Lawrence W.McMahon

On March 17, 2026, the Division of Enforcement of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a no-action letter (Letter) to Phantom Technologies Inc., a developer of self-custodial crypto asset wallet software, confirming that if Phantom adhered to certain conditions the Division would not recommend enforcement action for failure to register as an introducing broker.[1]The Letter represents a trend at the CFTC to shift toward a more lenient regulatory approach to certain service prov

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the CFTC) announced that the two agencies had entered into a new Memorandum of Understanding (the MOU).[1]According to the announcement, the MOU, which supersedes a 2018 MOU, was designed to “provide fair notice to market participants, respect individual liberty, and foster lawful innovation with the minimum effective dose of regulation to enhance U.S. competitiveness in finance.”[2]In co

On January 29, 2026, the SEC and CFTC jointly announced Project Crypto, transforming what had been an internal SEC initiative launched in 2025 into a landmark inter-agency collaboration to unify digital asset regulation in the United States. This expansion of Project Crypto into a joint effort directly addresses two longstanding problems that have plagued the digital asset industry: the persistent uncertainty about which agency has jurisdiction over particular products, and the potential for tur

Partner Jason Hipp and Associate Zoë Reinstein, in a team including Associates Christina Isnardi, Lawrence McMahon, and co-counsel Claret Vargas of the Center for Justice and Accountability, were named Runners-Up for Litigators of the Week by The American Lawyer for their exceptional advocacy defeating a motion to dismiss in a groundbreaking human rights case.

In an article for The Oath, Partners Charles Riely and Kayvan Sadeghi, and Associates Lawrence McMahon, Ryan Miller, and Navjit Sekhon examine shifting approaches to cryptocurrency and digital assets in the US. The article explores how the Trump administration’s move away from an enforcement-oriented strategy is creating a more supportive environment for crypto projects considering entry into the market.

On February 25, 2025, the Division of Enforcement (the “Division”) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC” or “Commission”) issued an Enforcement Advisory which quantifies the monetary credit that entities can expect to receive for self-reporting and cooperation in connection with Division inquiries. The Commission asserts that the Advisory’s newly announced system will conserve enforcement resources by incentivizing more self-reporting and cooperation, but it is not clear that m

On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump made promises that he would prioritize the crypto industry. Expecting these promises to be fulfilled, the prices of many notable crypto assets jumped after his election. Now, President Trump has returned to the White House, and in his first week, he wielded executive authority in an unprecedented way. Among the new administration’s dramatic moves were three developments of great significance for the crypto industry. These early moves suggest a lighter

In the third edition of Global Investigations Review’s Guide to Compliance, Partner Kayvan Sadeghi and Associate Lawrence McMahon provide an extensive overview of the complex regulatory landscape of the blockchain industry in the United States as well as in other jurisdictions around the world.

In their practice note, Partners Kayvan B. Sadeghi and Charles D. Riely and Associates Lawrence W. McMahon and Vincent Wu provide an overview of the current law and regulatory framework governing insider trading in the context of government investigations, criminal prosecutions, and civil enforcement proceedings. The authors highlight the key legal elements, the roles and relations among enforcement bodies, and key strategies for defending against insider trading claims in today’s environment.

In their chapter for GIR’s The Guide to Compliance, Jenner & Block Partner Kayvan B. Sadeghi and Associate Lawrence W. McMahon explain that blockchain technology raises challenges to regulatory and compliance regimes. They provide an overview of those challenges and of the current regulatory landscape. Their focus is primarily on the United States, but they also explore a number of jurisdictions where the regulatory landscape and compliance regimes are evolving to address these challenges.

A Jenner & Block team helped secure a victory for transgender rights on June 10, when a federal judge ruled that North Carolina’s health plan for state workers must cover medically necessary treatments for gender dysphoria. The firm represented the American Medical Association and seven health care organizations as amici in the case in federal court in North Carolina. 

For three weeks in December, a team of 26 Jenner & Block lawyers researched the availability of and access to mental health services for children in grades K-12 in 45 different states. Client Inseparable and 16 other organizations joined to form the Hopeful Futures Campaign, which used the data to assess the accessibility of mental health services in all 50 states.