Adam Ettinger.

Blockchain legal expert Adam Ettinger has left Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton to join cloud-based firm FisherBroyles as a partner and co-chair of its financial technology and blockchain practice group.

At FisherBroyles, a so-called virtual law firm that has grown rapidly in recent years, Ettinger will work out of Los Angeles and Palo Alto. His new firm's “cloud-commuting” model offers a greater measure of flexibility, both in terms of hourly rates and work-life balance.

“In the way these business models are architected, we spend all of our time really focusing on the clients, rather than internal administration and bureaucratic processes, which can be quite extensive for Am Law partners,” said Ettinger, who officially started at FisherBroyles a week ago.

Prior to joining FisherBroyles, Ettinger was a partner and co-leader of the blockchain technology and digital currency team at Sheppard Mullin in Los Angeles. Ettinger started working in the space in 2012 when he had to help a former client involved in a semiconductor development agreement to verify bitcoin transactions. Since then, Ettinger has developed a focus on representing companies in new technological areas such as blockchain and digital currencies, as well as other matters like internet advertising, mobile apps and social gaming.

“Adam is one of the most highly regarded attorneys practicing in the blockchain space, and our clients will benefit greatly from the significant experience and additional bench strength that he brings to FisherBroyles,” said a statement from FisherBroyles partner A. Michael Pierson, who joined the virtual firm in New York last year and now serves as co-chair of its fintech and blockchain group.

Founded in 2002, FisherBroyles claims to be the largest player in the virtual firm space. The 215-lawyer outfit currently has about 17 partners dedicated solely to its fintech and blockchain practice, which is comprised of lawyers who previously worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and several other Am Law 100 firms.

Ettinger said he was attracted to FisherBroyles, which earlier this month hired Dilworth Paxson social media expert Eric Meyer in Philadelphia, by the caliber of its lawyers and their expertise in the fintech space.

“In the U.S., and quite a few abroad, I don't know anyone that equals it in terms of the quality, experience, excitement and personal interest in the field,” Ettinger said.

The blockchain legal guru noted that Los Angeles is currently one of the largest business centers for cryptocurrency technology because many of the industry's key investors are based in the city, where Ettinger relocated in 2015 and has since carved out a practice advising companies crafting blockchain applications.

Before joining Sheppard Mullin's Century City office three years ago, Ettinger served as managing partner of Strategic Counsel Corp., a small San Francisco-based firm that provided legal services to technology companies. Prior to that, he was an associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Silicon Valley and lead corporate counsel for Smart Age, an online marketing firm for small businesses.

According to FisherBroyles, after adding Ettinger, the firm now has 18 lawyers in California, including seven in Los Angeles and 11 in Palo Alto. Last year FisherBroyles bolted on Ntellect Law, a small, cloud-based intellectual property firm with partners in Missouri and Silicon Valley.

As for Sheppard Mullin, which just completed its 27th consecutive year of financial growth, the Am Law 100 firm said that James Gatto in Washington, D.C., will now assume full control of the firm's blockchain technology and digital currency team. Gatto, like Ettinger, also joined Sheppard Mullin in 2015, coming aboard from Pillsbury Winthrop.