Jonno Forman is an experienced litigator and compliance attorney who guides financial services and emerging technology clients through ever-changing federal and state regulations relating to securities, payment and money transmission, data privacy, cybersecurity and information security. As co-leader of the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory and Compliance team, Jonno advises clients at the intersection of technology and financial services, focusing on new investment, payment and blockchain products and services, including cryptocurrencies, digital assets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), utility tokens, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and Web 3.0 decentralized applications (DApps and DeFi).
Over the years, Jonno has worked with hedge fund and private equity fund managers, investment advisers, multi-family offices, broker-dealers, banks, trust companies, insurance companies, money services businesses (MSB), payment processors and other financial services, financial technology (fintech) and emerging technology companies and their management to respond to regulatory examinations and government investigations, as well as to resolve complex disputes. Jonno has successfully guided companies and individuals through investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and various state attorneys general offices and financial regulators, resolving many without charges ever being brought against them.
Jonno also routinely advises clients with respect to their regulatory compliance programs and transactional due diligence relating to litigation, bribery, money laundering, market manipulation, data privacy, information security, cybersecurity, business continuity, and other legal and reputational risks, including compliance with DFS’s Bitlicense and Cybersecurity Regulation, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), FinCEN’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and OFAC's sanctions programs.
Jonno writes and speaks on the topic of securities and financial regulation and enforcement, highlighting significant developments for legal and compliance personnel, including insider trading, data privacy, information security, cybersecurity, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain applications, virtual currency, and other regulatory priorities and trends. He is the author of the data privacy chapters of the Practising Law Institute’s investment adviser and fintech treatises, and also has been published and/or quoted by:
- American Bar Association's Business Law Today
- BlockTribune
- Bloomberg BNA's Privacy & Data Security Resource Center
- Bloomberg BNA's Securities Regulation & Law Report
- Bloomberg Law
- Columbia Law School's Blue Sky blog
- Compliance Reporter
- Corporate Counsel
- Corporate Governance Advisor
- FT Ignites
- Georgetown University's Advanced eDiscovery Institute
- Global Banking & Finance Review
- Global Data Review
- Hedge Fund Legal & Compliance Digest
- HFM Global
- HFM Week
- The Hedge Fund Law Report
- Law360
- Legaltech News
- New York Law Journal
- NSCP Currents
- The Practising Law Institute
- ThinkAdvisor
- Wall Street Lawyer
- Wolters Kluwer Federal Securities Law Reports
- Wolters Kluwer Insights
- Wolters Kluwer Securities Regulation Daily
Government Investigations and Enforcement Proceedings
- Represents court-appointed SEC receiver to investigate and institute legal proceedings on behalf of investors and creditors of certain cryptocurrency investment funds.
- Represents SEC registered investment adviser in SEC investigation of fee and expense disclosures.
Regulatory Counseling and Transactions
- Represents emerging technology company on blockchain governance, including structuring and forming DAO wrapped in an offshore entity.
- Seconded to investment management client as in-house counsel working directly with General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer on structuring foreign and domestic investment offerings, negotiating proprietary investments and seeding of emerging third-party hedge fund managers, and advising on various litigation and regulatory issues.
Internal Investigations
- Conducts incident responses for investment advisers, broker-dealers, public companies, and other regulated businesses that are victims of cyberattacks, including DDoS, phishing, and ransomware attacks, by advising them of their reporting and notification obligations and appropriate remediation steps.
- Conducted an expedited internal investigation of a registered investment adviser involving coordination with law enforcement personnel, its auditor and the SEC, and devising and overseeing the implementation of remedial measures. No investigation was initiated by the SEC, and no charges were brought against the adviser or its senior management.