Practice Areas: White Collar Crimes, Business Litigation; view more
Licensed in California since: 2008
Education: New York University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2023 Details
An accomplished and renowned trial attorney, Brian Klein is known for fierce and successful advocacy for his clients in a wide variety of state and federal forums across the country. He is a former federal prosecutor who handles high-stakes civil litigation and criminal and regulatory defense matters, including those before the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, FTC, CFPB, and state authorities.
Brian’s clients are successful entrepreneurs and professionals, fast growing and innovative companies, as well as entertainment industry icons. Based on his accomplishments, Brian has been repeatedly recognized as a “Super Lawyer” and Chambers has noted that he is “known as the guy you call when you get in trouble.”
A recognized player in the technology industry, Brian chairs the annual American Bar Association’s blockchain and digital currency national institute. He also speaks internationally about cutting-edge litigation issues and for years has taught a criminal practice seminar at the USC Gould School of Law.
Brian is admitted to practice in the states of California, Washington, and New York and before numerous federal courts around the country including the Central and Northern Districts of California and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He graduated from New York University School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington.
Practice areas
Criminal Defense: White Collar, Business LitigationFocus areas
Criminal Law - Federal, White Collar Crime
- 80% Criminal Defense: White Collar
- 20% Business Litigation
First Admitted: 2003, New York
Professional Webpage: https://www.waymakerlaw.com/trial-lawyers/brian-klein
- Panelist, “Law Enforcement & Anonymous Transactions,” Consensus 2016, New York, NY, May 2016
- Panelist, “21st Century Tools for Design, Delivery and Payment of Goods and Content,” International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition Annual Spring Meeting, San Diego, California, April 2015
- Panelist, Regulatory Compliance Issues and Law Enforcement Efforts, MecklerMedia’s Inside Bitcoins Conferences, Berlin, Germany, March 2015 (and February 2014); Las Vegas, Nevada, October 2014 (and December 2013); London, England, September 2014; New York, New York, April 2014 (and April 2015); Hong Kong, China, May 2015; Chicago, Illinois, July 2015; Seoul, Korea, December 2015; and San Diego, California, December 2015
- Guest Lecturer, “The Law and Business of Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies,” New York University School of Law, November 2014
- Speaker, “Game Changers (Bitcoin),” Defense Research Institute’s Annual Conference, San Francisco, California, October 2014
- Moderator, “Keynote Debate: Bitcoin” (Barry Silbert of SecondMarket, Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Jennifer Shasky Calvery, Director of FinCEN), Future: Mobile 2014, San Francisco, California, June 2014
- Panelist, “Perspectives on Government Relations,” Bitcoin 2014: Building the Digital Economy (the Bitcoin Foundation), Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 2014
- Panelist, “Regulatory and Legal Challenges,” CoinSummit 2014, San Francisco, California, March 2014
- Panelist, “Information Governance & eDiscovery,” Intermountain eDiscovery Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 2013
- Co-Presenter, “Bitcoins Move Into the Mainstream,” Dropbox, San Francisco, California, July 2013
- Panelist, "Issues of Regulatory Compliance," Bitcoin 2013: The Future of Payments (Bitcoin Foundation), San Jose, California, May 2013
- “The Fifth Amendment and Bitcoin: Why the Battle is About to Begin,” Coindesk, February 18, 2016
- “The CFTC’s Not-So-Hidden Message: Traders Beware,” Coindesk (co-authored with Geoffrey Aronow of Sidley Austin), October 3, 2015
- “Does 18 U.S.C. § 1960 create felony liability for bitcoin businesses,” Coin Center, July 21, 2015
- “Why The SEC Delay Over Crowdfunding Rules Is Stifling Bitcoin Innovation,” Coindesk (co-authored with Molly White of McGuireWoods), June 13, 2014
- “US Tax Man Speaks For The First But Not Last Time,” Coindesk (co-authored with Jay Weill of Sideman & Bancroft), April 6, 2014
- “Treasury Department Wary of Virtual Currencies,” The Daily Journal, April 10, 2013
- University of Washington
- Founder and Chair, Board of Directors, Digital Currency and Ledger Defense Coalition
- Chair, American Bar Association’s Blockchain Technology and Digital Currency National Institute
- American Bar Association
- California
- U.S. District Court Central District of California
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- New York
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
- National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
- Washington
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2023
