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Lawyers

Joseph A. Hall

Lawyers

Advises on digital assets, capital markets transactions and public company governance and reporting matters. Head of ESG Risk practice. A 2024 Law360 “Fintech MVP.”

Joe is a member of our capital markets group and head of our interdisciplinary ESG Risk practice.

Since 2014 Joe has advised numerous companies in the digital asset space. On behalf of Grayscale, Joe successfully challenged the SEC’s refusal to approve bitcoin ETFs, and today Grayscale’s GBTC is one of the largest bitcoin ETFs in the world. On behalf of Paxos, Joe was part of the Davis Polk team that successfully persuaded the SEC not to bring an enforcement action involving the stablecoin BUSD. Joe has testified before Congress on digital asset regulation and regularly speaks at crypto conferences.

In 2024, he was named a “Fintech MVP of the Year” by Law360.

Earlier in his career, Joe served as a member of SEC Chairman William Donaldson’s senior leadership team.

Insights

Recognition

IFLR1000 – Capital Markets (Debt, Equity), United States

Chambers FinTech - FinTech Legal: Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies

Law360 – “Fintech MVP of the Year,” 2024

Crain’s New York Business – “Notable LGBTQ Leaders,” 2022

American Crypto Association – Top 25 Crypto Lawyers, 2020

Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) – Capital Markets: Debt & Equity, Thought Leader

Education

J.D., Columbia Law School
  • Charles Bathgate Beck Prize
  • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
  • James Kent Scholar
  • Notes and Comments Editor, Columbia Law Review
B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • with highest honors

Clerkships

Law Clerk, Hon. Phyllis A. Kravitch, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 1988-1989

Prior experience

  • Managing Executive for Policy and Market Regulation Counsel for Chairman William H. Donaldson, Securities and Exchange Commission, 2003-2005
  • Corporate Counsel, Reuters America, 1994-1996

Qualifications and admissions

  • State of New York
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