Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce the launch of its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) team, an interdisciplinary, cross-office group of lawyers capable of addressing the myriad and evolving legal challenges associated with this innovative instrument and capital-raising option.
The team will be led by Chauncey Lane, a partner in the firm’s Dallas office, and Scott Brunner, a Milwaukee-based attorney, both of whom possess a deep understanding of capital markets and securities regulation, as well as of the blockchain technology underpinning cryptocurrencies. The team also comprises attorneys from Husch Blackwell’s Intellectual Property and Consumer Financial Services practices.
The team will assist both issuers and investors in ICOs, providing clients with comprehensive strategic guidance to address risk. For issuers, the team will handle drafting and evaluating sale terms, processes, and conditions to best position issuers to capitalize from an ICO, in addition to providing legal advice on applicable federal and state securities laws. The team will also represent investors that require knowledgeable and experienced legal counsel capable of assessing risk and performing in-depth due diligence on the purchase and sale of tokens.
“The ICO marketplace has reached a critical mass of activity to warrant specialized legal advice,” said Lane. “And the need for such advice will only grow in time. While it is impossible to know with certainty how public policy in various countries will evolve to regulate this new instrument, we anticipate that the distinction between securities and utility-based tokens will continue to shape the future of ICOs as a fundraising mechanism.”