Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Patrick Daugherty is a senior corporate and securities law partner of Foley & Lardner LLP, based in Chicago. He also is an adjunct professor of Cornell Law School, where he teaches in residence each Fall Term.
Mr. Daugherty is a member of the Bar in New York, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Michigan and Illinois. Credentialing organizations have named him “Lawyer of the Year” in both Michigan (2007) and Illinois (2022). A graduate of Northwestern University and of Cornell Law School (Class of 1981), he clerked for SDNY Chief Judge Lloyd F. MacMahon for a year before entering private practice. Mr. Daugherty also served as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Edward H. Fleischman in Washington, D.C., from 1986 to 1989. An Emeritus Member of the American Law Institute, he is the author, co-author or editor of several books and many articles on securities regulation and new financial products.
Mr. Daugherty believes that he was the first lawyer inside the SEC to join the Federalist Society when he became a member in the late 1980s. A mainstay of the Chicago Lawyers Chapter, at the national level of the Society he serves on the Executive Committee for the Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group.
Head of Policy & General Counsel, Crypto, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Miles Jennings joined the a16z Crypto team as General Counsel in August 2021.
Miles was most recently a partner at Latham & Watkins, where he focused on working with startups and investors in heavily regulated sectors including life sciences and, most importantly, crypto. He has been the go-to, trusted advisor for countless startups and crypto projects, guiding them from incorporation through financings, acquisitions, token offerings, and governance matters.
Miles’ experience within the sector stretches back to 2017, when he first began working with ConsenSys, a firm client, and he quickly became one of the most sought-after legal minds working in crypto. During his time at Latham, he co-chaired its global blockchain and cryptocurrency task force, which was composed of over 80 lawyers around the globe. In addition, he worked regularly with almost every venture firm operating in crypto, designing several of the investment structures they use today, and he was counsel to dozens of startups in the sector, including Aave, Bitwise, Avalanche, Element, Idle, Connext, 3Box, and Aztec. Miles was also an editor of Latham’s Global Fintech & Payments blog and has published several articles relating to legal matters relevant to crypto startups.
Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
Steven Lofchie advises financial institutions on regulatory issues and financial instruments.
In his regulatory practice, Steven counsels clients on securities laws, the CEA, and related bankruptcy issues. His transactional practice focuses on securities credit and derivative transactions.
Steven is the founder and manager of an acclaimed legal website (now renamed Fried Frank Regulatory Intelligence) that has been endorsed by former chairpersons of both the SEC and CFTC. Subscribers to the website include government regulators and major buy- and sell-side firms.
Chambers USA has ranked Steven in Band 1 for eight years running, for both financial services regulation and derivatives. He is the only lawyer in the country to be top-ranked in both of those categories. Steven was also part of the team that was named 2020 Regulatory Team of the Year by IFLR Americas. The Best Lawyers in America recognized Steven as “Lawyer of the Year” for Administrative/Regulatory Law in New York in 2017, and U.S. News and World Report ranked him as the best regulatory lawyer in New York for 2014. In 2012, a derivatives transaction developed by Steven was cited as the best international structured product of the year by International Financial Law Review.
General Counsel, Ava Labs
Lee Schneider serves as General Counsel for Ava Labs, a leading blockchain software company. Mr. Schneider is responsible for all aspects of the legal function as well as the company’s government affairs initiatives.
As an early lawyer in the financial services and technology space (FinTech) and a leading voice in blockchain law and policy, Mr. Schneider has been involved in many significant projects in FinTech and blockchain, including some of the largest and most popular token sales. He also co-hosts a FinTech podcast with former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes, available on iTunes and other podcast services.
Prior to Ava Labs, Mr. Schneider served as General Counsel of block.one and as a practice leader at two major US law firms. Mr. Schneider has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law (’91).
