Overview
(March 26, 2024, New York) — Steptoe LLP has announced the continued growth and expansion of its Financial Innovation and Regulation capabilities with the addition of Alexandra Scheibe. Alexandra joins the firm as a partner in New York from McDermott Will & Emery where she headed their FinTech & Blockchain Transactions practice.
"As technology rapidly transforms how payments are accepted and financial institutions adapt to new rules and regulations, we are thrilled to welcome someone with Alexandra's record as a leader in derivatives and digital assets," commented firm chair Gwen Renigar. "Her experience plays perfectly to our work at the intersection of business, policy, and the courts."
The addition follows another group of recent high-profile hires in the financial services innovation and regulation space by Steptoe, including Kate Jensen, Ben Saul, Stephen Aschettino, Juliana Gerrick, Stephen Newman, Christopher Fredrich, Andrew Owens, and Ryan Hayden. Says Renigar: "We have made growth in the area of financial innovation and regulation a strategic priority for the firm, adding significant depth and experience designed to meet the demanding needs of our clients faced with a highly complex regulatory, public policy, and investigations environment."
Alexandra regularly represents financial services firms in connection with financial products including derivatives, structured products, securitizations and other bespoke transactions. She regularly advises swap dealers, security-based swap dealers and other derivatives market participants on their transactions and regulatory strategy. She provides guidance on securities laws, commodities laws, SEC and CFTC regulatory inquiries, as well as on state, federal and international regulation.
In addition, Alexandra's practice involves structuring and negotiating transactions for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. Alexandra also regularly advises crypto and blockchain companies on emerging federal and state regulatory issues, including securities laws, commodities laws and state and federal money transmitter licensing and regulation. She has focused on the use and implementation of blockchain technology in platforms for derivatives, structured finance and securitization. Alexandra advises a wide range of market participants across multiple industries, including early-stage and established companies developing blockchain solutions, investors, foundations, exchanges, broker-dealers, private equity firms, family offices, mining companies, and consulting firms.
Alexandra also assists financial services firms and others in negotiating transactions and agreements for all types of services in light of the constantly evolving regulatory issues arising from the use of blockchain and other technologies. She focuses on helping her clients develop novel products and business strategies and most recently advised on token launch and issuance solutions, trading platform formation and compliance, payments solutions and money transmitter licensing and cryptocurrency product development.
Alexandra added: "I'm excited to join Steptoe and partner with the lawyers in the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency practice to expand the firm's Financial Innovation and Regulation capabilities. I look forward to leveraging my experience to advise clients on the complex challenges they are facing in a changing regulatory landscape."
Over the past two years, Steptoe has handled a number of significant matters, often at the boundary areas of emerging regulation and financial services products, including advising one of the world's largest stablecoin issuers on regulatory and commercial issues as well as litigation and enforcement defense, advocating on behalf of a US-based cryptocurrency exchange on the issue of what constitutes "actual delivery" in the digital currency context under CFTC rules, and assisting one of the largest US credit card issuers in redesigning its dispute resolution policies in light of enhanced regulator attention to those practices.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
The diversity of the firm is a critical factor in its success. The firm’s chair is a woman; the majority of the firm’s elected executive committee is female; the majority of Steptoe's ten offices are managed by women; and the majority of Steptoe’s practice groups have women as leaders. The firm's six-person professional business services leadership is equally diverse, with two women of color, and other leaders who openly identify as LGBTQ+.
