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Joel is a highly-regarded trailblazer in the fintech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency space. Joel's clients’ size and nature vary from governments, top cryptocurrencies, and large enterprises to smaller startups, who describe him as a "very sharp and very experienced partner" who is "super pragmatic" and can "sort through the chaff and get to the nub of things impressively quickly."
His representative client work includes advising the Marshall Islands in creating digital sovereign currencies; helping to launch ndau, a buoyant stablecoin virtual currency; structuring for Gita Holdings/GreatX a structured, principal-protected tokenized investment product allowing investors to obtain upside exposure to hotel room blocks in various hotel properties; as well as providing regulatory advice to prominent blockchain projects including Aeternity, IOTA, NEM, and Celsius.
Being recognized worldwide as an authority on blockchain and digital asset issues, Joel currently sits on several of the industry’s leading research groups and has spoken extensively worldwide. He works on global regulatory policy initiatives for the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Blockchain Research Institute, the Global Blockchain Business Council, Wharton Reg@Tech, and the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance’s Legal Working Group. He co-founded the Stablecoin Foundation, a global trade association for stablecoins in October 2018.
Joel was recognized by Chambers and Partners as one of 13 leading Fintech, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency lawyers in the United States and as one of the six leading Fintech lawyers in the United States by the Legal 500. He was also named Law360’s 2020 Fintech MVP.
His ability to express new and extremely complex legal issues in plain English has made Joel a go-to source for clients as well as conferences and reporters around the world. In the past, he has spoken at the World Economic Forum's Blockchain Central in Davos, Harvard Law School, the Government of the Bahamas and the Carnegie Corporation, and been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, and CoinDesk, among others.
In addition to a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, Joel has a M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Joel is a highly-regarded trailblazer in the fintech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency space. Joel's clients’ size and nature vary from governments, top cryptocurrencies, and large enterprises to smaller startups, who describe him as a "very sharp and very experienced partner" who is "super pragmatic" and can "sort through the chaff and get to the nub of things impressively quickly."
His representative client work includes advising the Marshall Islands in creating digital sovereign currencies; helping to launch ndau, a buoyant stablecoin virtual currency; structuring for Gita Holdings/GreatX a structured, principal-protected tokenized investment product allowing investors to obtain upside exposure to hotel room blocks in various hotel properties; as well as providing regulatory advice to prominent blockchain projects including Aeternity, IOTA, NEM, and Celsius.
Being recognized worldwide as an authority on blockchain and digital asset issues, Joel currently sits on several of the industry’s leading research groups and has spoken extensively worldwide. He works on global regulatory policy initiatives for the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Blockchain Research Institute, the Global Blockchain Business Council, Wharton Reg@Tech, and the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance’s Legal Working Group. He co-founded the Stablecoin Foundation, a global trade association for stablecoins in October 2018.
Joel was recognized by Chambers and Partners as one of 13 leading Fintech, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency lawyers in the United States and as one of the six leading Fintech lawyers in the United States by the Legal 500. He was also named Law360’s 2020 Fintech MVP.
His ability to express new and extremely complex legal issues in plain English has made Joel a go-to source for clients as well as conferences and reporters around the world. In the past, he has spoken at the World Economic Forum's Blockchain Central in Davos, Harvard Law School, the Government of the Bahamas and the Carnegie Corporation, and been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, and CoinDesk, among others.
In addition to a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, Joel has a M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Joel is a highly-regarded trailblazer in the fintech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency space. Joel's clients’ size and nature vary from governments, top cryptocurrencies, and large enterprises to smaller startups, who describe him as a "very sharp and very experienced partner" who is "super pragmatic" and can "sort through the chaff and get to the nub of things impressively quickly."
His representative client work includes advising the Marshall Islands in creating digital sovereign currencies; helping to launch ndau, a buoyant stablecoin virtual currency; structuring for Gita Holdings/GreatX a structured, principal-protected tokenized investment product allowing investors to obtain upside exposure to hotel room blocks in various hotel properties; as well as providing regulatory advice to prominent blockchain projects including Aeternity, IOTA, NEM, and Celsius.
Being recognized worldwide as an authority on blockchain and digital asset issues, Joel currently sits on several of the industry’s leading research groups and has spoken extensively worldwide. He works on global regulatory policy initiatives for the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Blockchain Research Institute, the Global Blockchain Business Council, Wharton Reg@Tech, and the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance’s Legal Working Group. He co-founded the Stablecoin Foundation, a global trade association for stablecoins in October 2018.
Joel was recognized by Chambers and Partners as one of 13 leading Fintech, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency lawyers in the United States and as one of the six leading Fintech lawyers in the United States by the Legal 500. He was also named Law360’s 2020 Fintech MVP.
His ability to express new and extremely complex legal issues in plain English has made Joel a go-to source for clients as well as conferences and reporters around the world. In the past, he has spoken at the World Economic Forum's Blockchain Central in Davos, Harvard Law School, the Government of the Bahamas and the Carnegie Corporation, and been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, and CoinDesk, among others.