Head of Legal for the Americas, Crypto.com
Justin is Head of Legal for the Americas at Crypto.com where he leads the company's North and South American legal and regulatory strategy. Prior to joining Crypto.com, he was a partner with the international law firm of K&L Gates where his practice focused on the rapidly evolving legal and regulatory issues impacting decentralized technologies including cryptocurrencies, decentralized financial (DeFi) platforms, smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other related concepts.
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Patrick Daugherty is a senior corporate and securities law partner of Foley & Lardner LLP, based in Chicago. He also is an adjunct professor of Cornell Law School, where he teaches in residence each Fall Term.
Mr. Daugherty is a member of the Bar in New York, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Michigan and Illinois. Credentialing organizations have named him “Lawyer of the Year” in both Michigan (2007) and Illinois (2022). A graduate of Northwestern University and of Cornell Law School (Class of 1981), he clerked for SDNY Chief Judge Lloyd F. MacMahon for a year before entering private practice. Mr. Daugherty also served as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Edward H. Fleischman in Washington, D.C., from 1986 to 1989. An Emeritus Member of the American Law Institute, he is the author, co-author or editor of several books and many articles on securities regulation and new financial products.
Mr. Daugherty believes that he was the first lawyer inside the SEC to join the Federalist Society when he became a member in the late 1980s. A mainstay of the Chicago Lawyers Chapter, at the national level of the Society he serves on the Executive Committee for the Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group.
Head of Policy & General Counsel, Crypto, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Miles Jennings joined the a16z Crypto team as General Counsel in August 2021.
Miles was most recently a partner at Latham & Watkins, where he focused on working with startups and investors in heavily regulated sectors including life sciences and, most importantly, crypto. He has been the go-to, trusted advisor for countless startups and crypto projects, guiding them from incorporation through financings, acquisitions, token offerings, and governance matters.
Miles’ experience within the sector stretches back to 2017, when he first began working with ConsenSys, a firm client, and he quickly became one of the most sought-after legal minds working in crypto. During his time at Latham, he co-chaired its global blockchain and cryptocurrency task force, which was composed of over 80 lawyers around the globe. In addition, he worked regularly with almost every venture firm operating in crypto, designing several of the investment structures they use today, and he was counsel to dozens of startups in the sector, including Aave, Bitwise, Avalanche, Element, Idle, Connext, 3Box, and Aztec. Miles was also an editor of Latham’s Global Fintech & Payments blog and has published several articles relating to legal matters relevant to crypto startups.
Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
Steven Lofchie advises financial institutions on regulatory issues and financial instruments.
In his regulatory practice, Steven counsels clients on securities laws, the CEA, and related bankruptcy issues. His transactional practice focuses on securities credit and derivative transactions.
Steven is the founder and manager of an acclaimed legal website (now renamed Fried Frank Regulatory Intelligence) that has been endorsed by former chairpersons of both the SEC and CFTC. Subscribers to the website include government regulators and major buy- and sell-side firms.
Chambers USA has ranked Steven in Band 1 for eight years running, for both financial services regulation and derivatives. He is the only lawyer in the country to be top-ranked in both of those categories. Steven was also part of the team that was named 2020 Regulatory Team of the Year by IFLR Americas. The Best Lawyers in America recognized Steven as “Lawyer of the Year” for Administrative/Regulatory Law in New York in 2017, and U.S. News and World Report ranked him as the best regulatory lawyer in New York for 2014. In 2012, a derivatives transaction developed by Steven was cited as the best international structured product of the year by International Financial Law Review.
General Counsel, Ava Labs
Lee Schneider serves as General Counsel for Ava Labs, a leading blockchain software company. Mr. Schneider is responsible for all aspects of the legal function as well as the company’s government affairs initiatives.
As an early lawyer in the financial services and technology space (FinTech) and a leading voice in blockchain law and policy, Mr. Schneider has been involved in many significant projects in FinTech and blockchain, including some of the largest and most popular token sales. He also co-hosts a FinTech podcast with former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes, available on iTunes and other podcast services.
