Tim Edwards tapped to head HopgoodGanim’s digital assets practice
30 September 2022
Tim Edwards has been named as head of the new digital assets practice at HopgoodGanim. Edwards is a Brisbane-based special counsel in the firm’s dispute resolution and insolvency practices. He focusses on matters involving insolvency and restructuring, distributed ledger technology (cryptocurrencies, smart contracts and NFTs) and other fintech, the enforcement of security interests, proceeds of crime matters, partnership and shareholder disputes, misleading or deceptive conduct actions, complex commercial or construction contract disputes and novel estates matters. He routinely appears in court and at mediations.
A specialist technical litigator by profession, he has in recent years garnered significant experience working in the digital assets and fintech space. He advises businesses of all sizes (from a NASDAQ Top 10 entity to Brisbane-based startups) working in or interacting with the digital asset space – particularly in his speciality area of dispute resolution, but also by assisting them to negotiate significant contracts, providing regulatory advice, and assisting with interactions with regulators.
Other members of the firm’s digital assets practice include senior lawyers from the firm’s Brisbane and Perth offices.
The firm’s digital assets clients have included:
- Zerocap, which operates a crypto asset investment platform. HopgoodGanim has provided widespread advice for many years in relation to regulation, compliance, fundraising, data security, intellectual property, the early resolution of disputes, tax, interactions with Australian regulators, structuring and employment law;
- A NASDAQ Top 10 company in relation to comprehensive regulatory advice regarding NFTs;
- Insolvency practitioners appointed by the Australian Securities and Investments Comission (ASIC) in an ongoing attempt to recover more than A$30 million (US$19.4 million) of cryptocurrency; and
- An Australian fintech business to obtain an urgent interlocutory injunction against a large international payment service provider.
“While we have been advising market participants for several years, a recent surge in high-profile instructions, the significant growth of some of our initial ‘flagship’ clients (such as Zerocap) and the gradual increase in regulatory certainty have encouraged us to consolidate our offering to clients and present a specialist digital assets team to the market,” Edwards said.
