Finance
With extensive experience in dealing with regulators, the global fintech capabilities of Latham & Watkins LLP span digital assets, blockchain, and payment technology matters. Led by New York-based partners Stephen Wink and Yvette Valdez, the team is well-equipped to advise fintech market participants, from startups to established financial institutions. Valdez is experienced in advising clients on regulatory and compliance matters within the crypto derivatives market, while Wink represents a wide array of clients across the digital assets and Web3 space, including crypto exchanges and DAOs, earning recognition as a ‘legendary securities law practitioner’. In Washington DC, Barrie VanBrackle focuses on payment technology and consumer financial services compliance, while Mitchell Rabinowitz is a leading lawyer in financial services market infrastructure consortia. In Los Angeles, Ghaith Mahmood advises on digital assets, with particular expertise in NFT technologies, guiding clients on all aspects of intellectual property and technology transactions, including developing, licensing, and commercializing IP assets, as well as advising on strategic transactions.
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Profile
Position
Yvette Valdez is a partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins. Yvette is Co-Chair of the Commodities and Derivatives Regulation and Enforcement Practice, head of the US derivatives regulatory practice, Co-Chair of the firm’s Global Digital Assets & Web3 Practice, and a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions and Fintech Industry Groups and Financial Regulatory and Derivatives Practices.
Yvette advises emerging companies, financial institutions, and investment managers on complex regulatory challenges in the development of bespoke financial crypto-asset and cryptocurrency technologies including token launches, market infrastructure, trading, clearing, and settlement solutions on distributed ledger technology. She also advises clients on domestic and cross-border cutting-edge fintech initiatives in the derivatives markets.
Yvette also has significant experience representing dealers, intermediaries, and end-users in connection with derivatives (swaps and futures) legal and regulatory matters under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commodity Exchange Act, as well as related CFTC, SEC, and prudential regulation.
Her regulatory practice consists of assisting foreign and domestic investment banks, futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, broker-dealers, and commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors with their derivatives regulatory compliance requirements as well as advising buy-side clients in connection with their margining, clearing, and trade execution requirements. Yvette also counsels clients in market infrastructure, trading, clearing, and settlement in the derivatives markets, including FBOTs, swap execution facilities, and designated contract markets.
Yvette has extensive experience representing financial institutions in bespoke derivatives transactions, including interest rate and credit derivatives, foreign exchange transactions, total return swaps, commodity transactions, futures, and options.
Yvette was named to Innovate Finance's 2018 Women in FinTech Powerlist in the Professional & Financial Services category in recognition of her leadership in the industry.
Speaking Engagements
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- ISDA Annual Legal Forum, Contractual Standards for Crypto Derivatives, October 2022
- FIA Law & Compliance Division Conference, Ethics in Derivatives and Futures Law, April 2022
- ISDA Conference, Developments in Crypto Derivatives, March 2022
- DC Fintech Week, Crypto and ESG, October 2021
- FIA Law & Compliance Division Conference, The Regulation of Digital Assets Panel, April 2021
- ABA Derivatives and Futures Law Committee Virtual Winter Meeting 2021, Crypto and Fintech Developments Panel, January 2021
- DC Fintech Week, Building Equity into Start-Ups: Lessons from Women in Fintech Panel, October 2020
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Latham has been terrific for all of my US securities regulatory questions and issues. They are industry leaders for all things US securities law as applied to the crypto space.
- ‘Latham has been a great partner for me to bounce ideas and concerns off of. As a solo in-house lawyer, it is important to find a firm I can speak through issues with and Latham has been a great one.’
‘Steve Wink is a legendary securities law practitioner and I am grateful for his wisdom and experience. Daphne Lambadariou is a junior associate who is wise beyond her years and has been a terrific communicator and always manages expectations well.’
Key clients
- Coinbase
- Goldman Sachs
- Wormhole Foundation
- Eigen Foundation & Eigen Labs
- Fidelity National Information Services
- Aptos
- Story Protocol
- Fomtech Ltd (Floww)
- Reddit Inc.
- Receipts Depositary Corporation
- Digital Asset Holdings
- Jukebox Co.
- Tools for Humanity
- Aleo Network Foundation
Work highlights
Advised Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) on GTCR's majority stake acquisition in its subsidiaries WorldPay and RealNet Payments.
Advised the Nouns DAO Foundation on the potential conversion to a Wyoming Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (DUNA).
Advised Robinhood on its acquisition of Marex North America and its Futures Commodities Merchant license.