Prior to Ava Labs, Mr. Schneider served as General Counsel of block.one and as a practice leader at two major US law firms. Mr. Schneider has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law (’91).
Head of Legal for the Americas, Crypto.com
Justin is Head of Legal for the Americas at Crypto.com where he leads the company's North and South American legal and regulatory strategy. Prior to joining Crypto.com, he was a partner with the international law firm of K&L Gates where his practice focused on the rapidly evolving legal and regulatory issues impacting decentralized technologies including cryptocurrencies, decentralized financial (DeFi) platforms, smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other related concepts.
Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and Founder and Faculty Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University Law School
The founder and faculty director of the groundbreaking Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and one of the foremost environmental lawyers in the nation, Michael Gerrard is an advocate, litigator, teacher, and scholar who has pioneered cutting-edge legal tools and strategies for addressing climate change. He writes and teaches courses on environmental law, climate change law, and energy regulation. He was the chair of the faculty of Columbia University’s renowned Earth Institute from 2015 to 2018 and now holds a joint appointment to the faculty of its successor, the Columbia Climate School.
For three decades, before joining the Columbia Law School faculty in 2009, Gerrard practiced law in New York, most recently as the partner in charge of the New York office of Arnold & Porter. As an environmental lawyer, he tried numerous cases and argued many appeals in federal and state courts and administrative tribunals. He also handled the environmental aspects of diverse transactions and development projects and provided regulatory compliance advice to an array of clients in the private and public sectors. Several publications rated him the leading environmental lawyer in New York and one of the leaders in the world.
Director, Climate Change Research Network, Vanderbilt University Law School
Michael Vandenbergh, director of the Energy, Environment, & Land Use program is an award-winning teacher and scholar whose research focuses on working with interdisciplinary teams to explore environmental governance, environmental behavior and climate change. His research has developed the concept of private environmental governance and explored how private governance initiatives can address polarization and other barriers to climate change mitigation. In 2022, Vandenbergh was awarded an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to support his project “Bypassing Polarization: Engaging Conservatives to Achieve Climate Justice,” an interdisciplinary venture that draws on insights from social psychology, law, and policy to bypass polarization and develop large-scale interventions to engage moderates and conservatives. His interdisciplinary work with Vanderbilt’s Climate Change Research Network focuses on the reduction of carbon emissions from the household sector, and he is one of the top 25 law professors in the US based on peer-reviewed literature citations. His book with physicist Jonathan Gilligan, Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change (Cambridge University Press, 2017) was favorably reviewed in Science, Nature Climate Change and Legal Planet; won the 2018 Chancellor’s Award for Research; and was named by the Environmental Forum as one of the most important environmental policy books of the last 50 years. His article “Beyond Gridlock,” also co-authored with Gilligan, won the 2015 Morrison Prize for North America’s best sustainability article. His other writings have appeared in PNAS, Nature Climate Change and the Columbia, Cornell, Michigan and NYU Law Reviews. Before joining Vanderbilt’s law faculty, Professor Vandenbergh was a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. He served as chief of staff of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1993 to 1995. He began his career as a law clerk for Judge Edward R. Becker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. A recipient of teaching awards at Vanderbilt and at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Vandenbergh teaches courses in environmental law, climate change justice and property. He has been a visiting professor at the Wharton School’s Department of Legal Studies and Business Ethics and at the University of Chicago and Harvard Law Schools. He is a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and a member of the Board on Environmental Change and Society of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Luke A. Wake is an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation. Prior to joining PLF, he was a senior staff attorney at the NFIB Small Business Legal Center.
Wake has particular expertise on environmental and land use issues, and has worked on numerous other constitutional issues and matters of importance to small business owners. He is an ardent defender of private property rights, which he believes are essential to the free enterprise system and the foundation of American liberty. As a strong advocate of individual rights and economic liberties, he has built his career defending small business interests.
