Stephen D. Palley (@stephendpalley) is a Partner in the Washington, D.C office of Anderson Kill, where he chairs the Technology, Media & Distributed Systems practice group. Stephen has written extensively and been quoted widely on legal issues arising from the use of blockchain technology, with appearances in both print and television media. He is also an editor of the International Journal of Blockchain Law (IJBL), a law journal helping non-legal communities better understand blockchain applications and digital assets.

In this episode, Stephen discusses his path into the crypto space, gives insight into building a crypto-law dream team, and the truth behind his love for two spaces after each period.

Listen and subscribe to Law of Code for weekly updates and interviews on the intersection of blockchain and the law.

Episode highlights:

[1:10] The Car Game

[4:45] Choosing Law School over an English PhD

[9:00] How a legal career is different than what Stephen expected

[11:55} From Construction and Insurance Law to Crypto

[16:50] Impasse Breaker

[20:30] Advantages in a legal career from a programming background

[23:26] Software Development and Engineering: Licenses?

[28:56] Chair Gensler

[31:00] Regulatory oversight & what is "decentralization" legally

[36:40] Writing for The Block and cases covering decentralization

[38:00] Working with anonymous clients?

[40:45] The two words why Stephen joined Anderson Kill

[53:00] What do young lawyers spend too much time on

[56:00] Valuable habits Stephen has developed over the years

[58:00] Two spaces after a period, fonts, Google Docs, Twitter & Herring. Of course. 

Links: 

The Block - Stephen D. Palley 

Nelson Rosario (@NelsonMRosario) is the founder of Rosario Tech Law, a boutique law firm in Illinois focused on companies building the new economy on top of blockchain. Nelson’s widely respected commentary and analysis have been featured in the New York Times, TechCrunch and CoinDesk.

In this episode of Law of Code, Nelson and Jacob discuss IP and copyright, SpiceDAO, and what the future holds for NFTs.

[1:57] What sold Nelson on blockchain

[11:35] Why IP law is so important

[14:40] NFT & IP concerns people are overlooking

[18:00] Spice DAO

[25:40] The future of copyright in a digital world

[32:15] Benefits of open-source IP 

[38:43] Answering novel legal questions

[43:27] Starting Rosario Tech Law

[49:42] Nelson’s love for Chicago

[53:46] What habits make a great lawyer?

Preston Byrne (@prestonjbyrne) is a partner at Anderson Kill, where his practice is focused on early-stage high-tech companies, particularly regarding corporate transactions, IP, and other cross-border legal issues. He was previously a co-founder of Monax, the first permissioned blockchain, in 2014. 

In this episode, Preston gives a history of his involvement in blockchain, looks at the evolution of DAOs, and gives his perspective on running a crypto practice. He also explains landing his first client on the day he was called to the bar. Listen and subscribe to Law of Code for weekly updates and interviews in the world of blockchain at the intersection of the law. 

Show highlights: 

[02:10] Preston's introduction to Bitcoin 

[13:17] The mutation doctrine: Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

[19:43] Important things to keep in mind when building a crypto-law practice 

[24:07] Current DAO trends 

[34:57] NFTs, crypto, and the broader market 

[39:51] Best practices for interacting with crypto clients 

[44:32] Why return to the USA after law school in England? 

[50:58] Why Preston joined Anderson Kill 

[52:45] “The Back of the Envelope” 

[56:07] Exposure to cities as a category of risk 

[1:00:47] Remote-first lawyers 

[1:01:49] How has Preston’s reading shaped his views? 

[1:08:52] What advice shaped Preston's career? 

[1:11:29] What habits should lawyers establish early on? 

Resources: 

Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms and Source Code in C 

Sane Society by Erich Fromm 

Preston's site: https://prestonbyrne.com/ 

Lewis Cohen (@NYCryptoLawyer) is a co-founder of DLx Law, where his practice is focused on the use of blockchain and tokenization across capital markets. As a former global top 50 partner with 20 years of experience, Lewis is a frequent speaker on blockchain and is recognized by Chambers Global across legal, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies in the U.S.

The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson

Lori Stein is Co-Head of the Digital Assets and Blockchain practice at Osler, Hoskin, & Harcourt LLP, and a Partner in their Corporate Department. Lori is one of the top attorneys in Canadian FinTech & Securities, playing a major role in the development of crypto investment regulations. With clients such as 3iQ Corp., Lori had an integral role in establishing the first publicly traded Bitcoin & Ethereum investment funds in the world. Lori regularly advises Canadian companies on blockchain and cryptocurrency law, and has been widely published and quoted in the media for her expertise in this space.  

