New hires establish gunnercooke as UK’s largest Crypto legal team

May 9, 2023

International law firm gunnercooke has strengthened and expanded its cryptocurrency expertise with the hire of partners Will Foulkes and Gareth Malna, cementing its position as the biggest legal crypto team in the UK.

Will, who has worked for over 10 years in the field, has developed an in-depth knowledge of corporate, commercial and regulatory law in relation to blockchain technologies. He has expertise in blockchain, NFTs, cryptoassets, DAOs and Metaverse law, with clients such as Minima Global.  

Gareth joins gunnercooke after gaining nearly a decade of experience in financial services regulation and having first interacted with blockchain systems in 2011. He works at the bleeding edge of the UK’s cryptoassets legal and regulatory landscape and joins the firm with a deep understanding of cryptoasset regulation, securities laws and their practical implementation, having also occupied MLRO positions in this space.

The appointment of two new cryptocurrency partners has further strengthened gunnercooke’s offering in this growing sector. The firm has built up the biggest and leading FinTech, crypto and blockchain full-service practice in the UK and last year became the first law firm to accept payments in cryptoassets. The team also includes Senior Associate Kathryn Dodds as well as specialists from a range of pratice areas working in the crypto space, including Competition Partner Alexander Waksman and Intellectual Property Partner Rosie Burbidge.

gunnercooke recently won the Regulation & Compliance category at the Crypto A.M. 2022 Awards which marked their 65th award win, and also took home the prize for Challenging Traditional Models at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards.

Gareth and Will join fellow crypto experts James Burnie and Wolfgang Richter and the wider team, who have a client base of over 100 cryptocurrency developers, platforms and exchanges. Gareth commented:  Now more than ever, businesses working in the blockchain and cryptoassets space need exceptional guidance to navigate the turbulent regulatory waters. The opportunity to work my regulatory wizardry with gunnercooke’s existing team of experts in this space was too good to turn down and I’m excited to be able to help projects of all sizes to grasp the opportunities that this technology allows. It was clear to me from the outset that gunnercooke is a firm that puts innovation at the forefront and understands the importance of how new technologies interact with the legal and regulatory sector”

Will added: “I’m delighted to be joining the team of over 300 partners at gunnercooke and to be working alongside leading voices in the crypto space. I’m looking forward to working within the creative fee sharing model, which allows me to focus on being more personal in the way that I work with clients.”

Current FinTech Partner James Burnie commented on the appointments: “Will and Gareth further strengthen our position as a leading international crypto firm. Their unique specialisms complement the current expertise we have in the team, and I look forward to working with them to support our growing client base in this space.”