Jim is a former member of the firm's Executive Committee and a partner in the Corporate Transactions & Securities and International practice groups. He also chairs the firm’s India Desk and Cryptocurrency group, and is a principal member of the Family Office Services group.
An extensive authority on securities and corporate transactions, in the United States and internationally, Jim counsels clients on contract drafting and negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, private placements of securities exempt from registration, venture capital financings, and hedge fund, investment adviser and broker-dealer formation and compliance, and cryptocurrency issues.
Cryptocurrency
A prominent thought leader on cryptocurrency, Jim provides insight into the unique regulatory challenges surrounding alternative financial services, and is a frequent presenter and commentator on the legal implications of Bitcoin.
Family Office Services
Jim is senior advisor to family office clients on various issues including, among others, family office structure and management, and transactional and regulatory matters.
Broker-Dealer/Hedge Funds
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Broker-Dealer Site
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Hedge Fund Site
Outside of his law practice, Jim is an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law, where he teaches an upper level course in specializing on securities regulation.
Jim also actively supports community initiatives, regularly participating in profile and fund raising efforts.
Experience
With more than 35 years' corporate transactional experience, Jim routinely represents:
· Public companies in connection with ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission compliance;
· Latin American, European and Southeast Asian clients in the United States in connection with a myriad of securities and corporate matters, including transnational and off-shore financings and corporate transactions;
· Hedge funds, venture funds, private equity funds, broker-dealers, family offices and investment advisors in formation, compliance and capital investment;
· Companies and individual investors in connection with their capital formation from early stage through initial and subsequent public offerings, and complex financings and transactions.
Publications
· Commented, " US Securities and Exchange Commission declares that initial coin offerings may be subject to securities regulation,"
Payments & Fintech Lawyer, August 9, 2017
· Commented, " Issuers On Notice After SEC ‘Coin Offering’ Report,"
Law360, New York, July 27, 2017
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“The Growing Commercial Applications of Blockchain Technology,” Thompson Hine Business Law Update, Summer 2017
· Commented, “‘Regulation Well Done’: U.S. Bitcoin Bill Praised,”
Payments Compliance, July 2017
· Commented, "Uniform Laws Would Boost U.S. Crypto-Currency Use, Says Lawyer,"
Payments Compliance, October 2016
· Commented, “U.S. Bitcoin Firms Face ‘Conflicting’ Regulatory Views,”
Payments Compliance, August 2016
· Commented, “California Regulator Rebuffs Bitcoin Bill Criticism,” PaymentsCompliance.com, August 2015
· Commented, “California Wants Bitcoin Startups to Step into the Spotlight,” PaymentsCompliance.com, July 2015
· Commented, “California Bitcoin Bill Passes First Test,” PaymentsCompliance.com, May 2015
· Commented, “California Battles New York to become U.S. Bitcoin Hub,” PaymentsCompliance.com, April 2015
· Commented, "Different approaches to Bitcoin coverage,"
SNL Financial, May 2015
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“Revisions to New York’s Proposed BitLicense Regulations,” Thompson Hine Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Update, February 2015
· Commented “Private Equity Funds Test Drive JOBS Act,"
Fundfire, February 2015
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“New York Issues Digital Currency Transaction Tax Policy,” Thompson Hine Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Update, January 2015
· Commented, “No Wiggle Room on Bitcoin, US Treasury Says” –
PaymentsCompliance.com – November 2014
· Co-author, “FinCen further clarifies the regulation of digital currencies” -
E-Finance & Payments Law & Policy - November 2014
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“New York Proposes Issuing BitLicenses,” Thompson Hine Bitcoin & Cybercurrency Update, July 2014
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“SEC Issues Alert on Bitcoin Investments,” Thompson Hine Bitcoin & Cybercurrency Update, May 2014
· Commented, “Fund Focus: Falcon Global Bullish On Bitcoin,” FINalternatives – March 2014
· Commented, “GSAM Attorney Cautions On General Solicitation,” Compliance Reporter – March 2014
· Commented, “Avoid New General Solicitation Rules: Ex-SEC Exec,”
Fundfire, March 2014
· Commented, “New Private Fundraising Rules Attract Meager Interest, ”
The Wall Street Journal Blog,
CFO Journal, March 2014
· Co-author, "Why Not Accept Bitcoin for Goods and Services?"
Corporate Counsel magazine, March 2014
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“Bitcoin: A Primer,” Thompson Hine Cybercurrency Update, February 2014
· “Bitcoin bashed in China and France: what that means for the crypto-currency,”
The Christian Science Monitor, December 2013
· Author, "Proposals for Insider Trading Regulation after the Fall of the House of Enron,"
Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law, 8 Fordham J. Corp. & Fin. L. 689, 2003
Presentations
· Panelist, “Navigating the Bitcoin and Token Markets,” Peltz International Seminar, August 29, 2017
· Panelist, “Americas M&A and Growth, 7th Annual Intelligence Forum,” Global M&A Network, October 28, 2015
· Panelist, “Digital Currencies on Wall Street: Risks & Opportunities,” Global Markets Insight, New York, May 2015
· Presenter, “Bitcoin 101, Understanding the Real Value,” Ohio, May 2015
· Panelist, “Bitcoin Regulation,” Bitcoin Center NYC - Satoshi Square, New York, January 2015
· Presenter, “What is Bitcoin and Why Should You Care?” Ohio, October 2014
· Presenter, “Virtual Currencies: Legal, Regulatory, and Policy Implications,” conference – The World Bank, Washington D.C., May 2014
· Presenter, “Creating Liquidity,” Palm Beach Investment Research Group, Inc. Family Office Services meeting, Florida, April 2014
· Presenter, “Preparing Your Business to Accept Payments in Bitcoin,” INSIDE BITCOINS the future of virtual currency conference, New York, April 2014
· Panelist, “JOBS Act: The Terrible Twos, General Solicitation & Crowdfunding, the next Frontier of Securities Regulation,” Fordham University, Journal of Corporate & Financial Law 19th Annual Symposium, New York, March 2014
· Speaker, “Threading the Needle in U.S. India Deals” conference, New Delhi, India, February 2014
· Panelist, "Hedge Funds: The JOBS Act and Dodd-Frank – Two Years Later," Thompson Hine Seminar New York, October 2012
· Panelist, "Hedge Funds: Capital Introduction After Dodd-Frank," Thompson Hine Seminar New York, September 2011
· Panelist, "Hedge Fund Marketing in the Internet Age," HFA Seminar, May 2008
· Guest, CNBC's "Morning Call," Episode: Hedge Funds & Soft Dollars, January 2007
Distinctions
· AV® Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Professional & Civic
Professional Associations
· American Bar Association
· The Wall Street Bitcoin Alliance (WSBA), executive committee member
· Hedge Fund Association's (HFA) Academic Advisory Board, 2013
· New York State Bar Association, Securities Law Committee, 1986 to 1992
Community Activities
· Fordham University School of Law, adjunct professor of law, 1998 to present, teaching Securities Regulation
Admissions
· New York
· U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
· U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
· U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Languages
· Spanish