Lawyer Launches Firm Using AI for Crypto Regulatory Work

A lawyer who previously headed the crypto practice at Baker & Hostetler has left to launch her own firm focused on digital assets and regulatory issues. The new firm, named Bellementis, will use a proprietary AI legal platform to manage research and routine tasks while lawyers focus on strategic analysis.

The lawyer began her career at the Securities and Exchange Commission and later served as chief operating officer at Kalorama Partners. She joined Baker & Hostetler in 2019 and built its digital asset practice. She represented Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in his request for a pardon from President Trump regarding a Bank Secrecy Act violation that resulted in a four-month jail term.

The lawyer said much of the legal industry treats AI as an overlay on traditional workflows. She stated that sophisticated legal work requires different infrastructure, quality controls, and operational design. She added that the goal is not to replace lawyers but to enable them to operate more efficiently and strategically at scale.

The lawyer said she developed her own system after working long hours on complex cases and consulting contacts in crypto businesses. She noted that her team includes over half a dozen lawyers and advisers and that the firm aims to protect the craft of law while avoiding outsourcing critical thinking to generic AI tools.