Wake has focused on a whole host of issues, from employment law matters to regulatory compliance. In addition to serving as a resource for small business owners, Wake is committed to ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation’s courts. As an appellate practitioner, Wake has focused particularly on informing the courts on matters of administrative law and on issues under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. He is also working to advance small business interests in law review articles, and was recently published in the Berkeley Journal of Law & Ecology. See R.S. Radford & Luke A. Wake, Deciphering and Extrapolating: Searching for Sense in Penn Central, 38 Ecology L.Q. 731, 746-747 (2011).
Before joining the Legal Center’s team, Wake completed a prestigious two-year fellowship as an attorney in the Pacific Legal Foundation’s College of Public Interest Law. Wake is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland Ohio, and is a member of the California Bar. He completed his undergraduate studies at Elon University in North Carolina in 2006 where he focused on political theory and corporate communications.
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Chris Wright is the 17th Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy. A self-described energy nerd turned entrepreneur, Chris is a dedicated humanitarian with a passion for bringing the benefits of energy to every community in the world. This passion has inspired a career in energy, working not only in oil and gas but nuclear, solar, and geothermal. As Secretary of Energy, Chris is focused on unleashing American energy dominance, accelerating innovation and advancing all energy sources that are affordable, reliable and secure for the American people.
Chris completed an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at MIT and graduate work in Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley and MIT. He founded Pinnacle Technologies and served as CEO from 1992 to 2006. Pinnacle created the hydraulic fracture mapping industry, and its innovations helped launch commercial shale gas production in the late 1990s. Chris was Chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before selling to Range Resources in 2006. Most recently, Chris served as Chairman and CEO of Liberty Energy, where his team helped to expand the shale revolution to include oil as well as natural gas. Chris has also participated in an effort to apply shale technology to unlock next-generation geothermal and helped to launch small modular reactors.
Chris was nominated by President Trump to serve as the 17th Secretary of Energy on November 16, 2024 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 3rd, 2025. He grew up and in Colorado and currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Liz. He is a passionate father, grandfather, skier, cyclist, climber, and outdoor enthusiast.
Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and Founder and Faculty Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University Law School
The founder and faculty director of the groundbreaking Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and one of the foremost environmental lawyers in the nation, Michael Gerrard is an advocate, litigator, teacher, and scholar who has pioneered cutting-edge legal tools and strategies for addressing climate change. He writes and teaches courses on environmental law, climate change law, and energy regulation. He was the chair of the faculty of Columbia University’s renowned Earth Institute from 2015 to 2018 and now holds a joint appointment to the faculty of its successor, the Columbia Climate School.
For three decades, before joining the Columbia Law School faculty in 2009, Gerrard practiced law in New York, most recently as the partner in charge of the New York office of Arnold & Porter. As an environmental lawyer, he tried numerous cases and argued many appeals in federal and state courts and administrative tribunals. He also handled the environmental aspects of diverse transactions and development projects and provided regulatory compliance advice to an array of clients in the private and public sectors. Several publications rated him the leading environmental lawyer in New York and one of the leaders in the world.
