Duane Pozza Named a Cryptocurrency and Fintech ‘Trailblazer’ by The National Law Journal

September 2, 2022

Washington, DC – Wiley is pleased to announce that partner Duane C. Pozza has been recognized by The National Law Journal (NLJ) as one of the nation’s top “Trailblazers” in Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech.

Pozza, who co-chairs the firm’s FTC Regulation Practice, is among a select group of 24 honorees who were named to the 2022 list and profiled by NLJ in its September/October Trailblazers supplement.

Pozza advises clients on complex legal and regulatory issues involving emerging technology, including digital assets and fintech. Prior to joining Wiley in 2018, he served as an Assistant Director in the Division of Financial Practices at the FTC, where he led consumer protection efforts in financial technology, including the agency’s payments, lending, artificial intelligence (AI), and cryptocurrency, among other areas.

“I’ve always been focused on ways to promote pro-consumer financial and tech innovation in the context of a reasonable regulatory framework,” Pozza said in his NLJ profile. “I’ve continued my fintech work at Wiley, with an eye towards legal issues that affect emerging technology.”

In 2019, Pozza testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Fintech Task Force on big data analytics and privacy laws. “One big issue is how to implement effective data governance – including privacy compliance – while deploying artificial intelligence (AI) and other data-driven financial technologies that can bring enormous benefits,” Pozza told NLJ.

Noting that technology evolves quickly, Pozza said he enjoys the challenge of applying existing legal and regulatory guidance to innovative new products and services. To take just one example, he notes that the interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has exploded in the past year.

“I have a great opportunity to advise on compliance approaches and business decisions in fintech – including on transactional diligence – and also continue to advocate for a sensible regulatory policies to promote innovation,” Pozza said.