Andrea Steel

Practice Summary

Ms. Steel is a principal with The Banks Law Firm, where she leads the Firm’s Cannabis practice in addition to bringing extensive experience in affordable housing and community economic development law. With over 20 years of experience in law and criminal justice, Andrea brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of success to her diverse clientele. Andrea is a pioneer in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry, with deep rooted knowledge and experience, having been pivotal in securing a number of significant results impacting the industry at both state and federal levels. Andrea advises cannabis business clients, from startups to established enterprises across the supply chain, both plant-touching and ancillary, from cultivators to retailers, as well as manufacturers, distributors, testing labs, landlords, property owners, lenders and more. Her practice encompasses legalities and strategic advising for businesses with respect to all forms of cannabis, inclusive of hemp, cannabinoids (biosynthetic, semi-synthetic, synthetic, hemp-derived and other chemical forms, including delta-8 THC and other novel substances), medical marijuana, and adult-use marijuana, serving clients across the country with a focus on Texas. She advises on regulatory compliance, cannabis business licensing, risk analysis and mitigation strategizing, product labeling/marketing, entity formation, entity structuring and governance, contract negotiations, and real estate issues. Andrea has also provided subject matter expertise to several other attorneys and law firms in various business transactions as well as litigation matters, assisting other lawyers in navigating the complexities with their clients. She has helped shape laws and policy in both Texas and federally, providing useful insight and specific language with respect to formulating statutes and regulations, an area Andrea truly enjoys. In the affordable housing area, Andrea represents both for-profit and non-profit developers across the country, including public and private entities, as well as public housing authorities and tax increment reinvestment zones. Her work is concentrated on the legal representation of developers of affordable housing utilizing both 9% and 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax exempt bond financing, CDBG and HOME Program funding and other federal, state and local subsidy and economic development programs, as well as stimulus grants created in response to disaster recovery and economic downturn rescue programs such as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill (CARES Act), Housing and Economic Recovery Act, and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including the Tax Credit Assistance Program, Tax Credit Exchange Program (Section 1602 Program), Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Community Development Block Grants Disaster Recovery funding, and Economic Development Administration grants. Andrea has represented developers in complex transactions which have combined federal and state Historic Tax Credits with LIHTCs and tax-exempt bonds, and transactions which have involved multiple layers of funding including EB-5 and tax increment financing. Her practice also includes closing construction, bridge and/or permanent loans, conventional as well as Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae loans, FHA-insured loans, and state and local financing. Incorporating various economic development incentives is another area in which her creativity and experience allows her to excel. Andrea’s work with public housing authorities (PHAs) includes closing transactions that include HUD funds and/or HUD-insured mortgages, including Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and mixed-finance transactions, those involving Section 8 financing, 221(d)(4) & 223(f) FHA mortgages, Federal Home Loan Bank AHP loans and CDBG Disaster Recovery funds. She has worked with PHAs throughout Texas in addition to Louisiana, Arkansas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In both affordable housing and cannabis, Andrea is assists clients navigate through various state agency processes, including assistance with funding applications, license applications, appeals, and compliance issues. Her work also encompasses obtaining ad valorem tax exemptions for qualified projects, and closing real estate acquisitions and dispositions. Ms. Steel has been a member of the International Cannabis Bar Association since 2019, where she serves as co-chair of its Legislative Advisement Committee as well as a member of its Executive Board, serving as Vice President of Operations for the 2022-24 term. She has also served as a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Cannabis Law and Policy Committee since 2021. Andrea also serves on a number of committees, including the Education Committee of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers and the CLE and Diversity Committees of the Houston Bar Association. She is also a sought-after speaker at industry events, conferences, and continuing education for lawyers, providing insight into recently approved and proposed laws, rules and regulations and other cannabis business matters. Prior to joining The Banks Law Firm, Ms. Steel spent 12 years at a regional firm concentrating on affordable housing and community development law and where she also successfully launched, led and grew its cannabis business law practice group. She then went to an AmLaw200 firm for 3 years, where she continued to expand both of her practices. Before law school, Ms. Steel was a Community Supervision Officer in both Washington, D.C. and Harris County, Texas, where she supervised clients on parole and probation, providing information and assistance to the clients and the courts with regard to status, progress and recommendations, including writing pre-sentence investigation reports.