University of San Diego School of Law

University of California, Berkeley

Attorney

Responsible for all legal and compliance programs at start-up health and wellness / social media company, including: setting up the financial transaction, trust and safety, privacy, and information security protocols from the ground-up; managing relationships with third-party platforms (e.g., licensed financial services, identity verification, CCPA / ISO 27001, etc.); and advising other members of the executive team on compliance, legal, and regulatory matters across a broad spectrum of issues (contract law, securities / fundraising, HIPAA, etc.).

Neural

Chief Compliance Officer

Responsible for day-to-day regulatory compliance (AML, anti-fraud, etc) and providing advice to management and other departments on compliance/regulatory responsibilities for a US Department of Treasury-registered and New York-licensed Bitcoin kiosk business with remote locations in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Major accomplishments at Cottonwood Vending include:
—successfully applying for New York's Virtual Currency Business License (aka, the BitLicense), which was awarded in January 2019
—overseeing the company's compliance to several types of audits (e.g., AML, disaster recovery & business continuity, and information security), regulatory examinations and law enforcement requests for information
—working with software engineers to develop a new software system for the company's network, with a strong emphasis on AML/CIP compliance
—drafting and adopting the company's legal policies, including the AML/CIP Policy, the Risk Assessment and the company's Terms of Service / Privacy Policy

Cottonwood Vending, LLC

General house counsel for financial tech startup specializing in virtual currencies. Among my responsibilities have included: the drafting and editing of legal contracts; negotiations with investors, vendors and regulators; maintenance of the corporate and legal records of the company; legal analysis and research; completing applications for government licenses and registrations; compliance oversight; and corporate secretarial duties.

Tradehill, Inc.

General Counsel, Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary

I currently serve as and have been legal counsel for several financial technology startups, consulting groups and investment managers – domestic and overseas – providing transactional, intellectual property, corporate governance, compliance and general legal advice. I have served as in-house general counsel and outside consultant while counseling clients on proactively addressing their compliance challenges related to their offering cutting-edge financial technology, including the applicability of United States' financial regulations and to clients’ activities.

Law Office of Pierre G. Basmaji

Counsel to Financial Firms

Lead or associate counsel in a wide-range of legal matters, including federal and state criminal defense, bankruptcy representation, civil litigation and startup consultations. Experience includes sitting as defense second-chair for a first degree murder trial; the defendant was acquitted.

General Practitioner

Assisted in all areas of a complex federal litigation -- including pleadings, depositions, and other evidence-gathering -- in a case involving an allegedly faulty installation of industrial-scale logistical software

Blakely Legal Group

Contract Attorney

Law firm specialized in corporate securities derivative and class action litigation.

Pierre Basmaji