New York, October 5th / PRNewswire / —Dechert LLP Today, it was announced that Carl Kennedy has joined the firm as a partner and will take on the role of head of commodities and derivatives in its financial services division, bringing deep experience in seller-side derivatives and regulatory compliance with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) CFTC. Based in New York, Kennedy will enhance Dechert's capabilities in derivatives, fintech, and the rapidly growing predictive markets sector.
Co-Chairman Dechert stated by Chairman David Forti: "The addition of Carl reflects our strategy to expand our network with partners who can serve our clients throughout the entire process of regulatory changes, rather than merely reacting afterwards. As regulation of cryptocurrencies, tokenization, and predictive markets continues to evolve towards CFTC, Carl's experience in both regulatory and internal perspectives helps to put our clients at the forefront of this trend."
Dechert, Co-Chair of the Financial Services Business Group, Douglas Dick stated: " Carl has close connections with insiders from CFTC, as well as exchanges, intermediaries, and market makers. This enables clients to directly understand how such institutions might handle certain issues; this is particularly important when forecasting markets become a field that companies actively evaluate. Coupled with his experience representing key participants in the derivatives industry, this provides our clients with another valuable resource regarding CFTC regulatory matters."
Kennedy represents sellers and market infrastructure clients, including swap traders, futures brokers, designated contract markets, swap data repositories, and swap execution facilities; as this field has expanded, he has also assumed an increasingly important role in providing consulting services for predictive market platforms. In July 2026, he testified before the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the rapid growth of sports-related predictive markets and their federal regulatory framework.
Before joining Dechert, Kennedy was a partner at another global law firm. Even earlier, he served as a senior consultant and policy advisor at CFTC, where he was one of the main drafters of several regulations and played a key role in the adoption and implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by that institution. He also held positions at JPMorgan Chase as Assistant General Counsel and Executive Director, and at a global hedge fund industry association as Legal Counsel, responsible for regulatory and legislative advocacy related to over-the-counter derivatives reforms.
Kennedy indicates: "I have a special connection with Dechert. As a native of Philadelphia, I studied at the law school in this city and celebrated my graduation at the old office of Dechert; 26 years later, it is truly a coincidence to be able to join such a dynamic and forward-thinking law firm and lead its business, which focuses on CFTC. Given that we already have a considerable derivatives platform, I am delighted to help clients navigate the rapidly changing regulatory environment, especially as more digital assets, tokenization, and predictive market activities fall under the jurisdiction of CFTC."
Kennedy has previously received recognition from Chambers Global and Chambers USA for his work in the fields of derivatives and "Derivatives: Main Regulatory Issues." Recently, he was also named a recommended lawyer by The Legal 500 United States, and was recognized as an outstanding leader by The New York Law Journal.
Dechert indicates that since the beginning of this year, the firm has welcomed over 50 new partners, reflecting its strategic goal to strengthen its capabilities in core areas such as litigation, investment management, finance and restructuring, capital markets and securitization, as well as mergers and acquisitions.
Dechert boasts one of the largest financial services and investment management teams in the industry, with a professional team comprising nearly 200 lawyers. It is the first law firm to have fund practices in all major European fund registration jurisdictions, including the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, Germany, and France, as well as in the United States, the Middle East, and Asia. The firm has consistently been rated as a top investment fund law firm by authoritative publications such as Chambers, The Legal 500, and Best Lawyers.
About Dechert
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For over 150 years, we have been providing legal advice to our clients on critical issues, ranging from high-risk litigation to market-leading transaction structures to complex regulatory matters. Our lawyers, located in business hubs around the world, specialize in key industries such as financial services, private capital, real estate, life sciences, and technology.
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