NEW YORK, NY, December 2, 2022 – Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP is proud to announce that the firm and Partner Sean Hecker have been included in the Chambers FinTech 2023 Guide, with specific recognition for their expertise in Crypto-Asset Disputes.
This prestigious guide “identifies and differentiates the leading payments, blockchain, cyber security and data protection specialists globally, offering an indispensable resource for start-up and scale-up FinTech businesses, incumbent tech and financial services firms, and PE/VC investors in the sector.”
Kaplan Hecker partners Sean Hecker, Jenna Dabbs, Mike Ferrara, and Shawn Crowley have been at the forefront of the Crypto-Asset Disputes practice area. Sean, Jenna, and Mike represented BitMEX’s head of business development Gregory Dwyer in both a criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and in connection with a CFTC action relating to BitMEX’s compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act. In another parallel criminal and regulatory action, Sean and Shawn represented Stefan He Qin in connection with a criminal case in the SDNY and an SEC enforcement action. Qin, who ran cryptocurrency hedge funds managing nearly $90 million, was accused of fraud and misappropriating assets. The firm is also representing an executive at a cryptocurrency company in a confidential criminal probe.
Beyond its individual representations, the Kaplan Hecker's expertise extends to representing large financial technology companies. Mike represents a global cryptocurrency exchange in both DOJ and SEC investigations as well as a hedge fund in a civil dispute regarding digital asset technology. Jenna’s institutional experience includes representing a financial technology company in connection with a crypto-asset related investigation by multiple federal and state regulators and, along with Sean, representing financial technology company Galaxy Digital, as well investment firms ParaFi Capital and Maven 11, in a class action lawsuit relating to the legality of a cryptocurrency savings application.
Sean remarked that “the firm is honored to have been included in this year’s Guide; we have all enjoyed the challenges of handling disputes arising from the intersection of new technology and evolving regulatory regimes.”
Kaplan Hecker’s breadth and depth of experience has led to considerable recognition in the crypto and digital assets industry. The firm’s attorneys have been described as “outstanding lawyers” – “anything they get involved in they do it at an A++.” Chambers notes that Sean “is one of the top white-collar crime and government investigations lawyers in the country, and has handled significant matters involving digital assets.” He is further described as “a terrific litigator” who is “really active in this space and has a great set of skills.”
To view the firm’s Chambers FinTech 2023 profile, please see here.