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Blockchain 101 for Lawyers and 2019 Year in Review

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Blockchain 101 for Lawyers and 2019 Year in Review Blockchain 101 for Lawyers and 2019 Year in Review February 19, 2020 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT Bar Association New Britain, CT CT Bar Institute, Inc. CT: 1.0 CLE Credits (General) NY: 1.0 CLE Credits (AOP) No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy of these materials. Readers should check primary sources where appropriate and use the traditional legal research techniques to make sure that the information has not been affected or changed by recent developments. Page 1 of 51 Lawyers’ Principles of Professionalism As a lawyer I must strive to make our system of justice work fairly and Where consistent with my client's interests, I will communicate with efficiently. In order to carry out that responsibility, not only will I comply opposing counsel in an effort to avoid litigation and to resolve litigation with the letter and spirit of the disciplinary standards applicable to all that has actually commenced; lawyers, but I will also conduct myself in accordance with the following Principles of Professionalism when dealing with my client, opposing I will withdraw voluntarily claims or defense when it becomes apparent parties, their counsel, the courts and the general public. that they do not have merit or are superfluous; Civility and courtesy are the hallmarks of professionalism and should not I will not file frivolous motions; be equated with weakness; I will endeavor to be courteous and civil, both in oral and in written I will make every effort to agree with other counsel, as early as possible, on communications; a voluntary exchange of information and on a plan for discovery; I will not knowingly make statements of fact or of law that are untrue; I will attempt to resolve, by agreement, my objections to matters contained in my opponent's pleadings and discovery requests; I will agree to reasonable requests for extensions of time or for waiver of procedural formalities when the legitimate interests of my client will not be In civil matters, I will stipulate to facts as to which there is no genuine adversely affected; dispute; I will refrain from causing unreasonable delays; I will endeavor to be punctual in attending court hearings, conferences, meetings and depositions; I will endeavor to consult with opposing counsel before scheduling depositions and meetings and before rescheduling hearings, and I will I will at all times be candid with the court and its personnel; cooperate with opposing counsel when scheduling changes are requested; I will remember that, in addition to commitment to my client's cause, my When scheduled hearings or depositions have to be canceled, I will notify responsibilities as a lawyer include a devotion to the public good; opposing counsel, and if appropriate, the court (or other tribunal) as early as possible; I will endeavor to keep myself current in the areas in which I practice and when necessary, will associate with, or refer my client to, counsel Before dates for hearings or trials are set, or if that is not feasible, knowledgeable in another field of practice; immediately after such dates have been set, I will attempt to verify the availability of key participants and witnesses so that I can promptly notify I will be mindful of the fact that, as a member of a self-regulating the court (or other tribunal) and opposing counsel of any likely problem in profession, it is incumbent on me to report violations by fellow lawyers as that regard; required by the Rules of Professional Conduct; I will refrain from utilizing litigation or any other course of conduct to I will be mindful of the need to protect the image of the legal profession in harass the opposing party; the eyes of the public and will be so guided when considering methods and content of advertising; I will refrain from engaging in excessive and abusive discovery, and I will comply with all reasonable discovery requests; I will be mindful that the law is a learned profession and that among its desirable goals are devotion to public service, improvement of In depositions and other proceedings, and in negotiations, I will conduct administration of justice, and the contribution of uncompensated time and myself with dignity, avoid making groundless objections and refrain from civic influence on behalf of those persons who cannot afford adequate legal engaging I acts of rudeness or disrespect; assistance; I will not serve motions and pleadings on the other party or counsel at such I will endeavor to ensure that all persons, regardless of race, age, gender, time or in such manner as will unfairly limit the other party’s opportunity disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, color, or creed to respond; receive fair and equal treatment under the law, and will always conduct myself in such a way as to promote equality and justice for all. In business transactions I will not quarrel over matters of form