Ed Perlmutter is a partner in the Denver and Washington D.C.

offices of Holland and Knight. Prior to joining H&K in 2023,

Perlmutter served 8 terms in the United States Congress where he

was known as a bi-partisan bridge builder. Beforehand, he also

served in the Colorado Senate for 8 years after specializing in

corporate and business bankruptcies at a long-time Denver

commercial law firm. During his time in Congress, Perlmutter

served on the Financial Services Committee where he chaired the

Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Subcommittee; the

Science, Space, and Technology Committee; the Rules Committee;

the Homeland Security Committee; and the Special Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

Perlmutter introduced legislation in 2013 to improve access to banking and financial services for cannabis businesses. Initially known as the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, it was rebranded as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in 2017. On September 25, 2019, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act by a 321–103 vote, marking the first time that a standalone cannabis reform bill had passed either chamber of Congress. Perlmutter continued to champion SAFE through his time in Congress, having passed its legislation seven times in the U.S. House.

At Holland and Knight, Perlmutter specializes in governmental and regulatory affairs. He provides strategic and general counsel to the firm’s financial, business, and corporate clients. Among Perlmutter’s clients are banks, insurance associations, airports, real estate companies, universities, healthcare organizations, private equity companies, energy companies of all types, aerospace, and cannabis organizations.