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J. Michael Bresnahan Jr.
J. Michael Bresnahan Jr.
J. Michael Bresnahan Jr. is an associate with Foley & Lardner LLP and a member of the firm’s Fund Formation & Investment Management Practice. Mr. Bresnahan counsels fund managers on the formation and operation of venture capital, private equity, private credit, real estate, and hedge funds, including fund and management company structuring, side letter negotiations, secondary sales, and Investment Advisers Act registration and compliance. He also regularly advises exchanges, private funds, trading firms, and digital asset issuers on SEC and CFTC-related issues. Mr. Bresnahan has assisted with the development of compliance programs and related SEC and CFTC considerations and understands the unique challenges and opportunities that digital assets present. Michael has experience drafting and negotiating counterparty trading agreements, including ISDA Master Agreements, Compensation Agreements, and Credit Support Annexes. He regularly works with prime brokers to establish and maintain credit arrangements, including designation notices and customer-to-customer and four-way double give up agreements to trade OTC assets. Prior to joining Foley & Lardner, he worked at a high-frequency trading firm focused on currencies. Mr. Bresnahan received his B.S. from Indiana University Bloomington, M.B.A. from Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business, and J.D. cum laude from Loyola University School of Law.
George T. Dowd III
George T. Dowd III
George T. Dowd III is the founder of G. Dowd Law LLC. Mr. Dowd provides subject matter expert consulting services related to the foreign exchange, futures, cryptocurrency, and metals markets and has testified as an expert before the National Futures Association, FINRA, and the London Court of International Arbitration. He has given presentations, or lectured, at the People’s Bank of China (Shanghai), the DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, the National Futures Association, and the Chicago Bar Association’s Futures and Derivatives Law Committee. He has appeared frequently on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and Fox Business. Mr. Dowd was with Société Générale (via predecessor firms Fimat and Newedge) from 2007 through 2015, where he was Head of the Chicago Foreign Exchange Desk and Head of Foreign Exchange Sales for the America’s. Prior to 2007, he established the Spectrum Currency Program at Spectrum Asset Management, Inc., and held senior foreign exchange roles at JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, and Credit Suisse. He served on the Board of Directors of the Global Digital Asset & Cryptocurrency Association in 2020 and 2021. He holds a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross, a J.D. from the DePaul University College of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Illinois.
Michael D. Frisch
Michael D. Frisch
Michael D. Frisch counsels clients on regulatory compliance, investigations, and enforcement matters involving digital assets. He also advises them on investments and corporate and organizational structuring, governance, and best practices. Clients in the cryptocurrency, digital asset, Web3, and DeFi industry depend on Mr. Frisch’s substantial experience navigating emerging government regulation and structuring transactions and investments in that space. His experience with cryptocurrency began at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he brought one of the CFTC’s first enforcement actions involving cryptocurrency (CFTC v. Bitfinex) and was part of the team responsible for the CFTC’s action against Tether in 2021. While at the CFTC, Mr. Frisch was part of the litigation team in CFTC v. Monex, a landmark case concerning the applicability of §2(c)(2)(D) of the CEA, and contributed to the CFTC’s Final Interpretive Guidance on Actual Delivery for Digital Assets. He currently serves as the Chair of the Public Policy and Regulatory Committee of the Global Digital Asset & Cryptocurrency Association (Global DCA), an organization founded to support the growth of the global digital economy and to guide the evolution of digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and underlying technologies through standards and consensus-based solutions that address the major challenges facing the industry. Immediately prior to joining Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres LLC, Mr. Frisch served as Senior Advisor and Legal Counsel to Mayor Lightfoot, advising the Mayor and city leaders on legal, policy, and labor issues.
Jonathan Merel
Jonathan Merel
Jonathan Merel founded the Law Offices of Jonathan Merel, P.C. in early 2009 after working for many years at another family law firm in Chicago. Mr. Merel advocates for his clients in all divorce and family law proceedings, including settlement negotiations and trials. Through hard work and unwavering dedication to his clients, he has quickly grown the firm to become one of the premier divorce and family law firms in the Chicagoland area. Mr. Merel is consistently recognized as a thought leader in the family law industry, making frequent appearances on radio shows and podcasts, in written publications, and on other news outlets. Jonathan has a great deal of experience in obtaining favorable outcomes for his clients in multimillion-dollar marital estates and contested custody suits, now known as the allocation of parental responsibilities. His ability to settle heated divorces and custody disputes has gained him a great deal of respect from fellow attorneys and judges within the Chicagoland legal community. When settlement is not a viable or reasonable option, Mr. Merel’s experience as a zealous litigator in the courtroom has produced outstanding results for his clients. Always committed to his clients and their causes, his philosophy is to build strong, trusting relationships with clients, founded on compassion, sound legal strategy, and open and frequent communication. Known as a skillful, aggressive, and tenacious negotiator, Mr. Merel has an impressive track record of protecting his clients’ best interests and helping them meet their legal goals.

J. Michael Bresnahan Jr.

George T. Dowd III

Michael D. Frisch

Jonathan Merel

Digital Assets, Cryptocurrencies, and Blockchain 2022 Edition