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The Block Presents: DeFi and The Law - A round table discussion with crypto's leading lawyers

About this event

Join crypto's leading lawyers for a round table discussion around the legal implication of Decentralized Finance.

Our Speakers:

Stephen Palley - Anderson Kill

Stephen D. Palley is a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Anderson Kill. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and litigator with extensive experience in resolving complex commercial disputes in wide range of areas including insurance recovery, securities litigation, corporate governance disputes, construction and real estate disputes and media liability.

Stephen also has significant hands-on software development and design experience. He is co-chair of Anderson Kill's recently launched Blockchain and Virtual Currency group, a cross-disciplinary team of lawyers, with experience across a wide range of legal practice areas, who specialize in advising software, internet, and fintech companies. In addition to an active litigation practice, a significant part of Stephen's practice involves non-litigation counseling and advisory work, both as an outside general counsel to technology and media startups and as a trusted advisor to established business across a range of industries.

Stephen has written and been quoted widely on legal issues arising from the use of Blockchain technology, with appearances in both print and television media, and serves a policy and law advisor and contributor to media platform The Block Crypto. Stephen was selected for inclusion in the 2019 and 2020 The Best Lawyers in America list for Insurance Law. In 2018, Stephen was recommended in The Legal 500 United States for Insurance - advice to policyholders.

Gabriel Shapiro - Belcher, Smolen & Van Loo LLP

Gabriel Shapiro is a U.S. attorney with over a decade of experience in the structuring, negotiation and execution of strategic transactions for technology clients. He represents and advises clients in connection with:

  • mergers, acquisitions & joint ventures
  • venture financings & crowdsales (SAFTs, stock, tokens)
  • securities law compliance (private & public)
  • governance design & issues
  • product design & compliance for peer-to-peer technologies

Prior to joining BSV, Gabriel practiced for many years in the tech M&A groups of top corporate law firms Dewey & LeBoeuf, Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Hogan Lovells.

Gabriel obtained his B.A. from Brown University and his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, and is admitted to practice in California.

Lewis Cohen - Co-founder, DLx Law

Co-founder of DLx Law, a law firm created to serve the needs of a new, technology-driven economy. Lewis works together with co-founder Angela Angelovska-Wilson and the rest of the DLx Law team to provide in-depth legal counsel to startups, growth companies, major enterprises, and governmental entities on a broad range of matters involving the use of blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other disruptive technologies. Passionate about the ability of innovative technologies to change the way businesses and individuals work together, Lewis has become a major advocate for potential of emerging technologies to benefit and transform industries around the globe.

Lewis brings more than 20 years of experience as a traditional capital markets and finance partner at two Global Top 50 law firms. Lewis is a frequent public speaker on the topic of blockchain and distributed ledger technology. Lewis served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Structured Finance Industry Group (SFIG). Lewis is also recognized by Chambers Global as one of only three lawyers in “Band 1” for Legal: Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies – USA.

Ryne Miller - Sullivan & Cromwell

Ryne Miller is co-head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Commodities, Futures & Derivatives group. He also works with the Financial Services and Capital Markets groups. Mr. Miller represents financial institutions, hedge funds, proprietary trading firms and corporate and private equity clients in transactional, regulatory and enforcement matters. Mr. Miller’s practice also focuses on the legal and regulatory implications of technology applications in the financial services industry. In 2019, Mr. Miller was awarded Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Rising Star Award for Financial Services Regulation.

Mr. Miller is a member and is the Secretary of the Futures & Derivatives Regulation Committee of the New York City Bar Association, he is a member of the Derivatives and Futures Law Committee of the American Bar Association, and he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Futures Industry Association’s Law & Compliance Division. Prior to joining Sullivan & Cromwell, Mr. Miller worked at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as legal counsel to CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler.

Rebecca Rettig - Manatt, Phelps & Phelps LLP

Rebecca Rettig is a partner in Manatt’s financial services group based in the New York office. An accomplished litigator and regulatory advisor, Rebecca has a practice that encompasses a broad range of complex commercial disputes as well as regulatory enforcement work, with a special focus on the blockchain and digital asset sector. Rebecca has significant experience litigating securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, intellectual property matters and contract disputes.

Rebecca’s unique experience in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space includes advising clients on the breadth of U.S. regulations applicable to blockchain projects, as well as counseling clients on process and compliance matters relating to, among other things, New York’s BitLicense regulations. Rebecca handles lawsuits and arbitrations relating to blockchain and cryptocurrency, but also regularly guides clients to successfully resolve disputes prior to any litigation.

Rebecca also advises companies on all matters relating to their business, including contract negotiations, protection of intellectual property and employment law.

Prior to joining Manatt, Rebecca worked with both focused and national firms. Before that, Rebecca served as a law clerk in the U.S. district courts for Judge Katherine B. Forrest (ret.) (S.D.N.Y.) and Judge Jose L. Linares (ret.) (D.N.J.), and also served as a legal extern to Judge Sonia Sotomayor at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Sarah Shtylman - Perkins Coie

Sarah Shtylman counsels entrepreneurs, established tech businesses and innovators on a variety of regulatory and product counseling matters, predominantly in the fintech and blockchain industries. Sarah is well-versed in state and federal financial services regulations, and she has advised clients through the application and compliance processes for state trust charters, money transmission licenses, lending licenses, and AML compliance.

Sarah has advised multiple international companies on the issuance of application-specific points, rewards programs, digital coins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), asset-backed digital tokens (including stablecoins), stored value devices, and in-game or in-app value systems. She frequently engages directly with state and federal regulators to discuss the applicability of various financial services regulatory regimes to emerging blockchain technology platforms and protocols that her clients are developing.

Sarah’s background also includes serving as in-house regulatory counsel at Coinbase, she managed the company’s money transmission licensing programs, negotiated and drafted agreements on global payment services integrations, and evaluated risks and advised business teams on various commercial partnerships.


Hosted by

  • Team member
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    The Block The Block

    The Block is the leading information services brand in the digital asset space. Our expertise across news, research and data is unmatched and delivers objective insights into how this emerging industry intersects with technology, government and financial markets.

  • Guest speaker
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    Ryne Miller Sullivan & Cromwell

  • Guest speaker
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    Lewis Cohen DLX Law

  • Guest speaker
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    Gabriel Shapiro

  • Guest speaker
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    Rebecca Rettig Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP

  • Guest speaker
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    Sarah Shtylman Perkins Coie

  • Guest speaker
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    Stephen Palley Anderson Kill

The Block

The Block is the leading research, analysis and news brand in the digital asset space. The Block delivers deep insight into how this emerging sector interacts with traditional finance, technology, governments and markets. Our foundation is simple: we are the first and final word in digital assets.