BakerHostetler

Digital Assets and Data Management

Partner, BakerHostetler

Jonno Forman is an experienced litigator and compliance attorney who guides financial services and emerging technology clients through ever-changing regulations relating to securities, money transmission, data privacy, cybersecurity and information security. As co-leader of BakerHostetler’s Financial Services Regulatory and Compliance team and a leading member of the firm’s Chambers-ranked FinTech practices for Data Protection & Cybersecurity (Band 1, USA) and Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies (Band 3, USA), Jonno advises clients at the intersection of technology and financial services, focusing on new investment, payment and blockchain products and services, including cryptocurrencies, digital assets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and Web3 decentralized applications (DApps and DeFi).

Trusted Advisor. Over the years, Jonno has worked with hedge fund and private equity fund managers, investment advisers, multifamily offices, introducing and clearing brokers, banks, trust companies, insurance companies, money services businesses (MSB), payment processors and other financial services, financial technology and emerging technology companies to address their most sensitive issues. From scoping out compliance programs and the structure of products and business lines to responding to regulatory examinations and government investigations, as well as resolving complex disputes, Jonno acts as a trusted advisor with a practical mindset. Jonno has successfully guided companies and individuals through investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and various state attorneys general offices and financial regulators, resolving many without charges ever being brought against them.

Compliance Authority. Jonno also routinely advises clients with respect to their regulatory compliance programs and transactional due diligence relating to litigation, bribery, money laundering, market manipulation, data privacy, information security, cybersecurity, business continuity and other legal and reputational risks, including compliance with DFS’s Bitlicense and Cybersecurity Regulations, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), FinCEN’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and OFAC’s sanctions programs.

Thought Leader. Jonno is an interdisciplinary practitioner who writes and speaks on the topic of securities and financial regulation and enforcement, highlighting significant developments for legal and compliance personnel, including insider trading, data privacy, information security, cybersecurity, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain applications, digital assets, virtual currency and other regulatory priorities and trends. He is the author of the data privacy chapters of the Practising Law Institute’s investment adviser and fintech treatises, and also has been published and/or quoted by dozens of leading industry periodicals.

American Bar Association: Business Law Section: White Collar Crime Committee: Vice Chair (2018) Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association: Compliance and Legal Society National Society of Compliance Professionals

J.D., American University Washington College of Law, 2006, cum laude, American University Law Review B.A., Emory University, 2003, IBM T.J. Watson Scholar