In addition to a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, Joel has a M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Geoffrey Wynne will moderate a panel discussion "Structuring commodity trade finance deals in 2026 and beyond" at the second 2026 Sullivan and Trade Treasury Payments’ (TTP) co-hosted Trade and Commodity Finance Breakfast Club, to be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 from 08.30 – 10.00 am at The Lansdowne Club in London. For the first time, the average commodity finance deal has crossed the $1 billion mark. Despite turbulence in the supply
Douglas S. Stransky, partner and leader of the Tax Practice Group, has published a new post on the LexisNexis blog examining a recurring problem in cross-border acquisitions: entity classification errors discovered in tax due diligence. Using a hypothetical fact pattern in which a target’s foreign subsidiary never filed its check-the-box election, the post explains why classification mistakes persist, how a missing Form 5471 can leave the assessment statute open indefinitely under
Simon Cook, in his role as ITFA's Head of Education, will jointly moderate a Q&A on “The next generation: Three emerging leaders, three ideas”, together with Charlie O'Mulloy, chair of ITFA’s Emerging Leader Committee and Associate Banker at EBRD, at ITFA’s 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference in Split, Croatia on September 9. The Q&A will follow the presentations made by the finalists of the 2026 ITFA Emerging Leader
On July 16, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed a new rule, Regulation E-Delivery, that would expand the ability of issuers, including registered investment companies, investment advisers, and broker-dealers, to use electronic delivery (“e-delivery”) to satisfy information delivery requirements under the federal securities law. If adopted as proposed, Regulation E-Delivery would broadly address the e-delivery of “covered information” by “covered entities” to “covered recipients” (each as described further
Sullivan & Worcester was featured in Law360 Real Estate Authority's "NYC Real Estate Week In Review," which highlighted the largest New York City real estate transactions recorded during the week. The publication recognized Sullivan's representation of Fattal Hotel Group in its acquisition of the Blakely Hotel, a Manhattan hospitality property located at 136 West 55th Street. The approximately $38.5 million transaction was among the week's largest deals to hit public records.
Boston, MA – Sullivan & Worcester has announced that the firm and its attorneys have been highly ranked in the 2026 Chambers High Net Worth Guide. In the 2026 Guide, the firm and partner Carole Bass were again ranked in the Private Wealth Law: Mid-Market – New York category, with partner Douglas Schneidman newly ranked. Rankings are based on extensive research and interviews with peers and clients around the country.
Ryan Rosenblatt was quoted in Law360's article, "Upon Review: The 2026 World Cup's Biggest Legal Stories," which examines the legal, regulatory and policy disputes that emerged during the 2026 World Cup, including issues involving FIFA's disciplinary decisions, immigration challenges, public art protections and the legal dispute surrounding Gillette Stadium's hosting of World Cup matches. Discussing the agreement reached between FIFA's affiliate Boston 2026 and the Town of Foxborough over security fees
The U.S. Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (the “Housing Act”) and presented it to President Trump on June 29, 2026. At midnight on July 10, 2026, the Housing Act became law because the President did not return it to Congress within ten days (Sundays excepted). The Housing Act includes a wide range of housing reforms designed with the goal of making housing more available and affordable. This alert
Geoffrey Wynne will participate in a panel discussion at ITFA's 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference alongside Ailsa McNeil, Director at Texel, and Hernan Mayol, Board Member and Representative of ITFA Americas and Chair of ITFA’s Latin America Regional Committee (LARC). The session, titled “Financing the future: From defence to critical raw materials,” will be moderated by Clarissa Dann, Editorial Director at Deutsche Bank AG. The session will explore how trade
On July 22, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved Nasdaq's amended proposed rule for a new continued listing requirement requiring Nasdaq-listed companies to maintain a minimum Market Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) of $5 million. The SEC approved the proposal as modified by Amendment No. 1 following a lengthy process that generated significant comments from market participants, issuers, investors, exchanges, law firms, and industry groups. The new rule
Geoffrey Wynne will moderate a panel discussion "Structuring commodity trade finance deals in 2026 and beyond" at the second 2026 Sullivan and Trade Treasury Payments’ (TTP) co-hosted Trade and Commodity Finance Breakfast Club, to be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 from 08.30 – 10.00 am at The Lansdowne Club in London. For the first time, the average commodity finance deal has crossed the $1 billion mark. Despite turbulence in the supply
Douglas S. Stransky, partner and leader of the Tax Practice Group, has published a new post on the LexisNexis blog examining a recurring problem in cross-border acquisitions: entity classification errors discovered in tax due diligence. Using a hypothetical fact pattern in which a target’s foreign subsidiary never filed its check-the-box election, the post explains why classification mistakes persist, how a missing Form 5471 can leave the assessment statute open indefinitely under
Simon Cook, in his role as ITFA's Head of Education, will jointly moderate a Q&A on “The next generation: Three emerging leaders, three ideas”, together with Charlie O'Mulloy, chair of ITFA’s Emerging Leader Committee and Associate Banker at EBRD, at ITFA’s 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference in Split, Croatia on September 9. The Q&A will follow the presentations made by the finalists of the 2026 ITFA Emerging Leader
On July 16, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed a new rule, Regulation E-Delivery, that would expand the ability of issuers, including registered investment companies, investment advisers, and broker-dealers, to use electronic delivery (“e-delivery”) to satisfy information delivery requirements under the federal securities law. If adopted as proposed, Regulation E-Delivery would broadly address the e-delivery of “covered information” by “covered entities” to “covered recipients” (each as described further
Sullivan & Worcester was featured in Law360 Real Estate Authority's "NYC Real Estate Week In Review," which highlighted the largest New York City real estate transactions recorded during the week. The publication recognized Sullivan's representation of Fattal Hotel Group in its acquisition of the Blakely Hotel, a Manhattan hospitality property located at 136 West 55th Street. The approximately $38.5 million transaction was among the week's largest deals to hit public records.
Boston, MA – Sullivan & Worcester has announced that the firm and its attorneys have been highly ranked in the 2026 Chambers High Net Worth Guide. In the 2026 Guide, the firm and partner Carole Bass were again ranked in the Private Wealth Law: Mid-Market – New York category, with partner Douglas Schneidman newly ranked. Rankings are based on extensive research and interviews with peers and clients around the country.
