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Overview

Chris Daniel is the Founder and Chair of the Global Fintech & Payments Group of Paul Hastings and is a partner in the firm’s Corporate department. Chris’ unique strength lies in his ability to blend his financial services regulatory expertise with his many years of transactional experience. His client base generally consists of:

  • Legacy depositories, payments companies, and card networks who are innovating or contracting with Fintechs.
  • Trusted Platform Companies, for which financial services contribute a significant percentage of their business.
  • Private equity and venture capital firms investing in and existing outside of Fintech companies, and the ongoing representation of those Fintech portfolio companies.
  • Fintech startups as they develop and commercialize their product offerings.
  • Cryptocurrency companies along the entire range of crypto offerings from blockchain development to crypto exchanges, DeFi and DApps, and ecosystem development.

Chris regularly practices before every state banking department, all federal banking agencies, FinCEN, and OFAC.

Recognitions

  • Law 360, Fintech MVP (2023)
  • Ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA Fintech Legal: Payments & Lending (2019 – 2023). Clients note Chris “is one of the pre-eminent experts in the field, a pleasure to work with and is able to solve complex issues quickly.”
  • The Legal 500 USA, Leading Lawyer, Fintech (2019-2023)
  • Included each year in the annual listing of The Best Lawyers in America.
  • Founded and leads Paul Hastings' Global Fintech & Payments Practice, which is one of only three Fintech Groups ranked Band 1 in the U.S. for Fintech Legal by Chambers, and recognized as a 2021 Fintech Practice Group of the Year by Law360.
  • His work was ranked as “standout” and in the top banding category in the “Accessing New Markets and Capital” category in the 2018 Financial Times’ North America Innovative lawyers report for the first ever major legislative victory for cryptocurrency against a regulatory challenge for advising cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on the passing of a North Carolina state House bill allowing cryptocurrency exchanges to operate due to the fact that cryptocurrency is exempt from traditional money transmission laws.
  • His work was "highly commended" in the Financial Times'  North America Innovative Lawyers report in the “Enabling Clients to Innovate” category for helping to launch Samsung Pay on a tight schedule using a strategy that reinvented the way financial services contracts are created and negotiated.

Education

  • University of Kentucky College of Law, J.D., 1995 (magna cum laude, Articles Editor for The Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Law)
  • Previously served in the U.S. Air Force from 1987–1992, where he was an Instructor Pilot for the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program
  • Wake Forest University, B.A., 1987 (cum laude, with honors in Economics, Member of the 1986 NCAA Championship Golf Team)

Practice Areas

Corporate

Internet of Things

Financial Services

Direct Lending and Private Credit Lending

Emerging Growth Companies

Bank Regulatory

Fintech and Payments

Data Privacy and Cybersecurity


Languages

Anglais


Admissions

Georgia Bar


Education

University of Kentucky, College of Law, J.D. 1995

Wake Forest University, B.A. 1987


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