appeared in a December, 2019, news piece from the Columbus Bar Association updating readers on the status and progress of Ohio’s medical marijuana system. Rachel discussed changes in counseling clients on medical marijuana matters:When Columbus cannabis law attorney Rachel Friedman Gold, an associate with Kegler Brown, first started practicing law in 2015, “Ohio attorneys were not permitted to counsel their clients on matters related to medical marijuana because of its federal illegality.” However, in September 2016, the Supreme Court of Ohio added Rule 1.2(d)(2) in response. That promulgation permits Ohio attorneys to counsel or assist clients regarding “conduct expressly permitted under the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (OMMCP). Now that Ohio attorneys are permitted to counsel their clients on conduct allowed by the OMMCP, we advise clients on all actions permitted by state law as well as the applicability and/or intersection of state law with federal law,” said Friedman Gold.

Columbus Bar Association
Article

Ohio Legalizes Hemp

Hemp is no longer the same as marijuana under Ohio law. So, if your plant or product makes you high, check your sourcing, because it’s likely not hemp.State policymakers enacted S.B.57, essentially legalizing hemp and hemp products, paralleling federal law, and setting up a regulatory scheme for cultivating the plant, which is no longer considered a controlled substance. Under federal and Ohio law, legal hemp is the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant including the seeds, all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of not more than three-tenths percent on a dry weight basis (R.C. 928.01[C]). The key detail to remember is that hemp cannot contain more than .3% THC. Similarly, a “hemp product” is any product containing no more than .3% THC and any other product containing one or more cannabinoids derived from hemp. Plus, the addition of hemp or a hemp product to any other product does not adulterate that other product (R.C. 928.02[D]). The Hemp Act amended the definition of “marijuana” at R.C. 3719.01 to state: “marijuana” does not include “hemp” or a “hemp product”, and R.C. 4729.01(E)(4) now states that “drug” does not include “hemp” or “hemp product.” The bill also allows for the immediate sale of CBD oil so long as it is hemp-derived within specific parameters. Regulatory Impact For those looking to cultivate and process hemp in Ohio, the Director of Agriculture is preparing rules within the process under the Ohio Administrative Procedures Act, and, once complete, will submit the plan to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture for approval to comply with Congress’s 2018 Farm Bill. In addition, the Ohio Attorney General, in connection with the National Association of Attorneys General, has asked the FDA to continue examining manufacturing, testing, and marketing best practices for cannabis and cannabis-based compounds so that consumers are not at risk of misleading advertising or harm to their health from dangerous additives or undisclosed risks of use. Attorneys General are looking for guidance on potential risks or benefits and scientific or medical data as they prepare to enforce consumer protection laws as CBD products become mainstream. Industry areas of vulnerability include CBD product advertisements and health claims, particularly as they relate to specific populations, such as pregnant women, adolescents, or the elderly. Meanwhile, the FDA has already demonstrated a willingness to contact companies whose product labeling or advertising suggests certain health or drug claims not supported by rigorous studies and testing. Impact on Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program Marijuana cultivation, processing, dispensing and use – even for medical purposes – remains federally illegal. From a state perspective, an Ohio-licensed medical marijuana processor with a certificate to operate may include CBD oil derived from certified hemp as a non-drug, non-marijuana ingredient in medical marijuana products. Such ingredients would be treated as any other non-marijuana ingredient subject to Ohio regulations. See O.A.C. 3796:3-2-01(C). Otherwise, the state removed the hemp issue completely out of the hands of the State Board of Pharmacy and the entire MMCP. S.B.57 did not legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Our team of professionals is well-positioned and experienced to assist with specific questions and concerns about Hemp and Medical Marijuana Laws. If you have questions or concerns on this topic, feel free to contact any of our team members. 

publication

Startups + Small Businesses

On Wednesday, July 17, Kegler Brown’s Women’s Collaborative hosted a seminar that provided useful legal resources and strategies focused on key aspects of small businesses. This fast-paced presentation featured several Kegler Brown attorneys covering a number of topics. Jane Gleaves discusses employment basics and best practices. Vinita Mehra showed why it’s important to have an IP strategy. Molly Werhan gave an introduction to considerations for entering into a business partnership. Rebecca Roderer Price discussed general coverages available for businesses. Rachel Gold showed off a Tenant Lease Review Checklist and key commercial lease terms. Finally, Lori Fuhrer discussed when non-competition agreements are enforceable.

The Women’s Collaborative July Seminar
publication

The Growing Buzz: Cultivating Medical Marijuana in Ohio

Rachel spoke to the Family and Youth Law Center on March 7 as part of their Annual Wells Conference on Child Welfare & Adoption Law. As part of a panel on the state of medical marijuana in Ohio, Rachel joined two speakers from the Ohio Pharmacy and Medical Boards to give an introduction to and overview of the state’s medical marijuana program. Rachel reviewed HB523 and its goals, explained the structure of Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program and the relationships between cultivators, processor, and dispensaries, and detailed the different types and current numbers of cultivators.

Family and Youth Law Center’s Annual Wells Conference on Child Welfare & Adoption Law