Director, Climate Change Research Network, Vanderbilt University Law School
Michael Vandenbergh, director of the Energy, Environment, & Land Use program is an award-winning teacher and scholar whose research focuses on working with interdisciplinary teams to explore environmental governance, environmental behavior and climate change. His research has developed the concept of private environmental governance and explored how private governance initiatives can address polarization and other barriers to climate change mitigation. In 2022, Vandenbergh was awarded an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to support his project “Bypassing Polarization: Engaging Conservatives to Achieve Climate Justice,” an interdisciplinary venture that draws on insights from social psychology, law, and policy to bypass polarization and develop large-scale interventions to engage moderates and conservatives. His interdisciplinary work with Vanderbilt’s Climate Change Research Network focuses on the reduction of carbon emissions from the household sector, and he is one of the top 25 law professors in the US based on peer-reviewed literature citations. His book with physicist Jonathan Gilligan, Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change (Cambridge University Press, 2017) was favorably reviewed in Science, Nature Climate Change and Legal Planet; won the 2018 Chancellor’s Award for Research; and was named by the Environmental Forum as one of the most important environmental policy books of the last 50 years. His article “Beyond Gridlock,” also co-authored with Gilligan, won the 2015 Morrison Prize for North America’s best sustainability article. His other writings have appeared in PNAS, Nature Climate Change and the Columbia, Cornell, Michigan and NYU Law Reviews. Before joining Vanderbilt’s law faculty, Professor Vandenbergh was a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. He served as chief of staff of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1993 to 1995. He began his career as a law clerk for Judge Edward R. Becker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. A recipient of teaching awards at Vanderbilt and at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Vandenbergh teaches courses in environmental law, climate change justice and property. He has been a visiting professor at the Wharton School’s Department of Legal Studies and Business Ethics and at the University of Chicago and Harvard Law Schools. He is a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and a member of the Board on Environmental Change and Society of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Luke A. Wake is an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation. Prior to joining PLF, he was a senior staff attorney at the NFIB Small Business Legal Center.
Wake has particular expertise on environmental and land use issues, and has worked on numerous other constitutional issues and matters of importance to small business owners. He is an ardent defender of private property rights, which he believes are essential to the free enterprise system and the foundation of American liberty. As a strong advocate of individual rights and economic liberties, he has built his career defending small business interests.
Wake has focused on a whole host of issues, from employment law matters to regulatory compliance. In addition to serving as a resource for small business owners, Wake is committed to ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation’s courts. As an appellate practitioner, Wake has focused particularly on informing the courts on matters of administrative law and on issues under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. He is also working to advance small business interests in law review articles, and was recently published in the Berkeley Journal of Law & Ecology. See R.S. Radford & Luke A. Wake, Deciphering and Extrapolating: Searching for Sense in Penn Central, 38 Ecology L.Q. 731, 746-747 (2011).
Before joining the Legal Center’s team, Wake completed a prestigious two-year fellowship as an attorney in the Pacific Legal Foundation’s College of Public Interest Law. Wake is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland Ohio, and is a member of the California Bar. He completed his undergraduate studies at Elon University in North Carolina in 2006 where he focused on political theory and corporate communications.
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Chris Wright is the 17th Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy. A self-described energy nerd turned entrepreneur, Chris is a dedicated humanitarian with a passion for bringing the benefits of energy to every community in the world. This passion has inspired a career in energy, working not only in oil and gas but nuclear, solar, and geothermal. As Secretary of Energy, Chris is focused on unleashing American energy dominance, accelerating innovation and advancing all energy sources that are affordable, reliable and secure for the American people.
Chris completed an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at MIT and graduate work in Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley and MIT. He founded Pinnacle Technologies and served as CEO from 1992 to 2006. Pinnacle created the hydraulic fracture mapping industry, and its innovations helped launch commercial shale gas production in the late 1990s. Chris was Chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before selling to Range Resources in 2006. Most recently, Chris served as Chairman and CEO of Liberty Energy, where his team helped to expand the shale revolution to include oil as well as natural gas. Chris has also participated in an effort to apply shale technology to unlock next-generation geothermal and helped to launch small modular reactors.
Chris was nominated by President Trump to serve as the 17th Secretary of Energy on November 16, 2024 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 3rd, 2025. He grew up and in Colorado and currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Liz. He is a passionate father, grandfather, skier, cyclist, climber, and outdoor enthusiast.
Chief Legal Officer, Paradigm
Civil Chief, Kentucky Office of the Attorney General
Justin manages the Office's Civil Division. He previously served as a litigator in the Attorney General's Office, where he brought complex cases, including against the manufacturers and distributors of deadly opioids. Along with almost two decades of private practice in a large Kentucky law firm, Justin served as the General Counsel of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and as Commissioner of the Kentucky Boxing & Wrestling Commission.
