Winston & Strawn added Andrew “Drew” M. Hinkes to its Miami office as a partner in the transactions department and member of the digital assets and blockchain technology (DABT) group.
Hinkes is a trailblazing attorney in the digital assets space, and most recently co-chaired the digital assets industry group of a large international law firm. He regularly advises clients on a wide range of digital asset-related matters, including securities regulation; payment systems and money services business regulation; lending and staking; secured transactions, including digital assets as collateral; structuring and governance of DeFi protocols and similar applications; anti-money laundering compliance; non-fungible tokens; stablecoins; and other related technologies.
Hinkes previously served as an adviser to the Uniform Law Commission as part of its digital assets working group and later participated in drafting revisions to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), culminating in the publication of the 2022 Amendments to the UCC. The 2022 Amendments include the new Article 12, which incorporates digital assets into the UCC creating defaults and gap-fillers intended to streamline secured transactions of digital assets. Hinkes has also participated in international law reform efforts, serving as an observer to the UNIDROIT Working Group for the Preparation of the Principles on Digital Assets and Private Law and as an advisor to the Law Commission of England and Wales on its recently published scoping paper on Decentralised Autonomous Organisations.
“Drew is a pioneer in the digital assets legal space, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the firm,” Daniel Stabile and Kim Prior, co-chairs of the DABT group at Winston & Strawn, said. “He has been at the center of the arena as long as anyone, and his deep familiarity with the underlying technology and the most cutting-edge legal and regulatory issues will add significant value to our global team.”
Nominated as one of Coindesk’s Most Influential People in Blockchain in 2017, Hinkes also helps to train the next generation of lawyers tackling complex legal questions related to digital assets as an adjunct associate professor at New York University Stern School of Business and an adjunct professor of law at the NYU School of Law, where Hinkes has co-taught “Digital Currency, Blockchains and the Future of the Financial Services Industry” to JD/MBA students since 2018.
“I’ve known and respected lawyers at Winston for many years, having co-authored a textbook with Daniel and Kim that is used to teach the U.S. regulation of digital assets at law schools around the world,” Hinkes said. “When the opportunity presented itself to join Winston, I knew it would be a great fit. I’m excited to join the firm’s DABT Group and to bolster the firm’s ability to deliver outstanding service to clients in the digital assets area.”
“Miami is an epicenter of blockchain technology, and our work in the digital assets space has been a key driver of our office growth,” Enrique Martin, Miami office managing partner of Winston & Strawn, said. “Drew’s excellent reputation in the digital assets sector in the Miami market and in key jurisdictions throughout the world will further enhance our already best-in-class team.”
