Jurisdiction, Remedies, and other Challenges in Crypto-Related Litigation (Presented by the Federal Bar Association’s Professional Development Committee)

Andrew C. Adams is a partner in Steptoe’s New York office, where he advises companies and individuals in government and internal investigations, corporate governance, and white collar and regulatory matters. His practice places particular emphasis on anti-money laundering compliance, U.S. economic countermeasures, and national security crisis response. Andrew brings firsthand government experience of exceptional distinction to his practice: he served as the inaugural Director of the Department of Justice’s Task Force KleptoCapture, a multi-agency task force created to enforce economic sanctions and export controls imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Prior to that role, he served as acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s National Security Division, overseeing sanctions, export controls, and national security cyber investigations. Earlier, he served as a prosecutor and co-chief of the Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Timothy Grinsell is Of Counsel at Reitler, where he represents clients in complex commercial litigation and counsels startups, founders, and venture capital investors in the blockchain and digital assets space. His practice spans securities class actions, crypto theft recovery, corporate governance disputes, internal investigations, and financial services disputes. Prior to joining Reitler, Timothy co-founded Hoppin Grinsell LLP, a Chambers-recognized litigation boutique focused on blockchain and digital assets disputes. He previously litigated major commercial matters at Holwell Shuster & Goldberg and O’Melveny & Myers. Timothy holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Chicago and continues to publish on the application of linguistic analysis to legal interpretation — bringing a genuinely distinctive analytical framework to the interpretation and strategy questions at the heart of complex commercial litigation.

Jenny Vatrenko is the principal of Vatrenko Law P.C., where she represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial disputes — from inception through trial — involving securities, digital assets and cryptocurrencies, and class actions across the United States and internationally. Her Securities and Investor Protection practice is dedicated to recovering assets for investors and holding bad actors in the cryptocurrency industry accountable. Beyond litigation, Jenny develops creative legal strategies to advance her clients’ business goals and advises on litigation risk and the implications of sensitive business decisions. She brings nearly a decade of experience as a commercial litigator at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and as a criminal prosecutor at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office to a practice defined by high-quality, personalized representation with flexible fee arrangements.