XRP Lawsuit: Securities expert, Attorney Tessler to offer technical consultancy to the court

The latest development in the XRP lawsuit saw the court granting Attorney Lilya Tessler’s plea to practice Pro Hac Vice as counsel for amicus curiae, on behalf of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. It translates to Sidley Austin LLP’s Attorney Tessler offering the court her advice in her expertise of securities offering, which happens to be the crux of the problem in the ongoing XRP lawsuit.

Attorney Tessler job profile includes legal counsel to digital asset exchanges on SEC regulatory inquiries

Lilya Tessler, partner and head of Sidley’s FinTech and Blockchain group has a concentrated practice around representing digital asset trading platforms, blockchain technology companies, U.S. and non-U.S. broker-dealers, financial service firms, and cryptocurrency funds. Specifically, Tessler provides legal advice to technology companies on public and private securities offerings, including blockchain token distributions.

Furthermore, she advises financial institutions and digital asset exchanges on routine securities issues, private placement agent requirements, custody rule requirements, cross-border regulatory issues, money services business registration requirements, as well as FINRA and SEC regulatory inquiries.

Ripple could bounce back with Tessler addition

With Attorney Tessler’s job profile and background in protecting the crypto community from unjust regulators, it is fair to speculate the XRP lawsuit could gravitate back, toward Ripple’s side. However, under Pro Hac Vice’s practice as counsel for amicus curiae, Tessler’s legal advice must come from a neutral ground. Yet, it is hard to decipher a definite outcome of Attorney Tessler’s addition to the historically controversial XRP lawsuit.

One after another extensions, letter motions, and now new counsel’s addition to the case has thickened the plot even further. Till yesterday, the ball was in SEC’s court with Ripple desperate for a settlement. However, this lawsuit’s plot twists happen overnight. Now that there is heavy speculation of Ripple getting back in the game, the defendants have filed another letter motion to compel against the SEC.

Defense files another letter motion to compel against the plaintiff

Ripple and individual defendant, Larsen has filed a Motion to Compel the SEC to answer interrogatories related to the SEC’s Howey Test application theory. The theory claims that it applies to virtually all of Defendants’ transactions in XRP, over the last 8 years. The SEC refused to provide any information, upon Ripple’s attempt at seeking to identify how the SEC contends Howey applies to all these transactions.