The Legal Practices in the Race to Dominate Crypto Law

The Legal Practices in the Race to Dominate Crypto Law
ôîòî ïîêàçàíî ñ : beincrypto.com

2023-4-8 21:27

Crypto law is still an emerging discipline. But some legal firms have been early to the party and are striving mightily to outdo one another. Here we profile a handful of them.

In historical terms, crypto and blockchain have only been around for the blink of an eye. The Bitcoin whitepaper came out only in 2008, with the first block mined the next year. Ethereum launched just eight years ago. And despite the waves of excitement, most of the world has never owned or traded crypto. That contrasts with roughly 86% of people who have used a smartphone. A technology not much older.

In that time, cryptocurrency has been at the center of large-scale legal tussles the world over. Last month, the US Supreme Court presided over its first crypto case: an appeal from Coinbase to pause class-action lawsuits.

And whenever there’s a legal battle, you need a lawyer. Preferably a team of them. BeInCrypto sampled some of the practices that have planted a flag in crypto law, big and small.

Perkins Coie

Perkins Coie claims to have the world’s largest Blockchain, Digital Assets and Custody industry group. Clients have included such familiar names as Ethereum, Coinbase, and Ripple Labs.

The firm’s Blockchain, Digital Assets and Custody practice is co-led by Dana Syracuse, a former associate general counsel for the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), who joined in 2016. In that role, Syracuse helped write the first comprehensive digital currency regulation in the United States. Syracuse also interacts with lawmakers at the state and federal levels on blockchain and crypto issues.

Perkins Coie has been one of the beneficiaries of the boom in crypto legal cases. In an interview with Bloomberg Law last year, Joe Cutler, the co-chair of the firm’s fintech group, said they often hold weekly team calls with 50 to 70 attorneys in attendance. “We have content coming out of our ears,” he said.

Latham & Watkins


Latham & Watkins is the second-largest law firm by revenue, with offices in over 30 major global cities. In the crypto world, it took on work during the recent turbulence as the industry lost billions in value. It represented the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital as the latter filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US. Latham also represented football star Tom Brady, along with other celebrity defendants, in an FTX-related case. Litigants claimed Brady was liable for helping steer investors to the disgraced crypto exchange. Litigants claim FTX was a Ponzi scheme.

The firm has a formidable reputation. The question, for any law firm, is whether it can build on that clout as crypto and blockchain grow ever more sophisticated and specialized.

Latham announced last year that one of its former partners rejoined the firm. Nicholas Quaid has left the Department of Justice, where he helped build the enforcement of crypto crime legislation. Quaid is a former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.

In 2021, the firm put over 700 of its lawyers to work on crypto or blockchain issues. “The market is exploding, not just at the partner level but at the associate level too,” a co-chair of the firm’s global digital assets and Web3 practice told BeInCrypto.

Brown Rudnick

In the public mind, Brown Rudnick might best be best known for representing Johnny Depp in his high-profile defamation suit. The Hollywood A-lister and his ex-wife Amber Heard took part in an unmissable grudge match. The trial briefly turned a courtroom in Fairfax County, Virginia, into the world’s biggest stage.

However, the firm made headlines recently by poaching several experienced crypto lawyers from rival Anderson Kill. All five previously worked in Anderson Kill’s Blockchain and Virtual Currency Group, established in 2018.

Brown Rudnick represents a number of the industry’s big names, including Binance, the Bitcoin Foundation, and the Cardano blockchain. Brown Rudnick’s Digital Commerce practice group has over 40 attorneys. The practice is behind some of the other big beasts of the business in terms of capacity. But its recent acquisitions are a sign that it wants to make up lost ground.

The firm was also recently elected to the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Network (CFAAR). A group intended to develop the legal framework for asset recovery and dispute resolution in the industry.

Cooper & Kirk

Cooper & Kirk are undoubtedly the smallest of the practices profiled here. Although they have made a name in the legal world for their impact, most recently, in the realm of crypto law. Last year, the National Law Journal wrote that “few firms in Washington, D.C., can lay claim to being as influential on a national stage.”

Last week, the firm released a white paper titled “Operation Choke Point 2.0: The Federal Bank Regulators Come For Crypto.” A shot across the bow for the industry, following the collapse of Silvergate and Signature Bank.

The report states that federal regulators are using the same regulatory tools and tactics employed during Operation Choke Point. This Obama-era initiative aimed at disconnecting controversial businesses from the financial system. Back then it was payday lenders, pawn shops, and tobacco stores. Cooper & Kirk had previously won a lawsuit against the agencies involved in the original Operation Choke Point. Today they say the same is happening to the crypto industry.

The post The Legal Practices in the Race to Dominate Crypto Law appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Similar to Notcoin - Blum - Airdrops In 2024

origin »

Emerald Crypto (EMD) íà Currencies.ru

$ 0 (+0.00%)
Îáúåì 24H $0
Èçìåíåèÿ 24h: 0.00 %, 7d: 4.67 %
Cåãîäíÿ L: $0 - H: $0
Êàïèòàëèçàöèÿ $0 Rank 99999
Öåíà â ÷àñ íîâîñòè $ 0.0095806 (-100%)

crypto law legal dominate practices race noise

crypto law → Ðåçóëüòàòîâ: 126


Ôîòî:

Malta Positions Itself As ‘World’s Blockchain Island’ After Passing World’s First DLT Law

Malta might be a tiny archipelago on the Mediterranean map, but the nation is making a big name for itself in the world of cryptocurrency. Aside from successfully luring in the biggest crypto exchanges, Malta recently made history by passing “a true World First DLT Law,” cementing the nation’s position as the “world’s first blockchain […] Malta Positions Itself As ‘World’s Blockchain Island’ After Passing World’s First DLT Law was originally found on [blokt] - Blockchain, Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

2018-7-7 20:54


Ôîòî:

Nearly 9 out of 10 Crypto Execs Need ‘Formalized’ management Self-Regulation: Research

Eighty-six percent of cryptocurrency firms’ executives and investors want the industry to self-regulate, new research published this week reveals. Part of the 2018 Cryptocurrency Survey by international law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, the majority of respondents also tipped Bitcoin to become the cryptocurrency of choice for transactions in the long term. The firm questioned

2018-6-28 18:30


Ôîòî:

Liechtenstein’s “The Blockchain Act”, Crypto Currency, Initial Coin Offering, and words from the Prime Minister

The blockchain law — so called Blockchain Act — was announced by Adrian Hasler at this year’s Finance Forum on March 21. Cointelegraph spoke with the prime minister about blockchain regulation, the politics regarding this technology and cryptocurrencies, ICOs and the business climate in Liechtenstein.

2018-6-24 16:08


Ôîòî:

The Bitcoin Wallet provider Xapo receives the 6th-bit ligence from New York State

Cryptocurrency wallet and vault Xapo is the latest recipient of New York’s ‘BitLicense’, arguably the strictest state law governing the crypto sector, from the state’s financial regulator. Notably, this is the sixth-ever BitLicense the state has granted, with the last one being obtained by brokerage firm Genesis Global Trading in May 2018. With the obtained

2018-6-18 12:40