In this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt chat with cryptocurrency experts Teresa Goody Guillen, Usman Sheikh and Jason Somensatto about the ever-changing regulatory landscape for digital assets and distributed ledger technology.

 
 
 

Featured in this Episode

Usman Sheikh

 

Usman Sheikh is a Partner in Gowling WLG's Toronto office. Named in 2018 as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers” by Canadian Lawyer and in 2020 as the top FinTech lawyer in Canada by Chambers, he serves as the National Head of the firm's Blockchain & Smart Contract Group, as well as the National Litigation Lead of the firm's Securities, Compliance & Investigations Group. 

Usman provides legal advice on blockchain advisory mandates, including cutting-edge token sales, crypto asset trading platforms (cryptocurrency exchanges) and others. He is also litigation counsel on several of the largest and most high-profile blockchain litigation (enforcement, civil and criminal) cases in Canada.  His clients include Canada’s largest banks and stock exchanges, co-founders of Ethereum, twelve of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world, as well as several blockchain pioneers. He is a highly sought-after speaker in blockchain. 

Usman also currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, teaching a Master’s-level course on the topic of blockchain and digital assets. In 2020, Usman is scheduled to publish The Law of Blockchain Technology (Thomson Reuters).

Teresa Goody Guillén

 

Teresa Goody Guillén is a partner in BakerHostetler’s Washington, D.C. office. She has a broad-based securities and corporate practice that includes investigations, litigation, regulatory compliance, assistance interacting with regulators and the government, and general securities and corporate advice. Teresa also advises developers of digital assets, registered brokers of digital assets, ATSs using blockchain technology, and companies and associations involved in blockchain technology on compliance with evolving SEC/FTC/FinCEN/CFTC/IRS issues, to include launching security and nonsecurity digital assets and accompanying regulatory compliance. Teresa has undertaken independent investigations and reported directly to the SEC and FINRA, and is one of eight “Fair Fund” administrators selected by the SEC.

A recognized authority on corporate governance and regulatory compliance affairs, Teresa has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business Channel and Bloomberg. She is called upon to serve as an expert in court cases on corporate governance and fiduciary duties, and lectures at Georgetown McDonough School of Business on corporate governance, mitigating corporate risk and entrepreneurship. 

Prior to joining BakerHostetler, Teresa founded and led The Goody Group PLLC, served as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel at the SEC, served as Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director at Kalorama Partners LLC, and served as personal counsel to former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. Teresa earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law, an M.B.A. from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and a B.S. in Business Administration from George Mason University, and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Jason Somensatto

 

 

Jason Somensatto is Senior Counsel for ZeroEx, the company that created and continues to develop the 0x protocol for peer-to-peer exchange of assets on the Ethereum blockchain. In addition to serving as counsel for the company, Jason works closely both with third-party developers building applications on top of the 0x protocol and with regulators and policy makers wrestling with the legal and policy implications of decentralized technology.

Before joining ZeroEx, Jason spent over ten years in private practice, most recently as co-chair of Orrick's blockchain and cryptocurrency working group and as a member of its white collar and securities enforcement practice group.