Partner, Fusion Law, PLLC
Paul is the founding partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Solicitor General, Iowa Office of the Attorney General
Eric Wessan serves as Iowa’s Solicitor General in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. In that role, Wessan leads Iowa’s litigation before State and federal appellate courts, including the Iowa and U.S. Supreme Courts. Before that role, Wessan worked on complex commercial litigation at two large law firms in Chicago. Wessan also served as a law clerk for the Honorable James C. Ho on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for the Honorable John F. Kness on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Wessan is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, with honors, and of the University of Chicago.
Chief Legal Officer, Paradigm
Civil Chief, Kentucky Office of the Attorney General
Justin manages the Office's Civil Division. He previously served as a litigator in the Attorney General's Office, where he brought complex cases, including against the manufacturers and distributors of deadly opioids. Along with almost two decades of private practice in a large Kentucky law firm, Justin served as the General Counsel of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and as Commissioner of the Kentucky Boxing & Wrestling Commission.
Partner, Fusion Law, PLLC
Paul is the founding partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Solicitor General, Iowa Office of the Attorney General
Eric Wessan serves as Iowa’s Solicitor General in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. In that role, Wessan leads Iowa’s litigation before State and federal appellate courts, including the Iowa and U.S. Supreme Courts. Before that role, Wessan worked on complex commercial litigation at two large law firms in Chicago. Wessan also served as a law clerk for the Honorable James C. Ho on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for the Honorable John F. Kness on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Wessan is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, with honors, and of the University of Chicago.
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Patrick Daugherty is a senior corporate and securities law partner of Foley & Lardner LLP, based in Chicago. He also is an adjunct professor of Cornell Law School, where he teaches in residence each Fall Term.
Mr. Daugherty is a member of the Bar in New York, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Michigan and Illinois. Credentialing organizations have named him “Lawyer of the Year” in both Michigan (2007) and Illinois (2022). A graduate of Northwestern University and of Cornell Law School (Class of 1981), he clerked for SDNY Chief Judge Lloyd F. MacMahon for a year before entering private practice. Mr. Daugherty also served as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Edward H. Fleischman in Washington, D.C., from 1986 to 1989. An Emeritus Member of the American Law Institute, he is the author, co-author or editor of several books and many articles on securities regulation and new financial products.
Mr. Daugherty believes that he was the first lawyer inside the SEC to join the Federalist Society when he became a member in the late 1980s. A mainstay of the Chicago Lawyers Chapter, at the national level of the Society he serves on the Executive Committee for the Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group.
Head of Policy & General Counsel, Crypto, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Miles Jennings joined the a16z Crypto team as General Counsel in August 2021.
Miles was most recently a partner at Latham & Watkins, where he focused on working with startups and investors in heavily regulated sectors including life sciences and, most importantly, crypto. He has been the go-to, trusted advisor for countless startups and crypto projects, guiding them from incorporation through financings, acquisitions, token offerings, and governance matters.
Miles’ experience within the sector stretches back to 2017, when he first began working with ConsenSys, a firm client, and he quickly became one of the most sought-after legal minds working in crypto. During his time at Latham, he co-chaired its global blockchain and cryptocurrency task force, which was composed of over 80 lawyers around the globe. In addition, he worked regularly with almost every venture firm operating in crypto, designing several of the investment structures they use today, and he was counsel to dozens of startups in the sector, including Aave, Bitwise, Avalanche, Element, Idle, Connext, 3Box, and Aztec. Miles was also an editor of Latham’s Global Fintech & Payments blog and has published several articles relating to legal matters relevant to crypto startups.
Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
Steven Lofchie advises financial institutions on regulatory issues and financial instruments.
In his regulatory practice, Steven counsels clients on securities laws, the CEA, and related bankruptcy issues. His transactional practice focuses on securities credit and derivative transactions.
Steven is the founder and manager of an acclaimed legal website (now renamed Fried Frank Regulatory Intelligence) that has been endorsed by former chairpersons of both the SEC and CFTC. Subscribers to the website include government regulators and major buy- and sell-side firms.
