Making Blockchain Work For You: Practical Professional & Publication Opportunities
April 11, 2018
This past April, the BCLS hosted its inaugural panel discussion at the Washington College of Law (WCL): Making Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Work For You: Practical Professional and Publication Opportunities. Moderated by Professor Walter Effross, the panel presentation featured perspectives from WCL alumni, Heather Russell (Buckley Sandler), Corey Casbarro (Kirkland & Ellis), and Tom Ahmadifar (Perkins Coie), who work closely with blockchain and cryptocurrency issues. Discussing how disruptive technologies and the legal issues associated with them will evolve over the years, the alumni provided us with their perspectives as practitioners. The BCLS thanks Heather, Corey, and Tom, for their time and valuable insights!
Corey Casbarro
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Class of 2014
“Law students should tailor their academic and professional experiences to a particular, even narrow, area of law that is of interest to them. Find that interest as early as possible and try to gain as much exposure in a personal and professional capacity within that area of law."
“We’re still very early in the evolution of blockchain technology and likely can’t predict the precise trajectory of the technology given the high number of use cases and applications in different verticals.”
Heather Russell
Buckley Sandler LLP
Class of 1997
“It’s important to at least know the terms of art. . . are we talking about commodities or securities?”
“the [Venture Capitalists] will pitch their idea--you’ll have to raise issues that you need to tackle together.”
“When clients seek our advice on blockchain--these guys have different risk appetites. Many of them are not very risk averse, but you’ll [still] have to gauge clients’ risk appetites … especially with all of the recent volatility [in cryptocurrency markets]. Really, a lot of the work for lawyers [working with blockchain] right now is advising clients where they want to play in unsafe territories.”
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Tom Ahmadifar
Perkins Coie LLP
Class of 2014
“I wasn’t so sure about [blockchain] at first, but eventually I realized: there is something here and I need to figure it out, and I need to figure it out fast.”
"You should be fluent enough in the lingo to describe issues both expertly and simply."
Didn't make it to the event? Not a problem! Download the event materials here: