Murphy & McGonigle added two accomplished lawyers, Daniel S. Alter and Katherine Cooper, with specialties in the fintech, blockchain, virtual currency exchanges and regulatory practices to expand the capabilities of the financial services and regulatory law firm. Both attorneys will be based in New York.
Alter is an established leader in fintech law. Previously, he served as general counsel and chief compliance officer for the first New York State chartered, non-depository trust company, providing fiduciary services to global financial institutions using virtual currency exchange and blockchain-based financial services. Before that, he served as chief legal officer at the New York State Department of Financial Services and was responsible for department-wide oversight of regulatory and licensing matters and criminal and civil enforcement operations.
Alter’s focus there included virtual currency regulation, anti-money laundering and international sanctions enforcement, and global investigation into FX rate manipulation.
Cooper served for six years at ICE-NYSE LIFFE US as chief regulatory officer, providing counsel to c-suite management and the board of directors on compliance with legal and regulatory requirements necessary to operate the exchange. This included advice on the impact of new Dodd-Frank rule makings, as well as implementing changes to the exchange’s operations to ensure compliance with new regulations. Previously, she served as global head of Prime Services Compliance at Barclay’s Capital and as head of Fixed Income Compliance at Citigroup Global Markets.
“The deep experience that Daniel and Katherine bring in key areas of need for our clients further strengthens the firm’s ability to address client challenges in a fast-changing financial services marketplace,” said James Murphy, chairman of Murphy & McGonigle. “Fintech and regulatory changes and developments are of pivotal importance to our clients, and Daniel and Katherine bring strong insights to their respective areas.”
