Overview
Neel Chopra, a former senior enforcement official at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a seasoned in-house advisor, is a partner in Steptoe's Investigations and White Collar Defense, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, and Financial Innovation & Regulatory practices. He has extensive experience with regulatory enforcement and white-collar criminal matters, internal investigations, civil litigations, as well as financial regulatory and commercial matters.
Most recently, Neel served as Head of Legal (Americas) at Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, where he oversaw a wide array of legal matters. Neel oversaw Binance's resolutions with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the CFTC, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Office of Foreign Assets control (OFAC), as well as its litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Across the Americas region, Neel led the company's legal efforts on a wide range of regulatory matters, including obtaining licenses and registrations, representing the company in regulatory inquiries, launching innovative new products, designing effective compliance programs, and consulting with global regulators on emerging laws and regulations as they relate to the crypto industry. Neel also advised Binance on various commercial transactions, including with various stablecoin issuers and other token issuers, payments services, crypto-to-fiat payment providers, banking partners, as well as in strategic M&A and venture capital investments.
Neel has also held several key positions at the CFTC, including as Senior Special Counsel to the Director of the Division of Enforcement. In that capacity, he oversaw numerous litigated cases and investigations, and led major policy initiatives. Neel supervised several Task Forces, including the Bank Secrecy Act, Spoofing, Swaps, Insider Trading, and Foreign Corruption Task Forces. In addition, Neel spearheaded efforts to create a data-driven surveillance program and better utilize trading technology in the CFTC's approach to enforcement. Neel also managed cooperative enforcement efforts with the DOJ, SEC, CME group, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), National Futures Association (NFA), as well as several international regulators.
After leaving the CFTC, Neel was the Head of Litigation and Intellectual Property at Vimeo, a video-sharing website and software as a service provider, during its IPO transition. In that role, Neel oversaw an international litigation docket focused on issues of copyright and patent infringement, as well as free speech/publisher immunity. Neel also conducted internal investigations, advised the Trust & Safety team, and represented the company with respect to law enforcement matters.
- New York
- Hon. John M. Walker, Jr., US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2009-2010
- Hon. Leonard B. Sand, US District Court for the Southern District of New York , 2008-2009
- J.D., New York University School of Law, 2008, Magna Cum Laude; Notes Editor, New York University Law Review
- B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2004, Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Areas of Work
Representative Matters
- Oversaw Binance's legal efforts across the Americas region including:
- Resolution of criminal and civil investigations brought by DOJ, the CFTC, FinCEN, and OFAC.
- Engagement with Binance’s independent compliance monitors.
- Litigation with the SEC concerning its application of the securities laws to crypto product offerings.
- Management of U.S. litigation docket on matters spanning alleged securities fraud, Anti-Terrorism Act liability, civil RICO and aiding and abetting fraudulent conduct, intellectual property infringement, as well as litigations arising from the collapse of FTX, including a matter in Delaware bankruptcy court and a Florida federal multi-district litigation.
- Efforts to obtain regulatory licences and registrations in multiple jurisdictions globally.
- Development and release of innovative new products across the Americas region.
- Consultation with global regulators in the Americas region and beyond on emerging crypto laws and regulations.
- Advice on numerous commercial transactions, including with stablecoin and other token issuers.
- Advice on strategic M&A and venture capital investments.
- Legal support for a FinTech payments service, crypto-to-fiat payment providers, a decentralized wallet software provider, a decentralized blockchain network, and a crypto-price tracking service.
- Managed all civil litigation and intellectual property matters at Vimeo, including:
- Litigation brought by the music labels alleging claims of copyright infringement of sound recordings and musical compositions based on the presence of music in user-generated videos, in which Vimeo secured a summary judgment in the district court and a precedent-setting victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals based on the safe harbor provisions of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
- Litigation brought by the music labels alleging claims of copyright infringement of sound recordings and musical compositions based on the presence of music in user-generated videos based on international copyright laws, including the EU Copyright Directive.
- Litigation concerning allegations of patent infringement regarding data compression and streaming functionalities. Plaintiffs agreed to dismiss the claims with prejudice after exchange of expert reports.
- Litigation by user whose account was deleted because it violated Vimeo's policies barring the promotion of sexual orientation change efforts on its platform. The district court dismissed the case on the basis, among others, that the case was statutorily barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal.