Litigation results first — then regulatory and transactional matters across digital assets, AI, and corporate governance. Client details anonymized for confidentiality except where the matter is public record.
In Gelasio v. Zafar (9th Cir. No. 24-7277), the Northern District of California dismissed the plaintiff's claims against an individual and a Hong Kong entity behind an NFT project for lack of personal jurisdiction — a recurring threshold barrier when digital-asset defendants operate offshore.
Briefed and argued the appeal at Brandon Orewyler's prior firm. He argued before a Ninth Circuit panel in San Francisco on February 10, 2026, presenting a purposeful-direction framework grounded in the Ninth Circuit's recent en banc personal-jurisdiction precedent that the defense briefing had failed to address.
On April 29, 2026, the panel unanimously reversed the dismissal on all three specific personal jurisdiction prongs. The disposition is unpublished, reaches jurisdiction only rather than the merits, and is not precedent under Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. The case returns to the district court, where Astraea Counsel now represents the plaintiff.
A digital-asset platform received a Wells notice alleging unregistered securities offerings.
Prepared the Wells submission at Chanté Eliaszadeh's prior firm, White & Case. Identified procedural deficiencies in the investigation and presented a factual defense distinguishing the platform's operations from prior enforcement targets.
The matter closed without an enforcement recommendation, and the platform continued operating with enhanced compliance procedures.
Institutional creditors needed to recover digital assets from a major crypto exchange bankruptcy estate, navigating novel questions about asset custody and priority.
Work performed at Chanté Eliaszadeh's prior firm, White & Case, across the FTX, Genesis, and Celsius proceedings. Coordinated with bankruptcy counsel on claims classification and asset tracing.
Obtained priority treatment for the claims rather than general unsecured status.
A DeFi protocol faced overlapping SEC and CFTC jurisdictional claims after launching a governance token with revenue-sharing features.
Conducted a comprehensive token classification analysis under the Howey framework and the 2026 SEC/CFTC taxonomy. Restructured the token's economic rights to separate governance voting from revenue distribution.
Achieved regulatory clarity with a defensible classification opinion. Protocol launched governance features without triggering securities registration requirements.
An AI startup deploying autonomous trading agents needed to understand liability exposure across securities, commodities, and money transmission frameworks.
Mapped the agent's operations across all applicable regulatory regimes. Identified that CFTC jurisdiction applied to commodity transactions while BSA/AML obligations attached to payment functions.
Delivered a multi-regime compliance roadmap with prioritized implementation steps. Client launched with appropriate registrations and compliance infrastructure in place.
A Web3 startup needed to structure a token launch that would comply with federal securities laws while preserving the utility function of the token.
Designed a phased launch strategy separating the investment contract (initial sale) from the utility token (post-functionality). Prepared offering documents, risk disclosures, and a compliance timeline.
Token launched under Regulation D with proper accredited investor verification. Post-functionality transition plan established for eventual commodity classification.
A DAO with a substantial treasury needed a legal structure that would limit member liability while preserving decentralized governance.
Evaluated LLC, foundation, and unincorporated association structures across multiple jurisdictions. Recommended a Wyoming DAO LLC with custom operating agreement provisions for on-chain governance integration.
Entity formed with liability protection for all members. Governance framework deployed with legally binding on-chain voting mechanisms.
These case studies describe representative experience. Each result described was dependent on the facts of that case, and the results will differ if based on different facts.
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