Adam D. Gale

Partner

New York
T +1.212.589.4294
F +1.212.589.4201

Overview

An accomplished fund attorney, Adam Gale serves as BakerHostetler's Investment Funds Industry team leader. He has spent more than 25 years advising middle-market investment funds and managers on structuring and fund formation, as well as providing insight on regulatory and compliance issues. He counsels international and domestic private equity funds, real estate funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds and funds of funds.

Adam also advises institutional investors and family offices on their investments into funds. His significant background extends to cryptocurrency funds, ICOs and security token offerings, and he advises broker-dealers on the full range of FINRA and market regulation issues.

A former senior counsel at The Bank of New York, Adam also counsels bank clients on bank regulatory issues. In addition, he has experience in securitizations and structured products.

Select Experience

  • Advises clients on all aspects of the Commodities Exchange and CFTC regulations, including compliance issues for entities registered under CFTC regulations, as well as determining whether exemptions from registration apply. Also has expertise on the Dodd-Frank Act provisions relating to commodities laws, including swap transactions, and has particular expertise in commodities law issues facing companies in the energy sector.
  • Represented a U.S. sponsor in the structuring and formation of a $300 million private equity fund focusing on healthcare.
  • Representing a real estate manager in the structuring and formation a $150 million Qualified Opportunity Zone fund.
  • Represented a U.S. real estate manager in the structuring and formation of a $200 million real estate fund for primarily non-U.S. investors through a leveraged feeder structure.
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Experience

  • Advises clients on all aspects of the Commodities Exchange and CFTC regulations, including compliance issues for entities registered under CFTC regulations, as well as determining whether exemptions from registration apply. Also has expertise on the Dodd-Frank Act provisions relating to commodities laws, including swap transactions, and has particular expertise in commodities law issues facing companies in the energy sector.
  • Represented a U.S. sponsor in the structuring and formation of a $300 million private equity fund focusing on healthcare.
  • Representing a real estate manager in the structuring and formation a $150 million Qualified Opportunity Zone fund.
  • Represented a U.S. real estate manager in the structuring and formation of a $200 million real estate fund for primarily non-U.S. investors through a leveraged feeder structure.
  • Represented a start-up venture capital sponsor in the structuring and formation of a venture capital fund focusing on artificial intelligence companies.
  • Counsel to an issuer in a $40 million initial coin offering.

Recognitions and Memberships

Recognitions

  • Lawyers Alliance for New York Cornerstone Award
  • New York State Bar Association: Empire State Counsel Honoree
  • New York City Council Proclamation Award
  • Project Reach Youth Annual Award

Memberships

  • New York Bar Association
  • Private Investment Funds Committee (2013 to 2016)
    • Non-Voting Member

Prior Positions

  • The Honorable Myron Thompson, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama: Law Clerk (1992 to 1993)
  • The Honorable Wilfred Feinberg, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit: Law Clerk (1991 to 1992)

Admissions

  • New York

Education

  • J.D., Columbia Law School, 1991; Columbia Law Review, Notes Editor
  • B.A., Cornell University, 1987, cum laude

Blog

In The Blogs

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Blockchain Monitor
US District Court Finds LBRY Tokens Are Securities
By Kevin R. Edgar, Adam D. Gale, Teresa Goody Guillén, Robert A. Musiala Jr., Veronica Reynolds, Joanna F. Wasick
November 11, 2022
In 2016, crypto startup LBRY launched the LBRY network and the LBRY protocol, described by LBRY as a decentralized content sharing and publishing protocol that supports the creation of community-run digital marketplaces. The same year...
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Blockchain Monitor
White House Outlines Key Action Items Based on EO Reports Addressing Digital Assets - Blog
By Kevin R. Edgar, Jonathan A. Forman, Adam D. Gale, Robert A. Musiala Jr.
September 29, 2022
On Sept. 16, 2022, the White House released a Fact Sheet providing key findings and action items arising from the nine reports addressing digital assets that have been submitted to the president to date consistent with the EO. The Fact...
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Blockchain Monitor
Developer Arrested Following OFAC Sanctions of the Tornado Cash Protocol
By Adam D. Gale, Teresa Goody Guillén, Veronica Reynolds, Michelle N. Tanney
August 22, 2022
On Aug. 10, 2022, just days after OFAC issued sanctions against virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, Dutch authorities arrested the protocol’s alleged developer. In a press release, the Treasury Department alleged that since 2019, Tornado...
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Blockchain Monitor
SEC and DOJ Bring Parallel Crypto Insider Trading Cases; SEC Alleges Nine Coinbase-Listed Tokens Are Securities
By John J. Carney, Kevin R. Edgar, Jonathan A. Forman, Adam D. Gale, Teresa Goody Guillén, Robert A. Musiala Jr., Veronica Reynolds, Michelle N. Tanney
July 25, 2022
Significant parallel actions commenced this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) bring crypto fraud enforcement into the spotlight, with the SEC alleging that multiple tokens listed on...
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Blockchain Monitor
SEC Signals Ramp-Up in Crypto Enforcement by Nearly Doubling Its Crypto Assets Cyber Unit Staff
By John J. Carney, Adam D. Gale, Teresa Goody Guillén, Veronica Reynolds, Joanna F. Wasick
May 5, 2022
On May 3, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the expansion of its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (the Unit f/k/a the Cyber Unit) to 50 staff members, nearly double the Unit’s former size, including supervisors...
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