White Shoe to Wild West: Lawyers to Launch Blockchain-Only Law Firm

Blockchain technology is shaking up the legal industry.

At least that's according to prominent blockchain industry attorneys, Angela Angelovska-Wilson and Lewis Cohen, who revealed exclusively to CoinDesk Friday that they have started their own law practice focused on the nascent industry.

Called DLx Law LLP, the firm opened its doors this month, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Its founders, Angelovska-Wilson, previously general counsel and chief compliance officer at enterprise blockchain startup Digital Asset, and Cohen, a seasoned securities lawyer, aim to run the firm differently than the typical law practice, in a way that aligns better with the culture of the blockchain space.

For now the founders say an exclusive focus on blockchain technologies will help the new firm assess risk with surgical precision.

The duo plans to hire up to five additional lawyers by summertime, as more than 40 prospective clients - including Colleen Sullivan, the CEO of trading and financial services firm CMT Digital and general counsel of ethereum-focused startup ConsenSys, Matt Corva - have already requested immediate help.

"I've found, especially over the past six months, that lawyers sometimes don't get the backing [from firms] we need," Corva told CoinDesk, suggesting this issue is compounded by the opaque regulatory environment and conflicting interests related to other clients outside the blockchain industry.

"That's why I'm very excited that Lewis is opening up this firm that's solely focused on blockchain."

At the same time, DLx Law will cooperate with larger law firms as part of its collaborative ethos.

"We do feel that the provision of legal services in the blockchain era will be different, and we want to be the thought leaders who develop new ways of practicing law."

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.