What Practice Area is Crypto Adjacent? Forum

[lawguy2355]

I'm a 2L interested in working in blockchain/crypto. What practice areas should I be considering? (finance? tech transactions? Do firms have tech practice areas?) I've got OCI coming up and I'm a little worried about talking about my interests and the interviewers writing me off as another crypto bro, so any advice would be appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2L interested in working in blockchain/crypto. What practice areas should I be considering? (finance? tech transactions? Do firms have tech practice areas?) I've got OCI coming up and I'm a little worried about talking about my interests and the interviewers writing me off as another crypto bro, so any advice would be appreciated.

I would not tell people you want to work in crypto unless you have some really compelling reason. People roll their eyes hard at people interested in “international law.” And I’d roll my eyes harder at someone interested in crypto.

[SamuelDanforth]

Are you planning to apply to blockchain/crypto practices? Fenwick has a great one. Perkins, Orrick, and I'm sure other firms are starting to advertise specific blockchain/crypto roles.

I think you could also go the EC/VC route and try to focus on blockchain/crypto companies (Cooley, WSGR, Gunderson, etc), or try to go into a FinTech practice (e.g. Sidley, S&C, etc).

[Anonymous User]

FinTech can be a route as mentioned above, but will mostly be Finance with a blockchain backdrop - at least that's my understanding. I think your best bet would be one of either (1) EC/VC roles and focusing on blockchain clients or (2) working in a tech transactions role and focusing on the same. Of course you will have to find the firms that are focusing on this type of work. In addition to the firms mentioned above I know Lowenstein has a crypto practice

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2L interested in working in blockchain/crypto. What practice areas should I be considering? (finance? tech transactions? Do firms have tech practice areas?) I've got OCI coming up and I'm a little worried about talking about my interests and the interviewers writing me off as another crypto bro, so any advice would be appreciated.

I would not tell people you want to work in crypto unless you have some really compelling reason. People roll their eyes hard at people interested in “international law.” And I’d roll my eyes harder at someone interested in crypto.

Sure, but firms also recognize expansion areas and I am sure there are a few firms out there that are actively trying to expand their "crypto" practices, whatever the hell that means. But really OP you have to decide what part of crypto interests you-- is it the VC/startup part, the regulatory part (how crypto interacts with commodities or securities regulations), the tech part? There was a huge boom in blockchain work in IP and patenting, but if you don't like patent work then you wouldnt like blockchain patent work either (if you are qualified). What part of crypto do you find interesting?

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2L interested in working in blockchain/crypto. What practice areas should I be considering? (finance? tech transactions? Do firms have tech practice areas?) I've got OCI coming up and I'm a little worried about talking about my interests and the interviewers writing me off as another crypto bro, so any advice would be appreciated.

I would not tell people you want to work in crypto unless you have some really compelling reason. People roll their eyes hard at people interested in “international law.” And I’d roll my eyes harder at someone interested in crypto.

Sure, but firms also recognize expansion areas and I am sure there are a few firms out there that are actively trying to expand their "crypto" practices, whatever the hell that means. But really OP you have to decide what part of crypto interests you-- is it the VC/startup part, the regulatory part (how crypto interacts with commodities or securities regulations), the tech part? There was a huge boom in blockchain work in IP and patenting, but if you don't like patent work then you wouldnt like blockchain patent work either (if you are qualified). What part of crypto do you find interesting?

The problem with this, is that interest in the area hardly carries over into legal work. everyone and their mother is interested in environmentalism, no one is interested in environmental legal work in big law. This is why people eye roll hard at candidates who suggest this.

I’d also caution against crypto or VC interest too hard right now. Both appear to be falling off a cliff. I wouldn’t go into big law interviews in 09 telling people I wanted to do real estate either…

[Anonymous User]

Right now, like this very moment? White collar. My friend is in that practice and he says that these people/orgs are very wealthy, very scared, and very fraudulent which make them perfect white collar clients.

[Anonymous User]

As long as you can speak well as to why you’re interested in blockchain/crypto, I don’t think you need a clear cut reason on some group or practice area over others. Realistically, you can’t speak to that in depth without experience in actual practice unless you’re just parroting talking points from here, informational interviews, or actual attorneys elsewhere.

I would have an ironclad pitch for why you like crypto/blockchain though. Like the other poster alluded to above, law students will harp about international deals without any real substantive reason for it (and everyone that has done them before laughs internally because the starkest difference about international work is that the call times tend to get a lot more brutal). You don’t want to come across that way, but especially not in relation to something that raises eyebrows like crypto does. I personally think crypto and blockchain tech have largely failed to show actual value and have just been abused by borderline fraudsters in a low rate, easy capital environment that probably isn’t coming back in the near future.

So just make sure you have a good explanation on why you like crypto/blockchain a lot and think they’re interesting areas, since I don’t think I’m the only person with such a view, and I would definitely probe and pressure test a bit (just out of genuine curiosity, in all honesty).

[Anonymous User]

Financial Institutions/Services handles crypto regulatory work at most places.

[lawguy2355]

I'm a 2L interested in working in blockchain/crypto. What practice areas should I be considering? (finance? tech transactions? Do firms have tech practice areas?) I've got OCI coming up and I'm a little worried about talking about my interests and the interviewers writing me off as another crypto bro, so any advice would be appreciated.

I would not tell people you want to work in crypto unless you have some really compelling reason. People roll their eyes hard at people interested in “international law.” And I’d roll my eyes harder at someone interested in crypto.