Show highlights: 

- The path to convincing the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to allow the world's first publicly traded crypto investment fund 

- How Lori prepared for her arguments to the OSC and best practices when navigating new areas of law 

"At one point, the idea of a gold or silver ETF was completely novel"

- What regulators can do to capitalize on the potential of crypto, while protecting consumers 

- Comparing the burden of proof in Canada vs the United States

- DAOs: Suitable approaches to legal recognition, applying the Howey test, and what the future holds 

- NFTs & securities regulation

- Working with clients: first conversations and asking questions 

- Law of Code NFT? 

- Mentorship

& much more.

Addison Cameron-Huff (@aCameronhuff) has been practicing in the blockchain space since 2014. Addison has managed a blockchain wallet company, built dev teams, provided legal advice to founders of Ethereum, taught at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and was one of the first Canadian lawyers to work in blockchain.

Show highlights:

[3:15] - Why he received a call from a co-founder of Ethereum in 2014

[4:42] - Starting a crypto-law firm: What the first few months looked like

[7:35] - Building momentum for your legal practice (including what not to do) and the importance of writing long-form articles

[10:55] - Imposter syndrome in the legal industry

[13:12] - When/How to say “I don’t know” when given a request you are unsure how to address

[16:45] - How to stay abreast of fast-moving crypto developments (as well as the slower-moving legal side)

[17:55] - The importance of understanding clients as you build your understanding of the law

[18:44] - Why Addison chose to start his own firm instead of joining BigLaw

[22:00] - The benefits of not scaling your law firm

[25:45] - What early entrepreneurial experiences can offer as life lessons

[31:00] - How Addison’s legal practice changed since 2014

[36:30] - The benefits of staying in the legal profession

[39:00] - The first stablecoin in Canada

[44:30] - The process associated with novel legal work (Canadian stablecoin)

[48:30] - Twitter and American Law (from a Canadian’s perspective)

[54:00] - DAOs over the next five years

Thanks for listening!

Jacob Martin (@thenftattorney) is an attorney based in Southern California, founder of JTM Tech Law, and General Partner at 2 Punks Capital. While in law school, Jacob founded a legal tech startup focused on "tying Testamentary documents to the blockchain." Today, as Founder of JTM Tech Law, he consults & advises NFT artists & collectors, DAOs, auction houses, entertainment & tech companies on all things crypto, blockchain, & NFT. 

Show highlights:

- His introduction to Bitcoin and NFTs

- Buying a Cryptopunk

- Becoming the "NFT Attorney" & starting a crypto-focused practice

- Learning the law as a sole practitioner 

- How Jacob produced the NFT Tax Guide

- Why he's still a lawyer

& much more.

Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) is involved in all aspects of the crypto ecosystem & has a strong understanding of the regulatory space surrounding crypto. Jake is Head of Policy at the Blockchain Association and Advisor for the Variant Fund, and former General Counsel for Compound Labs. 

Rebecca Rettig (@RebeccaRettig1) is the General Counsel of the Aave Companies, a group of software development companies in Europe that build open source, blockchain-based software. Rebecca began her legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York, litigating complex commercial disputes; prior to joining the Aave Companies, Rebecca was a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP in the financial services group, representing blockchain and crypto clients. 

Sarah (Hody) Shtylman (@SHodyEsq) is a Partner at Perkins Coie, where she advises innovators in the fintech and blockchain industries, and her clients range from entrepreneurs and startups to big tech and regulated financial institutions. Sarah’s background includes serving as in-house regulatory counsel at Coinbase (2nd lawyer hired), Levine & Associates (a litigation boutique), and Hody Esq., as a Sole Proprietor. 

This episode answers the question: What should I do if I want to become a crypto lawyer? While focused on crypto, the principles can be applied to any legal area. This was such a fun episode to record, as each guest offers incredible insights.  

Show highlights: 

- How Rebecca built a practice in crypto [3:30] 

- What helped Rebecca establish a crypto arbitration practice [7:45] 

- Sarah’s introduction to crypto [9:00] 

- Being the second lawyer at Coinbase [14:00] 

- Jake’s crypto law journey [16:00] 

- What law students should get on their resume to get roles in crypto [21:00] 

- How to determine which area of law to tie crypto into [34:00] 

- Finding an area of law in which to specialize [37:00] 

- Dealing with the pressure to specialize [41:00] 

“Recognizing when you hit diminishing returns in your job, and when it’s time to move on” - Jake 

- Imposter syndrome in the legal industry [44:00] 

- Do crypto lawyers need to learn to code? [49:00] 

- One important piece of advice for professionals beginning their careers [63:00] 

“Come join the revolution with us” - Rebecca 

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast, please share and review. You can follow me, Jacob Robinson, on Twitter @jacobrobinsonjd. For the latest updates from Law of Code - subscribe to our newsletter.