Norton Rose Fulbright’s Albert Weatherill explains how he got into digital currencies and the cutting-edge work he does for clients in this space
Albert Weatherill, a consultant in Norton Rose Fulbright’s (NRF) financial services group, feels like he had a front-row seat to change in the financial services space. “Our clients are doing visionary things that could change the way we think about financial services,” he explains, “and it’s very interesting to help them realize their visions.”
Weatherill, who studied philosophy as an undergraduate, has combined his university experience of constructing and evaluating difficult, often abstract concepts with his inquisitive nature to take his career in a surprisingly technical direction. Although, like most lawyers, he has always been “better with words than numbers”, his penchant for taking on new challenges and his long-standing interest in technology led him to fintech and specifically to crypto, which is now a key ingredient his practice is .
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Early in his career at NRF, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies began to spark interest beyond the niche corners of the internet. Weatherill and other members of the NRF Fintech team began developing thought leadership in this space as cryptocurrencies became better understood and the demand for legal and regulatory expertise in this area grew exponentially. The company was well-positioned for the 2017 boom, a market development that saw cryptocurrencies hit all-time highs and gain more mainstream appeal for the first time, and what came after with expansions in crypto infrastructure, strong capital flows, and growing institutional interest .
This subsequent boom in crypto-related work has produced a “real mix of clients” that go far beyond just tech startups. This means Weatherill has worked on everything from token issuance (a method of raising finance and enabling broader public participation in a project) and yield farming (staking or lending one’s tokens for interest and rewards). to defi logs (a financial service). provider that does not rely on intermediaries) on new developments in crypto exchanges, custodians and payment services and helps institutional clients to better understand the risks and benefits of the crypto space.
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“There’s a lot of variation in both the types of customers and the type of work you deal with,” says Weatherill. “There’s also the constant challenge of tackling new problems, but it’s great to work with such talented people on these novel subjects.” He admits that he feels “a sense of pride” when “you see work that you’ve performed in the FT, or when you see clients announcing new products or services that you’ve helped them with,” and that he’s a frequent customer of the tools his clients are evolving. “I am both a customer and a consultant. It gives me insight into how users experience these products, helps me understand my customers’ brands and product sets, and better positions me to advise them,” he says.
The summary of the evolving regulatory landscape is that “we have seen an increasing regulatory focus on crypto with a small body of case law addressing key issues regarding the legal nature of crypto” as regulators such as the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority ) try to find “a balance between protecting consumers from harm and encouraging innovation”. In the UK, changes are coming from both common law and policy proposals from the Law Commission, which recently proposed the creation of a new ownership category for crypto assets. In this global industry, legal and regulatory developments move at different speeds and sometimes in different directions. This has the potential, according to Weatherill, to create “regulatory arbitrage”. While this can sometimes be “frustrating” for those looking to build projects with users around the world, it is an “inevitable consequence of the global adoption of a novel and nascent asset class” like crypto.
So what are the key skills that make a good crypto attorney? “You have to be inquisitive, curious and want to advance technically,” says Weatherill. But he emphasizes that “the main difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer is commercialism”.
“You really need to know the industry, understand your clients’ commercial goals and their pain points to be able to offer technical yet pragmatic commercial advice.” While it’s easy to get bogged down in legal nuances, it’s important to ” to focus on providing advice with a high level of user friendliness” so that customers can make informed decisions that take into account their particular circumstances. It also helps that NRF has a “broad, well-established and highly respected practice in the sector” and the client network that goes with it.
If you’re interested in crypto and think NRF would be a great place to start your legal career, Weatherill offers this advice: “We want to see a real and genuine passion and interest in something, as well as a hunger to learn. ” One of his top tips is to dig into a wide range of resources, from newspapers to podcasts to social media information, which is sometimes the best way to get direct access to insightful material from market leaders and thought leaders in a given sector .
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Albert Weatherill will be speaking at Crypto and the future of finance, a virtual student event taking place on Tuesday, September 20th. Apply now.
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