Block(Legal)Tech: Examining Blockchain Law In Depth on August 9, 2018
Block(Legal)Tech, a one-day conference on the legal aspects of blockchain technology, sponsored by Chicago-Kent College of Law, Jenner & Block LLP and FinTEx, will be held on Thursday, August 9, 2018, at Chicago-Kent College of Law, 565 West Adams Street in Chicago. This first-of-its-kind event will feature presentations and panel discussions from top experts on the law of distributed ledger systems, tokenized assets and cryptoasset-based funding.
Moving past the typical canned pitches, the conference will include a number of talks, interviews and debates delving deep into the complicated issues that affect the crypto-landscape, such as the future of U.S. regulation of cryptoassets and the government's role in promoting blockchain adoption. Speakers will also discuss topics such as the risks of crypto-litigation, the role of lawyers, the evolution of smart contracts and their impact on the legal profession, and myriad other legal issues that stem from the use and implementation of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.
No fee will be charged for attendance, and CLE credit will be available. Admission will be limited to the first 600 ticket holders. Register online at www.kentlaw.iit.edu/BlockLegalTech.
"With our lineup of top legal minds, current and former regulators, C-suite executives, in-house counsel, and academics, we intend for this conference to be the seminal, daylong, legal-themed blockchain conference," said co-organizer Professor Daniel Martin Katz, director of The Law Lab at Chicago-Kent.
"Rather than focusing on the basics, this conference will serve as a one-day, advanced education on blockchain and the law," added co-organizer Justin Steffen, a litigation partner at Jenner & Block LLP.
Confirmed speakers for Block(Legal)Tech include:
- Kevin Batteh
Mr. Batteh is a partner with Delta Strategy Group, a senior advisor to a number of blockchain and digital currency technology companies, and a former trial attorney with the CFTC and FCA. - Director Ken Blanco
Mr. Blanco is the Director of FinCEN and, prior to his appointment, served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. - Preston Byrne
A founder and the former COO of Monax, makers of the first open-sourced permissioned blockchain client, Mr. Byrne is an English-qualified structured finance solicitor, a fellow of the ASI, and an independent consultant to the distributed ledger industry. - Drew Hinkes
Mr. Hinkes is the General Counsel at Athena Blockchain, a blockchain professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, and a frequently cited authority on virtual currency issues who has published more than 20 articles on blockchain. - Amy Davine Kim
Ms. Kim is the Global Policy Director and General Counsel at the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the leading trade association representing the digital asset and blockchain industry. She previously advised financial institutions, blockchain-based companies, lenders, investors and innovators regarding financial services compliance laws. - Joshua Klayman
Ms. Klayman is Of Counsel at Morrison Foerster, where she leads the firm's global Blockchain + Smart Contracts Group, and has been recognized by Chambers and Partners as one of the top 12 Blockchain and Cryptocurrency lawyers in the world. - Alan Niemerg
Mr. Niemerg is the Head of Research and Investments at DRW Trading/Cumberland, the leading OTC liquidity provider in the digital currency space (including Bitcoin). - Jennifer O'Rourke
Ms. O'Rourke is President and Co-Founder of Attest Inc.—a blockchain-enabled digital identity company—and recently served as the Illinois Blockchain Business Liaison and the Director of Public Engagement at the Chicago Blockchain Center. - Stephen Palley
A partner at Anderson Kill and co-chair of the firm's Blockchain and Virtual Currency Group, Mr. Palley frequently writes and comments on blockchain technology. - John Roth
The Chief Compliance Officer at Bittrex.com, Mr. Roth was formerly the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Director for the Office of Criminal Investigations at the FDA, and a former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. - Colleen Sullivan
Ms. Sullivan is the CEO of CMT Digital Holdings LLC, a division of Capital Markets Trading Group, focused on emerging digital markets, assets, and ancillary technologies in the blockchain space; an advisor to Bloq; and a Co-Founder and Managing Member of Sullivan Wolf Kailus LLC, a boutique law firm based in Chicago that specializes in hedge fund, private equity, venture capital, digital assets and other alternative investment products. - Peter Van Valkenburgh
A Director of Research at Coin Center and Board Member at the Zcash Foundation, Mr. Van Valkenburgh is one of the world's foremost crypto experts and has testified about cryptocurrency before Congress. - Angela Walch
Ms. Walch is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Blockchain Technologies of University College London and a Professor of Law at St. Mary's, where her research focuses on money and the law, blockchain technologies, governance of emerging technologies, and financial stability.
