60 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
JUNE 2018
IN-HOUSE ADVISOR
BLOCKCHAIN
IS COMING YOUR WAY
WHEN SAMUEL OSEI of Samuel Osei Law Corporation in Vancouver
first found himself dealing with blockchain and cryptocurrency issues, he
chose to keep his activities under wraps.
"When I first started doing the work, I didn't put cryptocurrency in the
forefront of my practice, because it wasn't a mainstream activity and I didn't
want to draw the ire of regulators," Osei told Lexpert.
Since the beginning of 2018, however, Osei's website markets him as a
"business and blockchain" lawyer, whose practice areas extend to cryptocur-
rencies. "e growth in my blockchain practice has been exponential since,"
he says. "e technology is something that almost every industry has tested
and legal work is going everywhere."
Osei now spends up to 85 per cent of his working life on blockchain-
related matters. "My clients range from everyday cryptocurrency traders to
multimillionaires, to cryptocurrency miners, to exchanges, to retail clients
who have somehow incorporated bitcoin or blockchain into their business."
It turns out that, notwithstanding the "Wild West" atmosphere that in-
habits the still immature world of blockchain, Osei didn't have much to wor-
ry about. Even as he was quietly building his practice, Canada's major firms,
including Bennett Jones LLP, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), Fasken
BY JULIUS MELNITZER
BUSINESSES IN A WIDE RANGE
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IS TRANSFORMING
OF INDUSTRIES. ARE YOU READY?
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
