McDermott Will & Emery LLP

White Collar & Securities

Joseph (Joe) B. Evans is the co-head of the FinTech & Blockchain Practice and head of Crypto Litigation and Regulatory Defense at McDermott. He is widely recognized as a leader in the crypto industry. The American Lawyer recognized Joe as a “Trailblazer” for his progressive work in crypto and he is one of the few individuals that is Chambers ranked in Crypto-Asset Disputes. Joe runs the industry’s only crypto-exclusive team whose members spend 100% of their time serving the crypto industry. That team is one of the few that is Chambers ranked in crypto-asset disputes.

Since 2013, Joe has been representing companies and individuals in all aspects of crypto and blockchain-related legal matters, spanning from defending government investigations, pursuing cutting-edge crypto litigation, obtaining money transmitter and other state licenses, and advising on initial coin offerings. Joe leads a team of crypto-lawyers who are devoted exclusively to working on crypto and blockchain matters.

Joe has been recognized for his success in crypto-related litigation. Joe has demonstrated success in pioneering first of its kind crypto litigation, including crypto tracing, decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) litigation, and pursuing actions against fictitious entities and anonymous founders. Joe’s in-court successes include a series of wins in connection with the crypto industry’s largest bankruptcy cases in the United States and intellectual property litigation between competing crypto companies. Joe has qualified crypto tracing experts in federal court and obtained immediate recovery of stolen crypto. Joe also obtained emergency relief in intellectual property litigation against competitors using the same and similar names for competing crypto. Joe has defended crypto exchanges and other market participants in federal and state investigations. With regularity, Joe successfully defends these crypto regulatory investigations without penalties, fines, enforcement actions, or media attention of any kind.