DLA Piper continues to grow its Los Angeles office with the arrival of James Williams as a partner in the firm’s Regulatory and Government Affairs practice. Williams will be a member of the practice’s Financial Regulation & Technology subgroup, adding depth to the firm’s coast-to-coast blockchain and digital asset team.

Williams has extensive experience navigating the intersection of corporate, securities and intellectual property law in Web3.0 and crypto content transactions. He advises blockchain native companies on matters relating to venture financing, token generation events and airdrops, decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structuring and formation, protocol design, and regulatory compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Williams also routinely acts as legal and strategic advisor to many of world’s well-known brands on crypto and blockchain integrations. He has represented numerous professional basketball, football and soccer teams on crypto naming rights deals, fan tokens, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Proof of Attendance protocols. His work for global consumer brands, entertainers and media companies includes all aspects of metaverse and NFT commercialization, from branding and smart contract design strategy to handling of all transactional aspects, including metadata design, NFT minting and marketplace partnership agreements.

“Expanding our capabilities in the blockchain and digital assets space is a strategic priority for the firm,” said Edward “Smitty” Smith, chair of the firm’s Regulatory and Government Affairs practice. “James’ diverse business and legal experience, coupled with his extensive SEC regulatory experience, will be critical in advising clients on the regulatory implications of using new tools and asset classes.”

Along with more than 20 years of legal experience, Williams has a diverse business background. He has served as the CEO of a global consumer brand, and an operating partner for a venture capital fund.