Sure, but firms also recognize expansion areas and I am sure there are a few firms out there that are actively trying to expand their "crypto" practices, whatever the hell that means. But really OP you have to decide what part of crypto interests you-- is it the VC/startup part, the regulatory part (how crypto interacts with commodities or securities regulations), the tech part? There was a huge boom in blockchain work in IP and patenting, but if you don't like patent work then you wouldnt like blockchain patent work either (if you are qualified). What part of crypto do you find interesting?

Hey, thanks for responding. I think I find the ever-changing environment around crypto to be really interesting. I'm not really sure if I'm interested in patenting since I don't have a computer science background but I am interested in the startup, regulatory, and tech parts of crypto. I would love to work with companies like Coinbase or Gemini and help them comply with regulations.

After reading other people's comments I think I'm going to pass on mentioning that I'm interested in crypto because it's a bit too polarizing. I'll mention that I'm interested in fintech/tech instead.

[Anonymous User]

I work in a crypto-adjacent practice and could probably do crypto-related work full-time if I wanted. What you should be asking about is the firm's CFTC work, particularly CFTC regulatory and investigations. My firm lumped this in with another niche group (that is actually totally different, just tangentially related) to create my regulatory practice group.

[Anonymous User]

I'm adjacent to this space and people who practice "crypto" full-time. You should be looking at biglaw, midlaw/regional, and boutique FinTech and/or Financial Institutions (or similar) practices, many of which do a mixture of regulatory and M&A.

[Anonymous User]

Worked on a big MTM thing, I guess that's adjacent.

[lawguy2355]

I work in a crypto-adjacent practice and could probably do crypto-related work full-time if I wanted. What you should be asking about is the firm's CFTC work, particularly CFTC regulatory and investigations. My firm lumped this in with another niche group (that is actually totally different, just tangentially related) to create my regulatory practice group.

Can you tell me about the kind of work that you do? Is it interesting? Is it more transactional or litigation?

[lawguy2355]

I'm adjacent to this space and people who practice "crypto" full-time. You should be looking at biglaw, midlaw/regional, and boutique FinTech and/or Financial Institutions (or similar) practices, many of which do a mixture of regulatory and M&A.

Can you tell me a bit more about what it would be like to practice in this field? From your experience or from what you've heard of people who practice in the space?

[Anonymous User]

Not the poster you are replying to, but my practice is about 50% crypto related work at this point, and 50% niche practice in another area. I got into crypto originally through my niche practice (trust and estates).

Our crypto team is mostly white collar litigators who have taken on a variety of clients. We do licensing for exchanges and coin issuers, due diligence on coins for exchange listing, crypto litigation, and set up of crypto companies. Basically everything. The work is booming even with the market downturn. I could do 100% of my time in crypto if I wanted to. The work is fascinating because it changes so quickly and a lot of the information I need to send to clients comes from twitter and reddit. So most of my work is spent reading reddit and twitter threads to figure out how coins work.

[Anonymous User]

Snake oil

[Anonymous User]

I work in a crypto-adjacent practice and could probably do crypto-related work full-time if I wanted. What you should be asking about is the firm's CFTC work, particularly CFTC regulatory and investigations. My firm lumped this in with another niche group (that is actually totally different, just tangentially related) to create my regulatory practice group.

Can you tell me about the kind of work that you do? Is it interesting? Is it more transactional or litigation?

I am the poster you're responding to, and it's similar in scope to what the crypto/T&E poster above described - a bit of everything. I'm a junior associate, so there's a decent amount of research on CFTC questions, following regulatory developments and enforcement actions for client memos or other matters, licensing and helping navigate regulatory requirements for crypto exchanges, and corporate formalities for crypto companies. I agree that the practice is booming, and my firm recently brought on a counsel who's practiced in this space. I've done transactional work as well, and it's nothing like that. If I had to characterize it on the transactional/lit split, I guess I would say it's more like litigation because of the research component, but there is a lot of general counseling that tracks more with a corporate (not necessarily transactional) practice.

[Anonymous User]

This is a pretty easy way to strike out given the crashing crypto market and the looming recessions.

[Anonymous User]

This is a pretty easy way to strike out given the crashing crypto market and the looming recessions.

Right that's why MDs are currently jumping ship to join crypto companies:

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/ ... utType=amp

[Anonymous User]

This is a pretty easy way to strike out given the crashing crypto market and the looming recessions.

Right that's why MDs are currently jumping ship to join crypto companies:

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/ ... utType=amp

Wallstreet MDs famously, of course, having developed a storied reputation for never being on a sinking ship or taking poor risks

[Anonymous User]

I’m not getting the stance that showing interest in crypto per se would hurt you in interviewing. Unless you come across as obsessive, or as someone who would only be happy doing crypto, it’s more like a interest that a firm could very well accommodate if the right deal comes along.

My firm might be the most old fashioned firm in biglaw, and saying “I’m interested in crypto” in an interview would result in someone replying “let’s get you doing some fintech work” if anything.

And if you come across someone who thinks all crypto is snake oil, how is that different from articulating a strong interest in golf to someone who thinks it’s a waste of time or a good walk spoiled? The conversation would likely just move on to the next topic.

[Anonymous User]

OP, Chambers has a Blockchain and Crypto band ranking. Band 1 is Perkins Coie, DPW, Latham, Sidley. Band 2 is DLx Law, Paul H., DLA, MoFo, White and Case. More firms for band 3. At a minimum, this will tell you that the firms have a real crypto practice and not just website adverts. You could also search for ranked individual lawyers to pick up even more info. They also have broader Fintech rankings beyond crypto. It's a good place to start.

[Anonymous User]

Probably bankruptcy/restructuring, in the short- and medium-term

[Anonymous User]

Probably bankruptcy/restructuring, in the short- and medium-term

unsarcastically, it's going to be a mess and create a ton of work