Chambers USA has ranked Steven in Band 1 for eight years running, for both financial services regulation and derivatives. He is the only lawyer in the country to be top-ranked in both of those categories. Steven was also part of the team that was named 2020 Regulatory Team of the Year by IFLR Americas. The Best Lawyers in America recognized Steven as “Lawyer of the Year” for Administrative/Regulatory Law in New York in 2017, and U.S. News and World Report ranked him as the best regulatory lawyer in New York for 2014. In 2012, a derivatives transaction developed by Steven was cited as the best international structured product of the year by International Financial Law Review.
General Counsel, Ava Labs
Lee Schneider serves as General Counsel for Ava Labs, a leading blockchain software company. Mr. Schneider is responsible for all aspects of the legal function as well as the company’s government affairs initiatives.
As an early lawyer in the financial services and technology space (FinTech) and a leading voice in blockchain law and policy, Mr. Schneider has been involved in many significant projects in FinTech and blockchain, including some of the largest and most popular token sales. He also co-hosts a FinTech podcast with former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes, available on iTunes and other podcast services.
Prior to Ava Labs, Mr. Schneider served as General Counsel of block.one and as a practice leader at two major US law firms. Mr. Schneider has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law (’91).
Head of Legal for the Americas, Crypto.com
Justin is Head of Legal for the Americas at Crypto.com where he leads the company's North and South American legal and regulatory strategy. Prior to joining Crypto.com, he was a partner with the international law firm of K&L Gates where his practice focused on the rapidly evolving legal and regulatory issues impacting decentralized technologies including cryptocurrencies, decentralized financial (DeFi) platforms, smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other related concepts.
Chief Legal Officer, Paradigm
Civil Chief, Kentucky Office of the Attorney General
Justin manages the Office's Civil Division. He previously served as a litigator in the Attorney General's Office, where he brought complex cases, including against the manufacturers and distributors of deadly opioids. Along with almost two decades of private practice in a large Kentucky law firm, Justin served as the General Counsel of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and as Commissioner of the Kentucky Boxing & Wrestling Commission.
Partner, Fusion Law, PLLC
Paul is the founding partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Solicitor General, Iowa Office of the Attorney General
Eric Wessan serves as Iowa’s Solicitor General in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. In that role, Wessan leads Iowa’s litigation before State and federal appellate courts, including the Iowa and U.S. Supreme Courts. Before that role, Wessan worked on complex commercial litigation at two large law firms in Chicago. Wessan also served as a law clerk for the Honorable James C. Ho on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for the Honorable John F. Kness on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Wessan is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, with honors, and of the University of Chicago.
Digital Assets Market Structure Reform
Patrick Daugherty, Miles Jennings, Steven Lofchie, Lee Schneider, Justin Wales
Reforming the regulation of digital assets is a pressing issue across Congress, the Administration, the...
Digital Assets Market Structure Reform
Patrick Daugherty, Miles Jennings, Steven Lofchie, Lee Schneider, Justin Wales
Reforming the regulation of digital assets is a pressing issue across Congress, the Administration, the...
Digital Assets Market Structure Reform
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Miami Chapter Cocktail Reception
Miami Lawyers Chapter
Miami, FLTRAILER: The SEC Disclosure Divide: The Cost of Compliance
Michael Gerrard, Michael P. Vandenbergh, Luke A. Wake, Chris Wright
In March 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced a climate disclosure rule...
A Conversation on the Right: The Future of the SEC & Cryptocurrency
Katie Biber, Justin Clark, Paul N. Watkins, Eric Wessan
What does the new administration mean for cryptocurrency regulation and the balance of authority between...
A Conversation on the Right: The Future of the SEC & Cryptocurrency
Katie Biber, Justin Clark, Paul N. Watkins, Eric Wessan
What does the new administration mean for cryptocurrency regulation and the balance of authority between...
A Conversation on the Right: The Future of the SEC & Cryptocurrency