Bob Morgan

Bob Morgan is a cannabis industry consultant and health care attorney at Chicago-based law firm Much Shelist.  He served as the first statewide project coordinator for the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, managing implementation of its highly regulated medical cannabis industry.  He advises businesses across the country on the impact, and compliance with regulations, of the cannabis industry.

Prior to joining Much Shelist, Bob served in the Office of the Governor of the State of Illinois, serving as associate general counsel and lead attorney on issues involving health care, the Affordable Care Act, private and public insurance issues and health information technology. In this role, he managed a dozen state agency general counsels overseeing health care, insurance, human services, environmental, energy, commerce and housing legal issues. Bob was subsequently appointed to serve as the first statewide project coordinator for the Illinois medical cannabis pilot program, with primary responsibility for developing and implementing a framework for the use of cannabis by eligible patients.

Bob also served as general counsel for the Illinois Department of Public Health, where he advised the agency director and senior staff on a broad range of complex legal issues, including licensure of health care facilities, emergency preparedness, maternal and child health initiatives, mental health and developmental disability facilities, and food safety. He supervised the department’s legal team and administered all privacy, confidentiality, and ethics policies and protocols for the department’s employees. Before this, he served as deputy general counsel of employee benefits for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, where he handled a range of benefits, insurance, pension, workers’ compensation, litigation and tax matters.

Earlier in his career, Bob was a legal health care consultant, where he advised clients on HIPAA, private insurance accountability, specialty hospital regulation, health care reform, and regulatory filings and registrations. He has also assisted political campaign of candidates for federal and state offices, and was a member of the Obama for America National Health Policy Advisory Committee.

Bob is the inaugural president of the Illinois Cannabis Bar Association, and a member of the Chicago Bar Association. He has spoken at CBA conferences and before committees on topics such as Illinois consent decrees and the impact of federal health care reform on employers. He is also a member of the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys.