Cadwalader Adds Market-Leading CFTC Regulatory Partner Peter Y. Malyshev

April 26, 2022

Washington, D.C.-based partner expands the firm’s regulatory, compliance and transactional capabilities, as well as in digital assets and ESG.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP has strengthened its top-tier Financial Services Group with the addition of partner Peter Y. Malyshev in Washington, D.C. Malyshev joins Cadwalader from Reed Smith, where he was a partner.

Malyshev focuses his practice on regulatory, compliance and transactional matters relating to commodities, derivatives, and securities products regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For over 25 years, Malyshev has assisted clients in the United States and overseas on numerous transactions involving over-the-counter and exchange-traded derivatives products in almost every asset class and market, such as: banking, financial institutions and insurance; agriculture, energy, mining, and emissions; transportation and infrastructure; interest rates and credit default swaps; foreign exchange, digital assets and fintech; precious metals; and securities.

Malyshev assists various U.S. and non-U.S. derivatives market participants with formulating their risk management and regulatory compliance efforts under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 and under CFTC and SEC regulations, as well as the cross-border application of U.S. regulations. These market participants include entities that require assistance with structuring risk management and hedging transactions, registering with the National Futures Association (NFA) or the CFTC in the appropriate category, or seeking an exemption from such registration.

“Cadwalader has an unsurpassed reputation for innovation and excellence in derivatives and structured products,” said Cadwalader managing partner Pat Quinn, “and Peter is considered a true industry leader in this space, along with the burgeoning areas of ESG and crypto and digital assets. We are delighted to welcome him to the firm.”

Added Financial Services Group co-chair Ivan Loncar: “Peter is widely regarded as a leading regulatory and compliance lawyer in exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives. His arrival immediately expands our services to existing and new clients in this area.”

Added Financial Services co-chair James Frazier: “While Peter is a real authority in the commodities and derivatives industry, he has increasingly expanded his practice to include guidance on ESG and crypto – two areas that track very closely with our Financial Services Group and the firm.”  

Malyshev will be a key member of Cadwalader’s efforts advising clients on matters related to crypto, digital assets and ESG considerations. In crypto and digital assets, he has advised clients on matters related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with respect to qualification as a futures commission merchant (FCM) and in connection with the classification of contracts involving crypto and other digital assets and the different regulatory and compliance burden that follows such classification. In the ESG space, he has advised clients on the legal aspects of trading carbon credits and other green commodities and derivatives and on disclosure and governance issues.

“In the area of derivatives and financial regulatory in general, Cadwalader is always on everyone’s short list,” Malyshev said. “The firm has consistently positioned itself as an industry leader in derivatives and synthetic securitizations, two areas of expertise for me, and is joining a few other elite firms in becoming first-choice options on ESG and crypto challenges. Cadwalader’s strength in SEC and banking regulation is a particularly great fit for me.”

Malyshev is the founder of derivatives and futures, as well as diversity, equity & inclusion and fintech subcommittees of the Washington D.C. Bar and is an elected chair of the Washington D.C. Bar corporation finance and securities law community. A frequent speaker at industry conferences and a prolific writer, Malyshev is also an adjunct professor at George Washington Law School and Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches classes on commodities and derivatives regulation as well as ESG and climate change issues.  

Malyshev has been recognized by Chambers USA and by The Best Lawyers in America in recognition of his work in Derivatives and Futures Law.

Malyshev’s arrival follows the recent addition of partner Mercedes Tunstall in Financial Services, as well as Helen Maher in Global Litigation, Matthew Smith and Bevis Metcalfe in private credit, and Kiran Kadekar and Michael Bergmann in Corporate.