On August 8, 2022, Partner Teresa Goody Guillén was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article titled “Crypto Market Turmoil Highlights Personal Risks for Compliance Chiefs.” It discusses the importance of compliance programs at crypto firms and notes that regulators seem willing to hold individuals personally accountable for problems at their firms. Goody Guillén warns that recent investor losses could bring additional regulatory scrutiny. Personal liability is likely to arise when the compliance chief isn’t aware of a particular part of the law that is applicable, she says. To avoid such liability, she says compliance officers shouldn’t wear too many hats, as sometimes happens at smaller startups, and the compliance chief should report directly to the chief executive.
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