Richard B Levin

Practice Areas

FinTech

Blockchain & Digital Currency

Broker Dealers & Investment Management Litigation

Corporate & Securities

Emerging Companies

Government Relations

Securities & Enforcement

White Collar Defense & Government Investigations

Industry Sector Expertise

- FinTech

- Blockchain

- Cryptocurrencies

- Digital Assets

- Financial Services

- Electronic Trading

- High Frequency Trading

Career

Richard B. Levin is a partner at Nelson Mullins and is the chair of the firm's FinTech and Regulation Practice and was one of the first lawyers to focus on the regulation of blockchain and digital assets. He is considered a thought leader in the FinTech space. Richard brings his experience as a senior legal and compliance officer on Wall Street and in London to bear in advising clients on corporate, FinTech, securities, and regulatory issues. A problem-solver by nature, he has been advising FinTech clients on legal and regulatory issues since the start of electronic trading in the late 1990s. His practice focuses on helping financial services and technology clients identify and address regulatory issues as they build their businesses. Richard’s practice focuses on the representation of early stage and publicly traded companies in the FinTech space, including investment banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, peer-to-peer lending platforms, digital currency trading platforms, alternative trading systems (ATSs), exchanges, and custodians. He represents these firms before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), state regulators, and Congress. Richard has represented clients before regulators in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. His current and past clients include leading national financial institutions, multinational financial services holding companies, leading firms in the FinTech space, and institutions engaging in global investment banking, investment management, securities, and other financial services with institutional clients.

Richard has been identified by Chambers and Partners as one of the leading lawyers in the Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies category seven times - - every year since the inception of the category. He has been recognized by Chambers for his knowledge on regulatory matters, great relationships with regulators, for helping clients push the boundaries of the FinTech sector, and for his advice on matters such as broker-dealer licensing and alternative trading systems. Richard is routinely quoted by leading publications including Bloomberg, the New York Times, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal and is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world on the regulation of FinTech, blockchain, and digital assets.

Professional Memberships

Chamber of Digital Commerce, Lawyers Committee

SIFMA - Compliance and Legal Division

Publications

https://www.nelsonmullins.com/professionals/richard-levin#main

Personal

- University of Denver Sturm College of Law, JD

- Colorado College, BA, History

Experience

- Chair, FinTech and Regulation Practice office of national law firm

- Co-chair and founder of the Digital Currency Team of a global law firm

- Global Head of Product Development for Compliance and Operations of a leading global investment bank

- General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of three U.S. alternative trading systems and a U.K.-based multilateral trading facility

- General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of two successful joint ventures of leading global investment banks, including a company that was recently acquired by a leading securities exchange

- Assistant General Counsel and Regulatory Affairs Officer of the largest Nasdaq market maker

- General Counsel of one of the original electronic communications networks (ECNs) that was acquired by a global investment bank

Education