Katten Financial Services Counsel Named to Industry Hall of Fame

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Futures Industry Association (FIA) announced today that Katten senior counsel Gary DeWaal will be inducted into its Hall of Fame during the annual FIA International Futures Industry Conference on March 15 in Boca Raton, Florida.

Formerly chair of Katten's Financial Markets and Regulatory practice, DeWaal joined the firm in 2014 after working almost 27 years for Fimat (later named Newedge), a subsidiary of Societe Generale, and before that at Brody White & Company, Inc., a futures brokerage firm whose assets Fimat acquired. At Fimat, for many years the largest international futures brokerage organization, DeWaal served as managing director and group general counsel and as a member of the group's global executive committee. DeWaal served in many capacities with Brody White, including as its president.

"Gary's remarkable professional impact has contributed to Katten's presence at the heights of legal distinction," said Roger P. Furey, chairman of the firm, a long-established leader in the financial services industry. "We congratulate him on this well-deserved honor that further places him, and by extension Katten, in the rarefied company of financial industry greats."

Lance A. Zinman, Global Chair of Katten's Financial Markets and Funds (FMF) practice, said, "Gary's wide-ranging, in-depth knowledge is indisputable. He is an insightful thought leader, always on top of the latest legal and regulatory developments in the fast-paced, constantly changing crypto market. He has an impressive knack for quickly capturing the core points of even the most complicated topics."

At Katten, DeWaal first provided advisory and regulatory defense services to clients in the derivatives space, but quickly expanded his practice into cryptocurrency matters. He served as lead counsel for LedgerX, helping it obtain the first license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for an exchange and clearing house listing physically deliverable Bitcoin swaps contracts in 2017.

Established in 2005, FIA's Hall of Fame recognizes "… the outstanding contributions of members of the listed and cleared derivatives community." A panel of existing FIA Hall of Fame members and global industry executives choose industry leaders for the Hall of Fame based on their "demonstrated leadership, innovative and impactful achievement, break-through accomplishment, and industry collaboration, volunteerism and dedication." Retired Katten partner Arthur Hahn, Zinman's predecessor as global chair of the firm's FMF practice, was named to the FIA Hall of Fame last year.

DeWaal was a member of the Executive Committee of the FIA's Law and Compliance Division during most of his tenure at Fimat/Newedge and served as committee president for two years. A prolific author who often is quoted in the media, he is frequently tapped to speak on various derivatives and crypto topics at public events.

DeWaal has been included in top rankings of multiple legal guides, including Chambers FinTech 2023 and in the derivatives category of Chambers USA and Chambers Global. He was also named among the "Top 15 US Legal Crypto Practitioners 2022" by Citywealth. In 2010, he was named one of the top five global general counsels in the world by International Law Office.

For many years, DeWaal solely and singularly composed and published Bridging the Week, a go-to publication for financial services' business, legal and compliance professionals. He served for several years as a member of the CFTC's Technology Advisory Committee.

Prior to joining Fimat/Newedge, DeWaal was a senior trial attorney with the CFTC's Division of Enforcement. He began his professional career in 1980 with the law firm Mudge Rose Guthrie & Alexander.

Katten is a full-service law firm with approximately 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm's core areas of practice include corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals.
For more information, visit katten.com.

SOURCE Katten