Four Davis Polk partners were featured in a Bloomberg Law profile discussing the group’s recent testimony in front of House subcommittees regarding the regulation of digital assets and financial institutions. The four partners appeared between April 27 and May 18, 2023.

Margaret Tahyar, head of Davis Polk’s Financial Institutions practice, noted how “unusual” it is to have four partners at one law firm testifying over a three-week period.

Margaret testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy regarding recent bank failures. Partners David Portilla and partner Zach Zweihorn testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, and partner Joe Hall testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development, on the regulation of digital assets including stablecoins. The partners were invited to testify as lawmakers consider responses to crises in the crypto and regional banking spaces.

Bloomberg noted that Davis Polk has been a “go-to legal adviser during the recent banking crisis” and advises “major crypto players.”

Explaining that each of the partners is viewed both as a leading lawyer in the area in which they were called to testify as well as a credible voice on both sides of the aisle, David noted, “We’re there to help make good policy. If we weren’t viewed in that way, I don’t think they would ask us.”

And regarding digital asset regulation specifically, he noted, “there’s a potential for real consumer harm, unless there’s clear rules of the road in place.”

“Davis Polk Hits Capitol Hill to Shape Crypto, Bank Regulation,” Bloomberg Law (May 22, 2023)

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