Navigating the Legal Landscape in Crypto, with Marc Boiron and Jake Chervinsky

I Pledge Allegiance

In this episode of I Pledge Allegiance, Larry and I chat about the legal landscape in Crypto with Marc Boiron, General Counsel of dYdX, and Jake Chervinsky, Head of Policy at the Blockchain Association and formerly the General Counsel at Compound.

This episode's focus is a practical approach for founders and DAO operators in navigating the crypto legal landscape, from how to find good outside counsel, to understanding the right kinds of questions to ask them. Additionally, we talk about the various organizations contributing to policy in DC, as well as predictions over the coming year.

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Follow us on Twitter: @jchervinsky | @boironattorney | @lsukernik | @derek_hsue

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Show Notes:

(1:25) - What the largest challenges in the crypto regulatory sphere are

(5:17) - How Jake's litigation background impacts his views

(7:43) - How Marc's transaction background impacts his views

(10:25) - What are the different categories of lawyers in Crypto?

(13:02) - Biggest mistakes that founders make when evaluating lawyers

(15:25) - The ideal background and attributes of a knowledgable Crypto Lawyer

(18:40) - Understanding conservative vs "risk-on" legal opinions

(20:55) - Why founders should hire an in-house GC very early on

(26:45) - Legal being a "value add" vs. a "cost-center"

(33:03) - How to ask the right questions to lawyers

(37:00) - How the state of crypto law has evolved in the past 3 years

(42:00) - What are regulators' motivations in Crypto?

(48:10) - Mapping out the various policy orgs in Crypto (Blockchain Association, DEF, Coincenter, etc)

(56:27) - Current thinking on the best way to setup and operate a DAO

(1:01:50) - Marc's explanation of Guernsey Trust as a solution for DAOs

(1:06:10) - Jake's viewpoint on the current state of DAO structuring

(1:15:00) - Other things that Jake and Marc are looking for clarity on over the coming year