Federal Confusionįirms seeking federal guidance for setting their crypto policies will find little clarity. Yet firms should consider updating their policies to ensure they apply to any capital assets that could trigger insider trading rules, Evans said in a statement. Evans, a professor at Penn State Dickinson Law. There’s no “significant evidence” that crypto-specific policies are needed at law firms, said Tonya M. Kari Larsen, co-head of the digital practice at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, said her current and previous firm require approval for lawyers to trade publicly-held securities “when a client might be involved.” She previously practiced at Perkins Coie. Two firms mentioned in a news account last year as having policies that limit their lawyers’ ability to trade crypto-Sullivan & Cromwell and Latham & Watkins-also declined to respond. Several firms-including Goodwin Procter, Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Sidley Austin-declined to respond to questions about their crypto investing policies. The firm has denied allegations, fueled by the August leak of secret recordings of a firm founder, that it used class-action lawsuits to target competitors of Ava Labs. Roche Freedman, a boutique launched in 2019, has said some of its lawyers own AVAX tokens or have a personal equity interest in Ava Labs, the issuer of the tokens. “These attorneys have not and will not” do work tied to the firm’s representation of Voyager in its bankruptcy, the filing said. Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s largest law firm by revenue, acknowledged in a July court filing that some of its lawyers are customers of crypto broker Voyager Digital Holdings Inc. This is particularly important when small crypto clients share material, nonpublic information about their growth plans, she said. The key is to avoid even the possibility of insider-trading scrutiny by being cautious and doing the right thing, Klayman said. Klayman, the US head of fintech, blockchain and digital assets for Linklaters in New York, said she limits her investments, as “I do not wish to be a speculator in the market.” She opened multiple digital wallets to help improve her guidance to clients, she said, adding: “I don’t know how lawyers could do this without knowing how it all works.” The firm’s conflicts policy also prohibits individuals from engaging in activities, generally, that would “bring direct or indirect profit to the individual at the expense of Hogan Lovells or a client.” Hogan Lovells attorneys “certify that they do not trade on material nonpublic information gained while at the firm,” a firm spokesperson said in a statement. Some make calls based on firms’ general cautions to avoid mixing their own finances with client business interests.Ĭrypto investing is “not permitted or prohibited” at Hogan Lovells, said Liz Boison, a Washington-based partner with the firm. Lawyers are following their own paths when it comes to crypto investing in the absence of clear firm guidance and a dearth of federal regulations. “I’ve also known others who bet big and lost everything.” “I’ve known more than a couple lawyers who made a ton of money” investing in crypto, said Stephen Palley, co-chair of Brown Rudnick’s digital commerce group in Washington. Lawyers including Joshua Ashley Klayman of Linklaters and Joe Cutler of Perkins Coie confirm they have purchased Bitcoin, and in Cutler’s case Ethereum as well, and others say they have opened crypto wallets to become acquainted with the technology. Big Law attorneys are feeling free to buy cryptocurrencies-and some are doing so-as most firms lack policies that restrict investments in digital assets.
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