Lawyer familiar with cryptocurrencies? (bitcoin, litecoin, etc.)
January 20, 2014 1:25 PM   Subscribe

I'm looking to hire an attorney familiar with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, litecoin, etc. Any recommendations or pointers?

I've already contacted theclag.org and I'm awaiting a response, and I also plan to try a reddit post to the appropriate subreddits.

...But I take metafiliter reco any day!

Thanks!
posted by uncoolcentral to Law & Government (8 answers total)
 
Why does the lawyer need to be familiar with cryptocurrencies? Is there any reason why you can't hire the best lawyer you can afford, and then let them get familiar with cryptocurrencies?

The reason I ask is that lawyers familiar with cryptocurrencies may not be the best/right lawyer for you, and aiming for quality/diligence/experience may be more effective than screening them based on whether they're already familiar with cryptocurrencies.
posted by jayder at 1:39 PM on January 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


David Ries of Thorp, Reed, and Armstrong has regularly done presentations for the infosec community in and around the area. As an infosec professional in Pittsburgh, he's the first guy I think of whenever technology issues come up.

That said, I have no idea if David has worked with cryptocurrency at all, but he does have a strong background in e-discovery and e-commerce, both of which intersect with the use of bitcoins. David's a good guy, though, so at worst he could probably refer you to someone.
posted by bfranklin at 1:45 PM on January 20, 2014


Bitcoin Talk might be a good place to look.
posted by Mistress at 1:49 PM on January 20, 2014


Response by poster: Also just found this.
http://www.bitcoinlitigation.com/

1. jayder, The lawyer needs to be familiar with cryptocurrencies because the project is inseparable from crypto. It's not like we're making a widget and want to accept bitcoin as payment, we're developing something cryptocoin-related and don't want to pay to educate an attorney about crypto 101 and 201, etc. I helped start an ISP in 1995 and spent 10 years training lawyers to help us. That sucks.

2. bfranklin, Thanks for the Ries reco.

3. Mistress, Thanks for the bitcointalk reco.
posted by uncoolcentral at 1:58 PM on January 20, 2014


Not sure where you're located but if you are in SV/NYC/Austin/Boston, etc. there are lot of bitcoin-related meetups to go to, where attorneys and other startup hangers-on go. That's one way to find such an attorney.
posted by dfriedman at 2:40 PM on January 20, 2014


You might want to get in touch with the Software Freedom Law Center.
posted by 168 at 3:53 PM on January 20, 2014


Response by poster: 4. dfriedman Thanks. I'll share that w/ my one partner who's living near where such a meetup might happen.

5. 168 - Thanks. Contacted!
posted by uncoolcentral at 5:12 PM on January 20, 2014


Just sent you a possibility via MeMail.
posted by alms at 8:01 AM on January 21, 2014


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