Louis Lehot is on a very short list of corporate lawyers called upon by entrepreneurs and investors alike to help build Web3-based businesses. Louis is at the forefront of developments in the decentralized economy (with applications that are financial and beyond) and has been widely published on SEC regulation, decentralized autonomous organizations, the law of tokenomics, ICOs, and blockchain-based technologies.

These cutting-edge landscapes are fraught with legal and regulatory uncertainty. Clients intending to operate in these spaces need nimble counsel with relationships across the ecosystem — from investors, to entrepreneurs, to regulators.

Louis and his team at Foley & Lardner offer the following services as they work with exchanges, regulatory bodies, investors, and innovators:

Regulatory Analysis and Advocacy

• Providing advice on the correct regulatory classification and treatment of proposed products and services.
• Developing and implementing regulatory strategies to resolve issues of uncertainty as they arise, including interaction with the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and other regulators.

Crypto and Blockchain Products and Regulated Markets

• Assisting clients in bringing products to market, such as blockchain-enabled trading platforms.

Compliance Counseling

• Counseling on laws and regulations applicable to the blockchain sector beyond securities and commodities laws, including taxation, banking, payment systems, anti-money laundering (AML), and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.

Corporate Structuring

• Advising on appropriate corporate structures, both domestic and international, to maximize present value while avoiding future pitfalls.

Recent Representations

• Cion Digital — An Austin-based blockchain orchestration platform advised in its formation and subsequent $12 million seed funding round, with participation from Green Visor Capital, 645 Ventures, Cota Capital, Epic Ventures, Hourglass Capital, BAT Ventures, Greycroft, and others.
• Legacy Labs — A Netherlands-based crypto-gaming NFT platform advised in its formation and subsequent $7 million seed funding round, with participation from BitKraft Ventures, Delphi Digital, Global Founders Capital, Ubisoft, and others.
• Snowcrash Markets — A Los Angeles-based NFT platform built on the Solana blockchain, advised in its formation and subsequent joint venture with FTX to create NFT marketplace content for creators across the arts and collectibles sector.