Patrick D. Daugherty is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago and New York. Mr. Daugherty is a corporate, M&A, finance and SEC lawyer who advises executives, entrepreneurs and investors on strategic transactions and governance. He also leads Foley’s Blockchain Task Force of forty lawyers. As both deal-maker and trusted counselor, Mr. Daugherty uses more than 35 years of experience in global markets and at SEC headquarters in Washington to customize solutions for clients. A graduate of Northwestern University and of Cornell Law School, Mr. Daugherty clerked in the Southern District of New York, is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and belongs to the Bar in five different states.

Joseph Pope is a Principal for Global Economics Group, an international independent disputes and regulatory consulting firm. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) and Certified in Blockchain for Accounting and Finance with more than 25 years of forensic accounting, independent investigation and consulting experience. Mr. Pope has extensive experience in analyzing economic damages, lost profits, financial reporting issues, contract disputes, post-acquisition disputes, enterprise valuations and commercial fraud. He has consulted clients in a wide range of industries including financial services, insurance, higher education, healthcare, digital currency and blockchain, telecommunications and public utilities. Prior to joining Global Economics Group, Mr. Pope was a managing director at Stout where he consulted lawyers and their clients involved in complex business disputes and forensic investigations. Prior to Stout, he was a founder and managing director at Huron Consulting Group and started his career at Arthur Andersen. Mr. Pope is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Illinois CPA Society, and is a Treasurer and Finance Chair on the Board of Wellness House, a Board Member of Wellness House Foundation, and a member of the Finance Committee of the Chicago Bar Foundation. 

Nelson M. Rosario is a co-founder of Smolinski Rosario Law in Chicago. He is an attorney with a diverse set of skills and experience gained from working in private practice for multiple IP boutique law firms in Chicago, for the legal department of a large multi-national consumer electronics corporation, and for a federal magistrate judge. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Rosario worked as an election official for a government agency. His practice has a strong focus on intellectual property, particularly patents and trademarks, and in legal issues related to blockchain and cryptocurrency. Mr. Rosario has a background in computer science, and he writes and speaks regularly on emerging technology issues relevant to attorneys and entrepreneurs. In addition, he teaches a class called “Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Law” at Illinois Tech, Chicago-Kent College of Law covering the legal and technology issues surrounding the blockchain space. Mr. Rosario is the founder and organizer of BLOC (Blockchain Lawyers of Chicago), a blockchain networking group in Chicago. He earned a JD degree from Illinois Tech – Chicago Kent College of Law, a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Florida State University and, a B.A. degree in History and Political Science from the University of Minnesota.
 

Rachel Schwarz is an associate with Freeborn & Peters LLP in theReal Estate Practice Group and a member of the Emerging TechnologiesIndustry Team. She concentrates her practice in the area of commercialreal estate, with an emphasis on acquisitions, dispositions, financing,leasing, and development. Her experience includes drafting purchaseand sales agreements, commercial leases, mortgages, and easements,and performing title reviews and other due diligence for real estatetransactions. Ms. Schwarz also has a significant interest in blockchaintechnology and the potential it has to streamline and revolutionize realestate transactions. She stays apprised of blockchain industry news andis a member of the Emerging Technologies Industry Team within the firm.Prior to practicing law, Ms. Schwarz worked as a commercial real estatebroker, providing her with a unique perspective in negotiating real estatedeals. She earned her J.D. degree from Washington and Lee UniversitySchool of Law.

Zach Smolinski is a co-founder of Smolinski Rosario Law in Chicago. He is an experienced general counsel having a focus on intellectual property, transactional, and mergers and acquisitions law and a strong interest in emerging technologies. Mr. Smolinski’s skills include evaluating and negotiating license agreements and cloud services contracts, coordinating IP due diligence for investors and purchasers, and working with founders and executives to optimize their companies’ legal strategies. He is a registered patent attorney with a background in physics. Mr. Smolinski presents regularly on legal matters of importance to founders, executives, and investors and, he coordinates and speaks monthly at BUZZ, a blockchain discussion group in Chicago. Mr. Smolinski graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law with a J.D. degree. He received a B.S. degree in Physics from Illinois State University.

Justin C. Steffen is a litigator for Fortune 500 and FinTech companies, a (late-in-life) technophile, and a legal futurist. By day, he is a partner at Jenner & Block LLP where he serves as a co-founder and leader of Jenner’s FinTech and Blockchain practice groups. Mr. Steffen routinely represents clients in large, “bet-the-company” litigation and internal investigations, and he helps online lenders, payments companies, and blockchain/cryptocurrency companies navigate the evolving regulatory and legal environment. Recently, he defended a subprime lending subsidiary of a large multinational corporation in a three-week, $1 billion Federal trial. By night, he is a technophile and blockchain devotee. Mr. Steffen was recently named an emerging leader by BAI and a FinTech Trailblazer by the National Law Journal, and he frequently educates, speaks, and writes on blockchain, algorithmic lending, and other financial technologies. Among other engagements, he spoke at the 2017 Fin(Legal) Tech Conference, the FinTank Chicago Blockchain summit, and the Block(Legal) Tech Conference that he co-organized. In the coming months, he is scheduled to speak at the FinTech Symposium and Lend360, and he is to serve as an adjunct professor at Loyola University School of Law, teaching a class on FinTech and the Law. Mr. Steffen is also the founder and chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s recently-formed Financial and Emerging Technologies Committee and a frequent FinTech commentator who has published articles in Law360, FinTech Weekly, Business Insurance Journal and LegalTech News.