The global law firm Jones Day announced that Abradat Kamalpour will join the Firm’s Financial Markets Practice as a partner. Mr. Kamalpour will initially be based in Jones Day’s London Office and will thereafter be relocating to the Firm’s San Francisco Office. Mr. Kamalapour comes to the firm from Ashurst in London.
Mr. Kamalpour has extensive experience in fintech, debt capital markets, structured finance, and financing for investors and institutions from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. His focus also includes running large-scale and complex financial transactions in fintech, and structured finance and corporate finance in the domestic and international markets (including Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and Southeast Asia). He has been at the forefront of structuring innovative ways of using blockchain-based technologies and cryptocurrencies on various capital market and financing transactions, which includes designing and establishing an accelerator program in London with strong ties to Silicon Valley, and serving as an advisor and member of various boards, forums, and working groups focused on fintech.
At Jones Day, Mr. Kamalpour will focus on advising financial institutions and well-funded growth companies on cross-border fintech opportunities between the United States’ Bay Area and New York, London, and the Firm’s clients in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He will also work on building out Jones Day’s Fintech Initiative across practices and offices around the world, which includes a market-leading transactional practice, to serve the Firm’s clients in their fintech endeavors.
“Fintech is rapidly changing the ways financial institutions and funds operate and transact and Abradat has been at the forefront of this innovation since it began,” said Jayant (Jay) Tambe, leader of Jones Day’s Financial Markets Practice. “His experience and connections between London’s global financial center and Silicon Valley’s global tech center will be of exceptional value to our financial services clients as they continue to invest in and deploy these exciting new financial tools and business models. I look forward to our work together and welcome him to the Firm.”
Added Aaron Agenbroad, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s San Francisco Office, “Northern California has provided an ecosystem unlocking extensive value through technological information and fintech will be no exception. As a tri-qualified lawyer based in the U.S., he’s well-placed to advise clients with global offerings on English law and on how to access European capital markets. His extensive finance background, deep involvement in blockchains and cryptocurrencies, and work with financial institutions and high-growth companies around the world make him an ideal addition in Northern California.”
Admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales, Ireland, and Australia (Victoria) and The High Court of Australia, Mr. Kamalpour is the Founder of New Silk Road Forum, an advisory board member of Blockchain Coinvestors in Silicon Valley, and a legal mentor on the Accenture London FinTech Innovation Lab program. He has been ranked for many years as a leading individual in his areas of practice by Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, and Legal 500. He is also the winner of the lawyer award at the prestigious London Sukuk and Fintech Summit for his innovative work on fintech. Mr. Kamalpour is rated by the latest edition of Euromoney Expert Guides “Guide to the World’s Leading Banking, Finance and Transactional Lawyers” as one of the outstanding practitioners in the field of Islamic Finance. He is also a regular contributor to the CityAM/Crytpo AM newspaper “Talking Legal” section on legal matters related to fintech.