or style, but will concentrate on matters of substance and content; It is understood that nothing in these Principles shall be deemed to supersede, supplement or in any way amend the Rules of Professional Conduct, alter existing standards of conduct against which lawyer conduct I will be a vigorous and zealous advocate on behalf of my client, while might be judged or become a basis for the imposition of civil liability of recognizing, as an officer of the court, that excessive zeal may be any kind. detrimental to my client’s interests as well as to the proper functioning of our system of justice; --Adopted by the Connecticut Bar Association House of Delegates on June 6, 1994 While I must consider my client’s decision concerning the objectives of the representation, I nevertheless will counsel my client that a willingness to initiate or engage in settlement discussions is consistent with zealous and effective representation; Page 2 of 51 Preston Byrne – Blockchain CLE 17 Feb 2020 – program Agenda + Schedule ABOUT THE PROGRAM This course will advise course participants what blockchains are, how blockchain databases are used, how to distinguish between cryptocurrency applications and enterprise applications of blockchain technology, and what to look out for in day to day practice. YOU WILL LEARN What a blockchain is and how it works, in plain English What a blockchain is not and what claims about blockchain should be regarded as suspect Common issues encountered in cryptocurrency practice, including securities, anti- money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing, and cross-border issues 2019 year in review WHO SHOULD ATTEND Any attorney interested in learning about the basics of blockchain and cryptocurrency practice. SPEAKER Preston J. Byrne, Partner, Byrne & Storm, P.C. Founder and former-COO, Monax (Blockchain legal tech company and first-ever enterprise blockchain company) PROGRAM AGENDA TIME TOPIC 12:25-12:30 Speaker Introduction 12:30-12:45 Introduction to blockchains 12:45- 13:00 Cryptocurrrencies 13:10– 13:05 Non-cryptocurrency use cases (“enterprise blockchain”) 13:05-13:15 Brief rundown of commonly encountered issues in practice 13:15-13:30 Market structure and red flags 13:30-13:45 Question and answer Page 3 of 51 Faculty Biography Preston J. Byrne, Byrne & Storm PC Preston is a partner at Byrne & Storm, P.C. He advises cutting edge technology companies, including interactive computer services providers, decentralized cryptocurrency protocol developers and cryptocurrency miners, on complex, cross-border legal issues. He is admitted in England and Wales, Connecticut, and New York. Prior to joining Byrne & Storm Preston was a co-founder of Monax Industries, an early blockchain infrastructure company, and an associate with Berwin Leighton Paisner (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) and Norton Rose Fulbright in London. He is also a Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute. He holds an M.A. from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, LL.B. from the University of Law in London, and LL.M. from UConn Law School. Page 4 of 51 Blockchain 101 for Attorneys (aka people who can’t do math) 12:30‐13:30 PM 19 Feb 2020 Page 5 of 51 Hello! I’m Preston Byrne. • Admitted in England & Wales, New York, and Connecticut • Early career with BigLaw in London, UK • Founded Monax Industries in 2014 • Monax == first non‐cryptocurrency/”enterprise” blockchain application software stack, now a legal tech company • College of Law of England and Wales (LL.B., 2009) • UConn Law (LL.M., 2018) • Currently: Partner at Byrne & Storm, P.C. (est. 1991) • Represent a mix of telecommunications, cryptocurrency and blockchain tech firms Page 6 of 51 Structure of the talk 1. What’s a blockchain? 2. What’s a cryptocurrency? 3. How does an “enterprise blockchain” differ from a cryptocurrency? 4. What are common practice issues faced in each area? 5. What’s the market structure like? 6. Red flags 7. Q&A Page 7 of 51 1. What’s a blockchain? Page 8 of 51 Drinks party cheat sheet • It’s a distributed application, i.e., it is a bit of software that runs simultaneously on many computers in many different places at once • It reaches consensus on the state of the data in a distributed or decentralized manner • Data integrity is ensured through the use of cryptographic hashes • Transactions are digitally signed through the use of public‐private key cryptography • Blockchains use cryptography but are (usually) NOT ENCRYPTED. Page 9 of 51 “It’s a distributed application/database.” Page 10 of 51 How the Internet is currently designed Page 11 of 51 How blockchain networks are designed Page 12 of 51 Blockchains agree on common rules just like lawyers do… 1) Distributed rulebooks 2) Which track changes made to them 3) Where changes will not occur unless someone with the requisite authority authorizes them 4) With the result that we can be fairly certain that if we find something on a blockchain, it belongs there Page 13 of 51 …and all blockchains will have three core rules 1.
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