Lawyers Are Buying Crypto Because ‘No Law Permits or Prohibits It’

• Lawyers feel free to own cryptocurrencies as most firms do not prohibit it.
• They claim it is a means to acquaint themselves with the technology.
• The key is to act morally to prevent insider trading investigations, a lawyer said.

According to a Bloomberg report, law professionals feel free to own cryptocurrencies as most companies do not have policies prohibiting such investments. The report revealed that top lawyers at Linklaters, Perkins Coie, and more opened crypto wallets to familiarize themselves with the technology.

Liz Boison, a partner at Hogan Lovells law firm, said:

Crypto investing is not permitted or prohibited, and there isn’t instruction.

Boison acknowledged opening multiple digital wallets to help improve her guidance to clients. She wondered how lawyers could offer financial advice regarding digital assets without knowing how it all works.

Nonetheless, a representative for Hogan Lovells stated that the company’s attorneys affirm that they do not trade on material nonpublic information learned while at the firm. According to the firm’s conflict of interest policy, no one is allowed to participate in any endeavors that bring direct or indirect benefit to the individual at the expense of “Hogan Lovells or a client.”

Moreover, Ashley Klayman, a blockchain lawyer, stated that the key is to take precautions and act morally to prevent the danger of insider trading investigations. Klayman noted that it is crucial, especially when crypto customers divulge sensitive, private information about their future intentions.

In a July court filing, Kirkland & Ellis, the largest law firm by revenue, acknowledged that some of its lawyers are customers of crypto broker Voyager Digital Holdings. Although the law house noted that those attorneys “have not and will not do work tied to the firm’s representation of Voyager in its bankruptcy.”