Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to welcome Emma Channing to the firm’s Denver office as a partner in the Banking and Financial Services practice group.
Emma advises digital asset, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrency companies operating as token issuers, funds, trading platforms, banking entities, and registered broker-dealers; and U.S. and international traditional financial services firms and funds looking to gain exposure or entrance into digital assets. Throughout more than two decades in practice, she has gained significant experience across several key aspects of digital asset transactions, including entity formation, corporate counseling and compliance law, mergers and acquisitions, and emerging securities and financial regulation.
At the forefront of Emma’s highly agile and constantly evolving legal practice is Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, including stablecoins. An early adopter of progressive cryptocurrencies, she has been involved with some of the first tokenized funds and contributed to the blockchain platform design of a digital securities company for which she served as a FINRA registered representative.
Prior to joining Spencer Fane, Emma was the founder, CEO, and general counsel of the Satis Group, which coordinated legal, broker-dealer, and technology support for tokenization for financial services clients.
“We are excited to welcome Emma to our diverse financial services practice at a pivotal time for the digital asset space,” said Spencer Fane Chair Patrick J. Whalen. “In addition to building out this rapidly growing legal subsector, she aligns wonderfully with the firm’s collaborative culture and new organizational structure, which gives attorneys autonomy to form specialized practices that better serve clients and emerging market needs.”
An influential voice in shaping cryptocurrency legislation across Colorado, California, New York, and Wyoming, Emma has testified before the Wyoming Blockchain Task Force – the leader of blockchain legislation progression in the U.S. – and the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion on how RWA tokenization can facilitate more efficient financial markets.
A U.K. native, Emma has similarly established herself in international M&A and capital markets, working for major international law firms early in her career. Her pioneering work in cryptocurrency is also recognized globally, though she dedicates herself to the specific advancement of U.S. compliance and regulatory policy as she promotes increased accessibility in the space.
Emma earned her Bachelor of Laws degree, the U.K. equivalent to a Juris Doctor, from Durham University, then went on to obtain her Master of Laws from Durham University and, later, Stanford University Law School.