Blockchain Lawsuits and Crypto Asset Recovery

Our team includes precedent-setting and blockchain-native lawyers who have significant experience handling complex multi-jurisdictional litigation involving blockchain technology and the recovery of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

Highly specialized, experienced and client-centric, our agile lawyers are market leaders in all things blockchain – including experts who have been instrumental in setting much of the law in this sector and around the world.

Through a dedicated blockchain sector-focused litigation practice, Shoosmiths is able to draw on years of expertise, market knowledge and sharing, and thought leadership to adapt to the extremely fast-paced blockchain and digital asset sector.

A unique practice that advises clients seeking to recover digital assets as part of fraud, ransom, during insolvency or otherwise, the team strives to find commercial solutions for the most complex problems facing both businesses and individuals.

Having secured strategic relationships with some of the world’s leading blockchain analytics firms, to develop specialist industry knowledge, Shoosmiths has cemented its multi-disciplinary commitment to the sector to ensure first class advisory services.

With an ingrained international outlook and select strategic legal partners worldwide, the team is designed to handle intricate, multi-jurisdictional issues to secure the required results for clients.

Expertise includes:

Recovery of digital assets

We recover digital assets, such as Bitcoin and Ether, stable coins, non-fungible tokens and all other crypto-assets, whether due to fraud, payment of ransom under an insurance policy, insolvency and where parties attempt to conceal certain digital assets.

Our team includes precedent-setters who have shaped the entire legal landscape surrounding cryptoassets, including the rule that cryptoassets like Bitcoin are “property” at common law (see Matt Green’s seminal case of AA v Persons Unknown Re Bitcoin, 2019), which fundamentally shaped the treatment of cryptoassets worldwide. Since then, the team has continued to secure High Court decisions seeking ringfencing and subsequent return of digital assets.

We have key relationships with renowned investigators, forensic trackers, expert report specialists and government advisory consultants, as well as dedicated insolvency practitioners, crypto asset custodians, key exchanges and insurance providers. These relationships enable the team to deliver a complete, streamlined service, from the moment assets are lost to recovery.

How do we do it?

The team works hand-in-glove with specialist investigators who trace digital assets across blockchains to determine their whereabouts, usually in foreign jurisdictions, and then ring-fence, freeze and recover these funds to their rightful owners using the established rules which is upheld by the English courts. The case is usually private, and plaintiffs can usually be anonymized to provide additional protection.

Having developed relationships with centralized digital asset exchanges, we can secure informal blocks on the account that prevent proliferation before seeking formal relief from the courts. In addition, we prepare Proceeds of Crime notices where applicable to add additional security measures.

From there, and after instructing solicitors in this field, we apply for worldwide and proprietary injunctions and pursue the individuals holding the victim’s funds to ensure a swift and commercial resolution.

We always seek to ensure that clients are informed of fees and costs before each step of the proceedings to ensure commercial outcomes that make sense for victims. Given the breadth of experience in this field, we are able to rely on internal precedents to keep legal fees down and work with specific counsel to ensure a communicative, responsive and therefore cost-sensitive approach.

Dispute resolution with a focus on blockchain technology

We conduct complex litigation and arbitration involving blockchain technology, typically across multiple jurisdictions.

This can include corporate disputes where stakeholders disagree, to the offering of certain financial products in breach of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, breach of contract involving commercial agreements with distributed ledger technology at their heart, to insolvency proceedings and custody disputes. and insurance.