Wall Street Journal, Crypto Industry Can’t Hire Enough Lawyers:
The cryptocurrency industry is ramping up efforts to recruit more legal talent as it faces increased regulatory pressure while looking to be accepted by and become part of mainstream finance.
Crypto exchanges and companies are poaching attorneys left and right, from both law firms and other crypto companies, bringing them in-house to help navigate an evolving regulatory landscape while helping to curb outside legal expenses, industry participants said. Law firms, which are sometimes losing their partners to in-house positions, are also building up their crypto practices to maintain that valuable expertise.
The increased demand for lawyers also marks a turning point for crypto, whose early supporters often expressed skepticism of regulation. The industry has been expanding rapidly with hopes of attracting more mainstream investment opportunities and many are embracing the stance that they want regulatory clarity. …
Marco Santori, chief legal officer of Kraken, tweeted in February that the San Francisco-based crypto exchange was looking to hire 30 lawyers in the next three months. He added that he would like to hire 60, “but honestly I don’t know how to get it done.”
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2022/04/wsj-crypto-industry-cant-hire-enough-lawyers.html
